With Heated Rivalry finally out in the UK, fans already desperate for more can rest assured that a second season has already been greenlit. Now, one of the show's lead stars, Connor Storrie, has given a promising update about timelines.
The Canadian drama, based on the Game Changers novel series by Rachel Reid, tells the story of a blossoming relationship between two closeted gay rivals who play for opposing hockey teams.
Storrie and Hudson Williams lead the cast as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander respectively, with François Arnaud and Robbie GK also aboard as fan favourites Scott Hunter and Kip Grady.
After becoming a global phenomenon, the six-part show landed on NOW in the UK last weekend, and is still trending at number one on the streamer's in-house rankings.
Speaking on TODAY in the US earlier this week, Storrie was asked the question on everyone's lips: when can we have more?
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"I think Jacob's still writing it," he told anchor Craig Melvin, referring to the show's writer and director, Jacob Tierney.
"I think we're going to be filming, I think... soon. I don't know when, exactly."
When Melvin pushed on whether "soon" could refer to "this summer", Storrie grinned and nodded: "Yeah, I think about then."
Filming for season one began in April 2025 in Ontario and Quebec, before the show landed in other international territories in late November. If the second season needs a similar amount of time to prepare, could we be looking at an early 2027 return? Time will tell.
Related: Rivals' much-anticipated second season promises "jaw-dropping twists" with first look at return
For now, season one has an impressive 99% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the New Statesman saying: "It would be a mistake – nay, a disservice – to try and over-intellectualise this icy romp. Sometimes the riddle really is as straightforward as: what’s better than one hot man? Two."
In a five-star critique, the Evening Standard said: "No gays are buried here, thank you. It’s a pure, unfettered romp that promises lashings of gay sex with a happy ending and more than delivers."
The Financial Times, meanwhile, said the show "offers red-blooded, hot-headed fun, and never stays still for long enough to be boring".
Heated Rivalry is now streaming on NOW in the UK.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.
