Heated Rivalry season 2 casting is official, with Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie set to join the hit hockey romance series as a new central couple, according to Deadline. The pair will play Harris Drover and Troy Barrett alongside returning stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, and the season is confirmed to premiere in spring 2027 on HBO Max in the United States and other territories.
Smith, known for I Saw the TV Glow, Now You See Me: Now You Don't and Netflix's The Get Down, will play Harris, the cheerful social media manager for Ilya Rozanov's hockey team. Gillespie, currently appearing in One Night Only and previously a lead on Netflix's Julie and the Phantoms, will play Troy, a hockey player with a history of bullying, per Deadline. Their characters anchor Role Model, the fifth book in Rachel Reid's bestselling Game Changers series, on which Heated Rivalry is based.
Production on season 2 began this week in Canada, Deadline reported, with filming taking place in Toronto according to images shared by Harper's Bazaar showing Williams and Storrie reunited on set. The outlet noted the two actors, reprising their roles as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, were seen walking around the city in matching off-duty outfits, both opting for neutral tees, denim shorts and crossbody bags, a lighthearted signal that filming was officially underway.
Season 1 of Heated Rivalry, released in late 2025, became what Deadline described as an instant global phenomenon, chronicling the secret romance-turned-love story between rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. That season primarily adapted the second Game Changers novel, Heated Rivalry, while also folding in elements from the first book, Game Changer, which centers on characters Scott and Kip.
Series creator Jacob Tierney had previously told The Hollywood Reporter, in comments cited by Harper's Bazaar back in February, that season 2 would deepen Shane and Ilya's relationship by adapting The Long Game, the sixth book in Reid's series, while simultaneously introducing new characters drawn from Role Model. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ottawa is expected to serve as the season's new setting for Ilya, who moves to the low-ranking Ottawa Centaurs after deciding in the season 1 finale to relocate closer to his now-boyfriend, Shane. In Reid's source material, Troy Barrett is the hockey player traded to that same Ottawa team.
A Deliberate Pairing Of One American, One Canadian Actor
Deadline noted that the casting of Smith and Gillespie follows the same pattern used for the show's original leads: one American actor paired with one Canadian actor. Unlike Williams and Storrie, who were largely unknown performers with only minor credits before landing their breakout roles, Smith and Gillespie arrive as established names with substantial film and television credits, including Smith's role in the Jurassic World franchise.
Executive producers Tierney and Brendan Brady framed the casting choice as central to capturing the emotional core of Reid's writing. "Rachel Reid has given us two beautifully layered characters in Harris and Troy who you can't help but root for," the pair said in a statement reported by both Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. "From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen. Justice and Charlie do exactly that. They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are."
Author Pushes Back On Body-Type Criticism
Not all reaction to the announcement was positive. The Hollywood Reporter detailed online criticism that emerged after the casting news broke, with some fans objecting to the choice of a slimmer actor to play Harris, a character described in Reid's novel as chubbier than the hockey players surrounding him.
Reid responded directly on Instagram, referencing similar backlash the show faced a year earlier over the casting of its original leads. "Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for Ilya and Shane was wrong and bad…" she wrote in an Instagram story, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The comment appeared to be a pointed reminder that Williams and Storrie, now the show's most recognizable stars, had also faced skepticism before season 1 proved to be a runaway hit.
Crave, the Bell Media streaming service that commissions Heated Rivalry, renewed the show for a second season early in its first-season run, The Hollywood Reporter reported, and HBO Max has confirmed it will continue to carry the series for U.S. audiences. Filming is expected to continue through the coming months ahead of the spring 2027 target release date confirmed by Deadline.
Tierney remains writer, director and executive producer on the series, with Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson also serving as executive producers. Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje are producers, and Reid herself serves as a consulting producer on the adaptation of her own novels. Mike Goldbach has joined the writing team as co-writer for season 2, working alongside Tierney.
The series is produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media's Crave, with support from the Canada Media Fund, and is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus, a Bell Media company. Deadline reported that Heated Rivalry is currently available in more than 130 countries, underscoring the scale of the audience now waiting to see how Harris and Troy's story unfolds alongside the continuing romance between Shane and Ilya.
With Smith and Gillespie set to begin shooting scenes for Role Model's storyline, and Williams and Storrie already back in character for The Long Game's continuation of Shane and Ilya's relationship, the heated rivalry season 2 casting rollout marks the clearest signal yet that the show is expanding its world beyond its original central couple while keeping their romance at the heart of the story.
