Heated Rivalry was picked up for a second season as the Canadian hockey romance became a global sensation.
Created by Jacob Tierney and based on the 2019 novel by Rachel Reed, Heated Rivalry tells the love story between two rival hockey players over the course of eight years, from rookies to the Olympics.
“Watching our show become an international phenomenon has been extraordinary. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has been on this journey with us. To be renewed for a second season so early is a true honor, and we can't wait to bring you even more of what you love,” Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady said in a statement.
The show's renewal comes on the same day as episode 4, titled “Rose,” is released. There are still two episodes left in the series culminating in the final on December 26th.
The six-episode series, produced by Canadian streaming platform Crave, is currently streaming in the US and Australia on HBO Max. The raunchy show made it into the streamer's top 10 TV shows in just a week after premiering two episodes on November 28th.
Heated Rivalry has so far closely followed the events of Reed's book of the same name, and the series' sixth episode, titled “The Cottage,” is expected to coincide with the final act of the novel.
Luckily for fans of the story, the story of Shane (Hudson Williams) and Illya (Connor Storrie) continues in Reed's 2022 sequel, The Long Game. Both books are part of her hockey romance series, Game Changers.
Reed previously hinted at the renewal of the show in an interview with TODAY.com. She also discussed whether she would ever revisit Shane and Ilya's story.
“I have ideas for them that I’m working on,” she said. “They never leave my head.”
“I’m working on some of them, trying to figure out what to do with them, but something will happen,” she added. “You're bound to see something.”
