‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2 Cast News: Five New Faces Join Shane and Ilya’s World
Few shows have made the jump from streaming underdog to full-blown phenomenon quite like ‘Heated Rivalry’ did last year. The gay hockey romance turned into a surprise sensation almost overnight, and its second season has been one of the most anticipated returns in queer television ever since.
Fans have spent months piecing together scraps of casting news, filming updates, and social media teasers while waiting for concrete details on what season two actually looks like. That wait just got a little shorter, and the payoff is bigger than most expected.
Crave confirmed that five new actors are joining the cast of ‘Heated Rivalry’ for its upcoming second season: Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees, and Priyanka. The announcement lands just a week after Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie were revealed as key season two additions, playing Harris Drover and Troy Barrett respectively.
The new arrivals bring recognizable names from across film and television. Hampshire, known for playing Stevie Budd on ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ will play Vanessa, while Ryding, who broke out as Wilhelm on ‘Young Royals,’ has been cast as Luca Haas, a rookie player on the Ottawa Centaurs.
Naylor, whose credits include ‘Mile End Kicks’ and ‘Cardinal,’ will play Wyatt Hayes, the team’s goaltender. Jalees, recognizable from ‘Black Mirror,’ has been cast as Farah Jalali, the sports agent representing leads Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, while Priyanka, the ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ winner, will play Vanessa’s roommate Tarek.
These characters are pulled from different corners of Rachel Reid’s ‘Game Changers’ book series, the source material the show has drawn from since its first season. Vanessa and Tarek in particular come from the third novel, ‘Tough Guy,’ hinting that season two may begin weaving in the love story between Fabian Salah and hockey player Ryan Price alongside the main narrative.
That expansion tracks with what creator Jacob Tierney has said about the season’s structure. Season two is expected to adapt ‘The Long Game,’ the direct sequel focused on Shane and Ilya, while also pulling in elements of ‘Role Model,’ the book that introduces Troy and Harris as a separate couple.
Leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are reprising their roles as Shane and Ilya, the rival hockey players whose secret relationship anchored the first season’s success. Robbie G.K. and François Arnaud are also expected back as fan-favorite couple Kip and Scott, whose subplot became one of the most talked-about threads of season one.
Arnaud has been coy about how much screen time his character will get, though he has confirmed there is more of Scott and Kip’s story left to tell in the upcoming season. Given that the fourth book in Reid’s series features the couple’s wedding, fans have already started speculating about whether that milestone makes it onto screen this time around.
Season one of ‘Heated Rivalry’ became a cultural talking point almost immediately after its 2025 launch, gaining momentum with relatively little promotional push behind it. That kind of organic word-of-mouth success is exactly why a second season, and a growing ensemble to match it, was never really in doubt once Crave renewed the series in December.
With production now underway, fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the cast have been asked to give the crew space at filming locations. It is a small ask for a show that has built this much goodwill this fast, and one most viewers seem more than willing to honor while they wait for Shane, Ilya, and the rest of Vallente’s growing roster to hit the ice again.
Five new cast members are joining Shane and Ilya’s world, with even more characters from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers universe expected to appear. Who are you most excited to see?
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