Spicy New HBO Max Series Just Got Renewed for Season 2

HBO Max is scoring big with its spicy new drama.

Variety reports that the hockey romance Heated Rivalry has been renewed for Season 2.

Based on the Game Changers book series by Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry was created by Jacob Tierney for Canadian streaming service Crave. The series was also released on HBO back in the U.S., and the streamer will continue to license it for the second season without producing. News of the renewal comes just two weeks after the series premiered on Nov. 28. Just four episodes in, Heated Rivalry already has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and has gotten quite the buzz online, so it’s not surprising HBO Max decided to give it an early renewal.

View this post on Instagram

Per HBO Max, Heated Rivalry “chronicles the story of rival hockey players Shane and Ilya. Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands.”

“What begins as a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery,” the official synopsis continues. “Over the next eight years, the pair chase glory on the ice while struggling to navigate their feelings off it. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there is room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and as powerful as real love.”

Along with Williams and Storrie, Heated Rivalry also stars François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh, Sophie Nélisse, and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova. The series is produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media’s Crave and is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus.

Rachel Reid released her first book in the Game Changers series in 2018, and the most recent book, The Long Game, was published in 2022. Talks of an adaptation began in 2023 when creator Jacob Tierney reached out to Reid, and Crave officially announced in January that a new series was in development. There are still two more episodes left in the first season, but with a whole new season on the way, fans will be able to look forward to a lot more. Details surrounding Season 2 have not been shared, but more information should be released in the coming months. New episodes of Heated Rivalry drop on Fridays on HBO Max.