‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2 Greenlit At Crave With HBO Max On Board

EXCLUSIVE: Television’s steamiest Heated Rivalry is just getting started.

We can reveal Canadian streamer Crave has greenlighted a second season of LGBTQ+ ice hockey drama, with HBO Max again boarding for rights in the U.S. and Australia and now striking deals with program distributor Sphere Abacus for more territories.

The Warner Bros Discovery-owned streamer has tapped series for Season 1 and Season 2 rights for Europe (excluding the UK, Ireland, Spain and Turkey), Asia and Latin America, and Neon/Sky New Zealand is also returning for Season 2. The HBO Max agreement is Asia spans Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Macau, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

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Heated Rivalry, about a pair of top professional hockey players who secretly develop a romantic relationship that lasts over the years, quickly established itself as a flagship show for Crave and has been hailed by several reviewers as among the most significant LGBTQ+ shows on television. We’ve been tracking it closely since it was announced at the Crave Upfront this year and named it a show to watch at MIPCOM Cannes in October, where Sphere Abacus introduced the show to international buyers.

The steamy drama is now Crave’s biggest original series on record, growing its viewership by nearly 400% in initial seven-day streams following its debut two weeks ago on Friday, November 28, per mParticle and Amazon Channels internal data.

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It has emerging as a cultural lightning rod in Canada and has been a social media sensation across North America and Europe, with fan edits, reaction threads and behind-the-scenes clips flooding feeds across platforms. The buzz began early, with Heated Rivalry a top three trending topic on X in hockey-mad Canada during its premiere weekend. The final episode is due to drop on Friday, December 26.

More international deals are expected soon, as buzz continues even in territories where the show isn’t yet available. We understand several buyers in the UK have been chasing Heated Rivalry, with a deal looking imminent.

Created by Canadian writer-director-producer Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Shoresy) and based on Rachel Reid best-selling book series Game Changers, the six-episode, one-hour romantic drama tells the story of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).

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They are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, tied together by their ambition, rivalry and a magnetic pull neither of them understands. They begin a secret fling as rookies that morphs into a long journey of love, denial and self-discovery over the next eight years. They’re forced to decide if there is room for love in their fiercely competitive world.

Earlier this week, my colleague Glenn Garner spoke with leads Williams and Storrie about the newest episode on Season 1, titled “Rose.” The pair leads an ensemble cast that includes François Arnaud as Scott Hunter, Robbie G.K. as Kip Grady, Christina Chang and Dylan Walsh as Yuna and David Hollander, Sophie Nélisse as Rose Landry, and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana.

“Heated Rivalry represents the very best of what Canadian creators can deliver: rich characters, compelling drama and a world audiences want to live in,” said Justin Stockman, VP Content and Programming at Crave parent Bell Media. “The response has been extraordinary, and seeing the series now travelling internationally is an incredible milestone.”

In a statement, show creator Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady added: “Watching our show become an international phenomenon has been extraordinary. We’re profoundly grateful to everyone that has been on this journey with us. Being 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.”

Heated Rivalry comes from Tierney and Brady’s Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Crave, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Bell Fund. Tierney is writer, director, producer and executive producer, with Brady the producer and executive producer. Lori Fischburg is producer and book writer Reid is consulting producer.

For Bell Media, Alison Korogyi is Senior Production Executive, Original Programming; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production, Original Programming; Adam Feigen is Development Executive, Scripted Original Programming Rachel Goldstein-Couto is Head of Development, Original Programming; Brian Blazik is Head of Bell Media Sales, Sphere Abacus; Carlyn Klebuc is General Manager, Original Programming; and Stockman is Vice President, Content Development & Programming.

The series is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus, which is owned by Canadian producer Sphere Media and the primary distributor of programming from Bell, which is also a stakeholder in the UK-based company.

Accent Aigu Entertainment is repped by CAA & 3 Arts. Their attorney is Jayme Alter of Dentons Canada LLP.