It’s been half a year heated rivalry Hit our hearts like a hockey puck. And yet, it still feels like the entire world is as obsessed as ever. The most unlikely TV show of 2025 was a heartfelt, star-crossed Canadian romance about professional hockey rivals turned lovers, which rocketed the careers of newcomers Hudson Williams and Connor Story and launched them as some of the most in-demand actors of the moment.
But heated rivalry It’s more about its hotter lead than ever. Creator Jacob Tierney’s deep devotion to the source material – author Rachel Reed’s book series of quirky hockey love stories, collectively titled game changers-Bleeding through the chain. Few TV set-pieces over the past year have cemented themselves as permanently in our cultural memory as Story’s all-Russian love confession, or the fist pump-worthy kiss on the ice between Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie GK). You can dismiss it as shit all you want, but this is Peabody Award winning shit, guys!
It was no surprise, then, when heated rivalry It was renewed for a second season shortly after its launch last November. And with six—and soon seven—books in Reed’s series, there’s plenty of material to learn from.
Season one was based on the novel of the same name, while drawing on elements from the first book, game changerFor Scott and Kip Arch. Will dive into the events of the next long play, The sixth book in the series and its direct sequel heated rivalryIn which Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are seen pursuing their new dynamic after making their decade-long affair official. (everyone likes heated rivalry But we condemn this situational propaganda.) This is where we left off: Shane and Ilya Finally, At the end said the L-word to each other; Although still closed in public, they cooled their sporting rivalry with the beginning of a tight friendship; And Ilya considered switching teams from Boston to Ottawa to bridge the distance between them. Tierney too Confirmed While Troy Barrett, Ilya’s future partner and protagonist of the fifth book Source of inspirationWill come into play, “Ilya and Shane are the heartbeat of this series.”
If heated rivalry Lures you with promises of sex and softboy jocks, long play Offers a bait-and-switch: a sequel filled with more compassion and maturity. All the planning that Shane and Ilya do takes a little of the burden of keeping their secret. The thrill of secret sexcapades is over as they face the reality of making a long-term relationship work. Ilya’s mental health also deteriorates, prompting him to see a Russian-speaking therapist. (If you’d rather watch Story chew out monologues in another language, that’s where that came from, and that would undoubtedly be devastating.) Hopefully season two will also expand on the toxic macho culture of professional hockey, and how it affects Shane and Ilya’s secret relationship. Don’t fear, it’s not all heavy angst: there are plenty of hot and heavy moments. long play To steam the sauna. Very briefly as Tierney It has been told This: This is the “sex scene from the wedding”.
Williams and Storey have been confirmed to return to the rink, along with the rest of the supporting cast. All eyes are on who will be joining the group: No word yet on who will be joining Ilya’s teammates in Ottawa, but adults And big mistakes Star Jack Iannanen, who had lightly campaigned on social media for a role, had to turn down an offer due to scheduling conflicts. (Innanen declined to reveal which role he was offered, but if we had to guess, we’d say Troy, an outcast who pursues a romance with an Ottawa social media manager.) Filming is set to begin in August, with an expected release in April 2027. hollywood reporter. In the meantime, catch us at the cottage.
This article was originally published in British GQ.
