'Heated Rivalry' season 2 will take Shane and Ilya's story into 'much more serious territory'

Good news, Hollanov fans: There is more "Heated Rivalry" on the way. The bad news? We won't be back on the ice (or in the bedroom) with Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) until 2027. Thankfully, while we wait, the powers that be are offering up titillating tidbits about what viewers can expect from the upcoming second season of the steamy hockey romance, which is a Crave-slash- HBO Max adaptation of Rachel Reid's popular "Game Changer" book series.

During a BookCon in New York City on Saturday, April 18, "Heated Rivalry" showrunner Jacob Tierney opened up about how the romantic trajectory of rivals-turned-lovers Shane and Ilya will play out in season 2, which will follow storylines from "The Long Game," the sequel to "Heated Rivalry" in the Game Changer" series. (As you might remember, the pro hockey players made their relationship status personally official, albeit still professionally secret, in the season 1 finale.)

And per The Hollywood Reporter, "new challenges" are ahead for the couple. Where most of the first season saw the duo connecting clandestinely in post-game hook-ups and stolen moments, the follow-up will find them navigating an actual relationship.

“It’s different. It really is different,” he said of the young men's dynamic in season 2. “And the challenge of it, from an adaptation point of view, is that you’re in much more serious territory. A lot of the initial — there’s still lots of flirting and lots of sex — but this kind of danger, this kind of hotel-room-adolescent-sex stuff is largely gone. And so it presents really new challenges.”

He continued: "There’s a Bergman-y kind of, what do you do after the rush of danger is gone and now you have to live in a relationship where you still aren’t communicating properly, much as you would like to? You can say you love each other, but as adults know, there’s so much more to making a relationship a success.”

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“Part of the reason you start off with 'Heated Rivalry,' as far as adapting goes, is because you want to get to 'The Long Game,'” the showrunner continued. “Because 'The Long Game' is an emotionally sophisticated book that takes this couple seriously."

Tierney also added that, just like season one roped in plot points from another Reid book, "Game Changer," the second season of "Heated Rivalry" will also fold in characters and such from "Role Model," the fifth title in Reid's book series, which recounts the love story between Troy Barrett, Ilya's teammate on the Ottawa Centaurs, and Harris Drover, that team’s social media manager.

"What I’ve always said about this show is there are a lot of books — 'Game Changer' is in 'Heated Rivalry' and obviously, as I think you guys all know by now — obviously parts of 'Role Model' are going to be in [season two], to the great surprise of absolutely nobody," the TV exec shared.

But Hollanov fans can rest assured that the focus of "Heated Rivalry" will remain on its core two characters. "Ilya and Shane are the heartbeat of this series, of my show," Tierney said. "It’s always going to be about Ilya and Shane; that is what is the trajectory that runs through it as their world expands.”

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "Heated Rivalry" season 2, including release dates, teaser trailers, casting news and other behind-the-scenes intel.

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