Everyone is talking about Heated Rivalry — your friends, your roommate, Jordan Firstman for some reason — so it was no great surprise to learn on December 12 that the Crave original series was green-lit for a second season. That’s right: The gay guys who play hockey are coming back. Hollander? Of course. Rozanov? You’d better believe it. “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, the vice-president of content and programming for Bell Media, though he seemed to conveniently leave out “great-looking butts” and “kissing.” On HBO Max’s Twitter, however, stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie celebrated with an unboxing video.
Right in time for the holidays, the two unwrap a very festive-looking package carrying a puck that reads “season two” on it. There’s something charmingly low-budget about the whole affair, devoid of splashy graphics or teasers about what’s to come and instead foregrounding the excitement of the stars. Storrie’s face legitimately looks like the 😀 emoji, which is crazy because Rozanov never looks like that. The second season will be based on author Rachel Reid’s sequel The Long Game. “Hotter, wetter, longer,” Williams threatened. Is he in the writers’ room? Because those are some good ideas.
