‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2: Premiere Date, ‘The Long Game’ Book Info, And Season 3 Talk

In just five weeks, HBO Max‘s newly-acquired Crave Original series, Heated Rivalry, became a cultural phenomenon, a word of mouth sensation, and one of 2025’s biggest television obsessions.

Jacob Tierney’s steamy hockey series, inspired by Rachel Reid’s beloved Game Changers books, follows fall the love stories of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), and American hockey star Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and smoothie shop worker Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.). With Episode 5 tying Breaking Bad‘s top-rated episode with a perfect 10 on IMDb, and a highly-anticipated finale airing on December 26, fans are sure to be left yearning for more.

Curious if there will be a Heated Rivalry Season 2? And if so, when will the hit series return with new episodes? And which one of Reid’s novels will be adapted this time around? Here’s everything to know about the future of Heated Rivalry, including Season 2 premiere date info, The Long Game book, Heated Rivalry Season 3 rumors, and more.

Will There Be A Heated Rivalry Season 2 On HBO Max?

Great news, Heated Rivalry fans! Season 2 is already green-lit! On December 12, with two Season 1 episodes left to air on HBO MAX, Heated Rivalry received a Season 2 renewal. The show’s stars confirmed Season 2 in an Instagram video, teasing it as “Hotter, Wetter, Longer.”

Heated Rivalry Season 2 Premiere Date: When Will Heated Rivalry Season 2 Premiere?

Since Heated Rivalry just landed a Season 2 renewal, an official Season 2 premiere date has yet to be revealed. But fans should expect a bit of a wait before new episodes, consider episodes still need to be written and produced. When chatting with Variety, Tierney said, “It can’t be the same time next year, because this time last year I’d written five of these, and this time this year I’ve written zero of them. So it’s going to be a little bit later, but it’s still going to be soon.”

“We understand that everybody’s goal is to not do two years between seasons,” Tierney continued. “And at the same time, I don’t want to put out a rushed shitty second season just because the show is very popular. But we’re very aware that our creative partners are enthusiastic and don’t want to wait too long. We’re getting back to work!”

Sounds like fans might have to wait until 2027 for more Heated Rivalry, but stay tuned for updates. In the mean time…

What Will Heated Rivalry Season 2 Be About? And Which Book In Rachel Reid’s Game Changers Series Does Heated Rivalry Season 2 Adapt?

Heated Rivalry Season 2 will naturally feature more hockey, more sex and romance, and build off the events that unfolded and plans made between Shane and Ilya in the Season 1 finale. But if you really want to prepare for what Season 2 has in store, Connor Storrie suggested, “Start reading The Long Game if you wanna spoil it for yourself.”

The Long Game Plot: What Is Book 6 In Rachel Reid’s Game Changers Series About?

For those who don’t know, The Long Game is Book 6 in Reid’s series and has the following synopsis:

To the world they are rivals, but to each other they are everything.

Ten years.

That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family…from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?

Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship…Ilya wants it all.

It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love.

It’s time to make a call.

While we’re here, here’s a list all the Game Changers books in order:

• Game Changer (2018)
• Heated Rivalry (2019)
• Tough Guy (2020)
• Common Goal (2020)
• Role Model (2021)
• The Long Game (2022)

Will There Be A Heated Rivalry Season 3?

While Crave and HBO Max only announced a Season 2 renewal at the time of writing this piece, Heated Rivalry Season 3 rumors are swirling, and not just because of the massive hype surrounding the show. A GQ profile published on December 23 reported, “Both actors signed on for three seasons of Heated Rivalry…” and since Tierney reportedly optioned all six books in the Game Changers series, there’s certainly more story potential beyond Season 2. Stay tuned for more updates!

How To Watch Heated Rivalry Online: HBO Max Streaming Info

Think you can handle the heat? Head to HBO Max to stream Heated Rivalry.

If you’re new to HBO Max, you can sign up for as low as $10.99/month with ads, but an ad-free subscription will cost $18.49/month.

If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the discounted Disney+ Bundles with Hulu and HBO Max. With ads, the bundle costs $19.99/month and without ads, $32.99/month.

Stay tuned for more Heated Rivalry Season 2 info.