Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams star in ’Heated Rivalry’HBO

Published 9 minutes ago

Patrick Cavanaugh is an Editor at MovieWeb and has been writing about movies and TV for 15 years. He’s covered everything from superhero to Star Wars, as well as events like San Diego Comic-Con, Star Wars Celebration, the Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest, and more. One time, Michael Shannon said to Patrick, "You’re funny."

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HBO’s latest boundary-pushing series *Heated Rivalry *is generating tremendous buzz among fans, and with audiences understandably excited for the confirmed Season 2, series creator Jacob Tierney recently offered the disappointing update that we likely won’t be getting new episodes in 2026. With HBO’s schedule understandably being so different from network television, fans of the network’s programming know that projects like *House of the Dragon *or *The Last of Us *take longer to craft, though these waits extend to more grounded dramas as well.

Tierney revealed the Season 2 update to Entertainment Weekly, explaining:

"It will not be same time next year, but it’ll be pretty soon after that ... It’s not gonna be two years. It’s not even gonna be 18 months, I don’t think. So we’re gonna go as fast as we can, while ensuring that we’re doing as good a job as we possibly can."

One reason the new season will take a bit of time is the fact that Tierney isboth the writer and director of the program, understandably making it a time-consuming project. The creator added, "There’s only so fast a track to go down when the show is written and directed by one person. I haven’t started writing yet. I’m going to. We are aware. We want to get the season out as soon as we can, as well, while also making sure that we give people a good second season."

’Heated Rivalry’s Surprising Success

Warner Bros./Crave

*Heated Rivalry *is based on Rachel Reid’s *Game Changer *series of books and focuses on two professional hockey players whose competitive drive against one another is as strong as their attraction. Debuting just last month, the series sits at 97% positive reviews and has become one of the year’s most talked-about titles in just the month since it premiered.

While the series puts a gay relationship at the forefront, some execs avoid queer relationships taking center stage in movies and TV as to avoid turning off more conservative viewers, though Heated Rivalry will hopefully only be the latest instance of an LGBTQ+ series that captivates massive audiences. Even Tierney couldn’t believe how much buzz the series would garner, explaining to Entertainment Weekly when the series was renewed:

"I don’t know what I expected, but it was not this. It’s so great. I’m very grateful and I’m very thrilled. In terms of engagement, if I’m being honest, I try not to engage that much and kind of let this happen. Hopefully the more interesting conversations about the show will happen once it’s all aired and you can see what it was doing from the beginning."

All six episodes of *Heated Rivalry *Season 1 are now streaming.

Heated Rivalry

Release Date November 28, 2025

Network Crave

Directors Jacob Tierney

Cast

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Connor Storrie

Ilya Rozanov

• 

Hudson Williams

Shane Hollander

• 

François Arnaud

Scott Hunter

• 

Robbie Graham-Kuntz

Kip Grady