‘Heated Rivalry’ Adds 5 To Cast & Reveals Who Will Play Wyatt Hayes
The massively popular Crave Original series Heated Rivalry is expanding its Season 2 cast, adding five. Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek, Marvel’s VisionQuest), Edvin Ryding (The Young Royals, 28 Years Later), Robert Naylor (Mile End Kicks, Cardinal) Sabrina Jalees (I Used to Be Funny, Black Mirror) and Priyanka (Drag Brunch Saved My Life, Meet Me Next Christmas) will join Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie in the second season, which is confirmed to premiere in spring 2027.
A key question also has been answered in the casting announcement. There’s been much online speculation about who will play Wyatt Hayes in Season 2, a popular character in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, and we’ve learned Robert Naylor has been tapped for the role. Hayes, a prominent side character, is the starting goaltender for the Ottawa Centaurs in the books.
Hampshire will play Vanessa, Ryding is Luca Haas, Jalees is Farah Jalali and Priyanka portrays Tarek.
As previously announced, Smith and Gillespie will play Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively, the couple at the center of Role Model, the fifth book in Rachel Reid’s bestselling Game Changers series, on which Heated Rivalry is based.
After Season 1 adapted Book 2, Heated Rivalry, which chronicles the budding romance between rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), while also incorporating elements from Book 1, Game Changer (featuring Scott and Kip), Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney had said that Season 2 will continue Shane and Ilya’s story by tackling Book 6, The Long Game, while also introducing a new couple by taking on Role Model.
Season one told the story of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie). Bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understood, what began as a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies evolved into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery, per the logline.
Season two is set to premiere on HBO Max in Spring 2027 in the U.S., Australia, Europe (excluding the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Turkey), Latin America, and Asia (Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka)
Produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media’s Crave, Heated Rivalry is commissioned by Bell Media’s Crave, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. Tierney is writer, director, and executive producer. Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson serve as executive producers. Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje are producers, with Reid as consulting producer. Mike Goldbach serves as co-writer on Season 2.
Hampshire is repped by Atlas Artists, Paradigm, Creative Drive Artists and Felker, McGinnis & Ryan. Ryding is repped by CAA, Agentfirman Planthaber/Kildén/Mandic/ Boström, and Independent Talent Group. Naylor is repped by Agence M (Marie-Pierre Tremblay and Mélanie Belzile). Jalees is repped by WME and OPE Partners. Priyanka is repped by Daniel Birnbaum at The Talent House.
