Heated Rivalry has cast Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, the couple at the centre of Role Model, book five of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series. The Crave drama returns for season 2 in spring 2027.
Harris is the Ottawa Centaurs’ social media manager, cheerful company for everyone around him. Troy is a hockey player in the same league as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, carrying a reputation for bullying and landing at a new team without many friendly faces. Fans have spent eight months proposing their own casting for the pair; Crave’s announcement settles it.
“Rachel Reid has given us two beautifully layered characters in Harris and Troy who you can’t help but root for,” said executive producers Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady. “…They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters.”
Season 2 continues Shane and Ilya’s story (Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie) through book six, The Long Game, while introducing Harris and Troy. Smith is American and Gillespie is Canadian — the same split as the leads — but both arrive with established credits: Smith from I Saw the TV Glow and the Jurassic World films, Gillespie from Julie and the Phantoms.
Season 1 premiered on 28 November 2025 and became Crave’s most-watched original of all time, with a 400% jump in platform viewership and 10.6 million views by February 2026. It won 16 Canadian Screen Awards, a record for a series in a single year, and streams in more than 130 countries, with HBO Max holding US rights.
Production began this week in Canada. Whether Harris and Troy get a standalone episode, as Scott and Kip did in season 1’s episode three, or appear throughout the season is unconfirmed.
What is Heated Rivalry about?
Heated Rivalry is a Crave drama based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels. Season 1 follows rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) from a secret fling as rookies to a years-long relationship.
Who are Harris Drover and Troy Barrett?
Harris is the social media manager for the Ottawa Centaurs hockey team and Troy is a player at a new club with a reputation for bullying. They are the couple at the centre of Role Model, the fifth book in the Game Changers series.
When does Heated Rivalry season 2 premiere?
Heated Rivalry season 2 is set for spring 2027. Production began in Canada in early August 2026, and the season continues Shane and Ilya’s story from book six, The Long Game.
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