Heated Rivalry will return to Sky and NOW in Spring 2027 exclusively in the UK and Ireland, with new additions to its lead cast

Heated Rivalry, the steamy Sky Exclusive romantic drama adapted from Rachel Reid’s critically acclaimed Game Changers book series, is confirmed to return to Sky and streaming service NOW in Spring 2027, exclusively in the UK and Ireland.

Today,  Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t) and Charlie Gillespie (One Night Only, Splitsville, Suze) have also been confirmed as new cast additions, playing Harris Drover and Troy Barrett. Smith and Gillespie join Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in leading roles for the upcoming new season.

Writer, director, and executive producer Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady said: “Rachel Reid has given us two beautifully layered characters in Harris and Troy who you can’t help but root for. From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen. Justice and Charlie do exactly that. They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.”

The first season 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.

Jacob Tierney is writer, director, and executive producer. Brendan Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson serve as executive producers. Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje are producers, with Rachel Reid as consulting producer. Mike Goldbach serves as co-writer on Season 2.

Produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media’s Crave, Heated Rivalry is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus. The series was originally created for Canadian streaming service Crave by award-winning Canadian writer-director-producer Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Shoresy). Acquired for Sky by Lucy Criddle, Director of Acquisitions and Strategic Projects, and Alexander Wright, Acquisitions Manager.

Heated Rivalry Season 2 will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW in Spring 2027.

Crave is the largest Canadian-owned streamer delivering an unparalleled content offering with HBO and Max Originals, STARZ, Hollywood-hit movies, and iconic series including FRIENDS, THE OFFICE, and more. It also boasts an ever-growing and

globally renowned slate of English and French original series. Crave is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet at Crave.ca, via iOS and Android, and other platforms such as Amazon Fire TV, Prime Video Subscriptions, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Hisense, LG Smart TVs, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One and participating TV service providers. Crave is from Bell Media, Canada’s leading media and entertainment company. Visit our website at Crave.ca.

Sky is a leading entertainment and connectivity company, serving customers in the UK, Ireland and Italy. In TV, we offer the best sports coverage, unmissable entertainment and the smartest ways to stream the TV you love. In broadband, we power homes and businesses, with a fast, reliable connection. In mobile, we bring people closer, with fair and flexible plans at unbeatable value. And our latest range of smart home products keep people close to home, wherever they are.

That’s how we do better for customers. And we believe in better for society too. We power the cultural economy in the UK and beyond, contributing billions to UK GDP, supporting thousands of jobs and making award-winning original sport, entertainment and news with the best homegrown talent. We broadcast both our journalism and our coverage of the arts, free to air. We are cutting our emissions and making recyclable, energy-efficient products. We give back, through free internet access for under-served communities and through skills programmes for over 2 million young people and counting.

Sky is owned by Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company.

Founded in 2023 by writer, director, and producer Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady, Accent Aigu Entertainment is a next-generation Canadian production company focused on developing and producing premium scripted content for global audiences. Jacob and Brendan bring a wealth of experience from the Canadian film and television landscape. Prior to launching Accent Aigu, the duo spent four years collaborating on more than 40 episodes of the acclaimed series Letterkenny and its spinoff, Shoresy. Accent Aigu Entertainment is the natural evolution of that collaboration. Visit accent-aigu.ca for more information. Accent Aigu Entertainment is repped by CAA & 3 Arts. Their attorney is Jayme Alter of Dentons Canada LLP.

Sphere Abacus is the worldwide sales arm of Sphere Media, operating alongside the company’s highly successful production business. Sphere Abacus is also the primary international distributor of IP owned by Canada’s leading media and entertainment company, Bell Media. In addition, Sphere Abacus acquires and distributes a diverse slate of premium, multi-genre programming created by exceptional third-party producers for the global content market. At the same time, the company also works with independent producers to facilitate pre-sales and development finance as well as broadcaster commissions. Embracing a fully transparent reporting ethos throughout, SA focuses on building strong client relationships and generating positive solutions at every stage of the process, from initial financing to worldwide broadcast to successfully deliver scripted and non-scripted entertainment that counts to a global audience. Further details: www.sphere-abacus.com