'Heated Rivalry' shoots seasons 2 and 3 back to back, Deadline reports

Heated Rivalry is shooting its second and third seasons back to back, followed by a holiday film about Scott and Kip in December, Deadline reported Saturday, citing sources.

Deadline's sources said each upcoming season has six episodes, with production expected to finish at the end of November or the beginning of December. The film would then go before cameras, with a cinema release planned for December 2027.

A representative for Crave, the Canadian streamer behind the show, said there are no projects to confirm. Crave and creator Jacob Tierney have not acknowledged a Season 3 pickup.

Speculation about back-to-back seasons followed a Cameo video that leaked in August 2026. Dylan Walsh, who plays Shane’s father, David Hollander, said in the video, "I think we're doing 12 [episodes] this time."

After the video spread, Walsh briefly wrote on his profile earlier that "a video went viral that got me in trouble."

Tierney addressed the episode count in an October 2026 SiriusXM interview with Andy Cohen, saying Season 2 would have six, like Season 1, ruling out a supersized second season. He said filming would finish by the end of the year. He left unclear which projects were being filmed.

According to the report, the planned film is described as a Christmas special or holiday-themed episode and follows Scott, played by François Arnaud, and Kip, played by Robbie G.K.. Other series characters appear too, though details are murky.

Deadline’s sources said Connor Storrie’s Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams’ Shane Hollander, the series leads, will not appear in the film.

Scott Hunter is a hockey player who comes out during a live televised game, while smoothie barista Kip Grady’s relationship with him inspires Scott to come out.

The series draws on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels. Season 1 adapted Book 2, Heated Rivalry, with elements from Book 1, Game Changer, which features Scott and Kip. Reid also wrote "Merry Christmas, Scott and Kip!", a short story about their first Christmas together.

It is not known whether the film adapts that story.

Season 2 is expected to continue Shane and Ilya’s story through Book 6, The Long Game. Tierney has confirmed that Book 5, Role Model, will also provide material, introducing Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, played by Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie.

Heated Rivalry made its Crave debut on Nov. 28, 2025; it streams on HBO Max in the U.S. and several other key territories. This weekend, Regal Entertainment Distribution is bringing the first season’s six episodes to Regal, AMC and Cinemark cinemas in a limited run of paired-episode screenings.

By Saturday morning, Friday’s screenings had earned $420,000 at the 880 theaters reporting results. Deadline estimates the opening weekend will bring in about $1.3 million.

Season 2 is scheduled to premiere in spring 2027, with an April launch likely, according to Deadline.