The hit Crave Original series, available on HBO Max, HEATED RIVALRY, adds Daniel Diemer (“Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” “The Half of It”) as Ryan Price and Shaheen Jafargholi (HBO/Sky’s “War,” “The Agency”) as Fabian Saleh to its cast.
Season two will premiere in early 2027 in the United States, Australia, Europe (excluding the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Turkey), Latin America, and Asia (the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka).
Produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media’s Crave, the critically acclaimed and award-winning series is based on Rachel Reid’s bestselling Game Changers book series. The first season is available on HBO Max in Latin America.
Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady commented: “Fabian and Ryan each bring a unique energy to the world Rachel Reid has created. They are bold, complex, and deeply compelling characters, and it was very important to us to find actors capable of exploring all of those layers. Daniel and Shaheen bring tremendous confidence and emotional honesty to their performances. We can’t wait for audiences to see what they do with Fabian and Ryan and how they make these characters their own.”
Previously announced cast for season two: Hudson Williams (Shane Hollander), Connor Storrie (Ilya Rozanov), Justice Smith (Harris Drover), Charlie Gillespie (Troy Barrett), Emily Hampshire (Vanessa), Edvin Ryding (Luca Haas), Robert Naylor (Wyatt Hayes), Sabrina Jalees (Farah Jalali), and Priyanka (Tarek).
Season one synopsis: The first season told the story of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie). Bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic attraction neither of them fully understood, what began as a secret relationship between two young rookies evolved into a years-long journey marked by love, denial, and self-discovery.
The series was commissioned by Bell Media’s Crave, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund (CMF). Jacob Tierney serves as writer, director, and executive producer. Brendan Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson serve as executive producers. Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje are producers, while Rachel Reid serves as consulting producer. Mike Goldbach serves as co-writer on season two. The series is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus, a Bell Media company, and is available in more than 130 countries around the world.
