The highly anticipated adaptation of Rachel Reid’s book Heated Rivalry will skate its way onto screens this fall…
If you’re not a hockey fan, that may change. Crave announced its gay romance drama series Heated Rivalry is skating over to the platform in November. The Crave Original is a six episode steamy romance set in the hockey world. It is based on Rachel Reid’s book by the same name.
Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there’s room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile – and powerful – as real love.
The series was first announced during Bell Media’s 2025/2026 upfront presentation, an event highlighting new shows to advertisers. Now, after months of behind-the-scenes images from the cast, we have official stills for the series.
The images provide a glimpse of both Shane and Ilya’s professional and private lives. In one image, Shane and Ilya are speaking at a Major League Hockey press conference. The second photo sees Shane grasping onto Ilya’s suit jacket as their foreheads touch.
“Their connection feels so real, as Rachel allowed for this complicated dynamic that grows over seven years,” director Jacob Tierney told Deadline.
Production on the series wrapped in June. The show also stars François Arnaud (The Borgias, Midnight, Texas), Robbie GK (Overcompensating, The Next Step) and Sophie Nélisse (Yellowjackets, Aller simple).
Who are the leads of Heated Rivalry?
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams are newcomers. Storrie appeared in Joker: Folie à Deux and in an episode of the Kathryn Hahn series Tiny Beautiful Things. Williams has guest starred on the CBC drama Allegiance and the CBS series Tracker.
As press for ramps up for the show, we’ll likely learn more about the two leading men. What we do know is the pair have developed quite a bromance.
Storrie has posted pictures of the pair in Vancouver this month. The two are seen hanging out on a balcony and hiking.
Williams posted photos of the two during production and in Vancouver. One video shows the two seemingly wrestling and/or dancing with each other on the ground.
Williams also posted a picture of their new matching tattoos. The tattoos read “Sex Sells” and were done by Port Moody tattoo artist Katelyn Larson. Hopefully we get the back story during the press tour.
What is the Heated Rivalry book?
In March 2025, author Rachel Reid posted an anniversary message for the book Heat Rivalry on Instagram. “Six years of Ilya and Shane! Heated Rivalry was published on March 25, 2019 and I am not exaggerating when I say these two idiots changed my life,” the post read. “They are my favourite sons and the love they’ve received brings me endless joy.
Heat Rivalry is book two in the Game Changer series by Reid. The six book series are all male/male hockey romances. The first book, Game Changer, was published in 2018. Each book follows the life of a different couple with the exception of The Long Game which revisits Shane and Ilya’s love story. The other books include Tough Guy, Common Goal and Role Model.
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