‘Heated Rivalry’ features Justice Smith, Charlie Gillespie

LOS ANGELES: Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have been roped in for the second season of ‘Heated Rivalry’. Smith will play Harris Drover and Gillespie will play Troy Barrett.

While official character descriptions have not yet been provided by Crave and HBO Max, in Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” books, Troy is a hockey player who gets traded to the Ottawa team after severing ties with a former friend and teammate on the Toronto team who is accused of sexual assault. Harris is Ottawa’s social media manager, who becomes determined to get Troy out of his shell, as per Variety.

“Heated Rivalry” has cast Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie for Season 2.

Smith will play Harris Drover and Gillespie will play Troy Barrett. While official character descriptions have not yet been provided by Crave and HBO Max, in Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” books, Troy is… pic.twitter.com/7z12i1chah

— Variety (@Variety) August 7, 2026

Smith and Gillespie will lead Season 2 alongside returning stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who broke out in Season 1 as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander. According to the official logline, the first season followed what began as “a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies,” evolving into “a years-long journey of love, denial and self-discovery.”

“Heated Rivalry” is commissioned by Crave, owned by Bell Media, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. Jacob Tierney created the series and serves as director while executive producing alongside Brendan Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson. Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje serve as producers, with Reid as consulting producer. Mike Goldbach is a co-writer on Season 2. Bell’s Sphere Abacus distributes the series internationally.

The show will be available in India on Lionsgate Play. (ANI)