Heated Rivalry Season 2 Confirms Returning Cast Members, Including Sophie Nélisse and François Arnaud

And the Heated Rivalry Season 2 casting announcements keep rolling. After the last few weeks introduced us to a whole new batch of characters joining Crave’s beloved LGBTQ+ hockey drama, this time we’re getting something a little different: confirmation that some very familiar faces will be back for the second season.

Unlike the previous announcements, where we got to meet the actors stepping into some of the new roles coming to the Heated Rivalry universe, this latest update is all about the returning cast. We already had a pretty good idea that many of these characters would continue to be part of Shane and Ilya’s orbit, especially for those of us who have made it through Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, but there’s something very satisfying about hearing it straight from Crave.

Among the returning cast are Sophie Nélisse as Rose, Shane’s (Hudson Williams) ex-girlfriend who has since become one of his closest friends, and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana, Ilya’s (Connor Storrie) childhood friend and occasional hookup. François Arnaud is also back as Scott Hunter, captain of the New York Admirals, alongside Robbie G.K. as his boyfriend, Kip.

The familiar faces don’t stop there. Christina Chang and Dylan Walsh will return as Yuna and David Hollander, aka Shane’s parents, while Callan Potter and Benjamin Roy are back as Shane’s Montreal Metros teammates and friends Hayden Pike and JJ. Kamilla Kowal will once again play Jackie Pike, Hayden’s wife.

If you’ve read the Game Changers books, you know that these characters remain closely connected to Shane and Ilya’s story, some more than others, but all of them continue to exist within the same interconnected hockey world. Their return also gives us a little more reassurance that Season 2 won’t forget the relationships and friendships that made the TV world feel so special. 

And considering just how much bigger the cast has become over the past few weeks, we’re especially happy to see some familiar faces coming along for the ride.

This latest announcement adds to what is already shaping up to be a very busy Heated Rivalry Season 2. So far, we’ve met Justice Smith as Harris Drover and Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett; Emily Hampshire as Vanessa; Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas; Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes; Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali; Priyanka as Tarek; and, most recently, Daniel Diemer as Ryan Price and Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah.

In other words, Crave is building out a pretty substantial portion of the Game Changers universe around Shane and Ilya, while still keeping the people we’ve already come to love firmly in the picture.

That balance is particularly exciting for longtime fans. Season 1 introduced us to Shane and Ilya’s secret relationship while also bringing in characters like Scott and Kip, Rose, Svetlana, and Shane’s family and teammates. Now, with Season 2 adapting more of Rachel Reid’s interconnected stories and introducing characters from books like Role Model, Tough Guy, and The Long Game, having these familiar faces return should help everything feel connected.

We still have plenty of questions about how all these characters will fit into the new season, of course. But one thing is becoming increasingly clear with every casting announcement: Heated Rivalry Season 2 is going to be packed.

Heated Rivalry Season 2 is currently in production and is expected to premiere in Spring 2027. And with Crave continuing to announce cast members one group at a time, we’re officially wondering who we’ll hear about next. We still don’t have the full Ottawa Centaurs roster, so there are plenty of players we’re waiting to meet. Whatever comes next, we’ll be watching closely.

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Heated Rivalry Season 2 is set to premiere in Spring 2027. Season 1 of Heated Rivalry is available to stream on Crave (Canada), HBO Max (U.S. & Other Regions), Sky (New Zealand, UK), and Movistar Plus+ (Spain). Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Crave and HBO Max.