'Heated Rivalry' season 2 casts Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie as fan-favourite couple

Gillespie will play Troy Barrett and Smith will portray Harris Drover, Ottawa Centaurs' social media manager

Heated Rivalry has officially expanded its cast for season 2, with Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie joining the hit hockey romance series as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, one of Rachel Reid's most beloved couples from the Game Changers novels.

Smith, known for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and I Saw the TV Glow, will play Harris, the Ottawa Centaurs' witty social media manager. Gillespie, best known for Julie and the Phantoms, takes on the role of Troy, a talented but troubled hockey player who is traded from the Toronto Guardians to the Centaurs. Their romance is adapted from Reid's novel Role Model and will unfold alongside Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov's continuing story.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Season 2 primarily adapts The Long Game, picking up roughly a decade after the events of Heated Rivalry as Shane and Ilya navigate the challenges of building a life together while remaining under intense public scrutiny. Showrunner Jacob Tierney has previously said the new season will tackle more mature emotional themes while expanding the wider world of the Game Changers series through supporting characters like Troy and Harris.

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie return as Shane and Ilya, with François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. also expected to reprise their roles as Scott Hunter and Kip Grady. Filming is currently underway in Toronto after the production team recently urged fans to respect the cast and crew's privacy while work continues on the new episodes.

Heated Rivalry season 2 is expected to premiere in spring 2027 on Crave in Canada and HBO Max internationally. The addition of Smith and Gillespie marks the series' biggest casting announcement since production began and signals a broader adaptation of Reid's interconnected hockey romance universe.