A new it couple is about to enter the rink: “Heated Rivalry” has cast Charlie Gillespie (“Julie and the Phantoms”) and Justice Smith (“Generation”) in the roles of hockey bad boy Troy Barrett and social media manager Harris Drover, respectively.
The characters — whose relationship is explored in “Role Model,” the fifth book in Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series — will debut in Season 2, which is confirmed for a Spring 2027 premiere. Season 2 will once again air on Crave in Canada, and stateside on HBO Max.
“From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen. Justice and Charlie do exactly that,” reads a statement from showrunner Jacob Tierney executive producer Brendan Brady. “They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.”
In addition to adapting “Role Model,” the second season of “Heated Rivalry” will also pull from Reid’s sixth book, “The Long Game,” which shifts the spotlight back to Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).
“Part of the reason you start off with ‘Heated Rivalry,’ as far as adapting goes, is because you want to get to ‘The Long Game’ … because ‘The Long Game’ is an emotionally sophisticated book that takes this couple seriously,” Tierney said at BookCon in April. “What I’ve always said about this show is there are a lot of books — ‘Game Changer’ is in ‘Heated Rivalry,’ and as I think you guys all know by now, obviously parts of ‘Role Model’ are going to be in [Season 2] — but Ilya and Shane are the heartbeat of this series, of my show. It’s always going to be about Ilya and Shane.”
Your thoughts on Gillespie and Smith’s casting as Troy and Harris? Drop ’em in a comment below.