HBO has acquired the rights to the upcoming Canadian hockey romance drama series Heated Rivalry, adapted from Rachel Reid’s critically acclaimed Game Changers book series. The series is set to debut in Canada on Crave November 28, and will premiere with two episodes on the same day on HBO Max in the U.S. and Australia. New episodes of the six-episode season will debut weekly leading up to the finale on Friday, December 26.
Sky has secured rights in New Zealand where it premieres on November 30, Movistar Plus+ has the rights for Spain with a debut date to be announced soon.
Originally created for Canadian streaming service Crave by award-winning Canadian writer-director-producer Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Shoresy), Heated Rivalry chronicles the story of rival hockey players Shane and Ilya. Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov 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 between two fresh-faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, the pair chase glory on the ice while struggling to navigate their feelings off it. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there is room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and as powerful as real love.
Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams (All I Need for Christmas, Nobody Dumps My Daughter), Connor Storrie (Riley, Joker: Folie à Deux), François Arnaud (The Borgias, Blindspot), Robbie G.K. (Overcompensating, Utopia Falls), Christina Chang (The Good Doctor, Press Play), Dylan Walsh (Blue Bloods, Nip/Tuck), Sophie Nélisse (Whistle, Yellowjackets), and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova (Robyn Hood, Strays).
Watch the official trailer below.
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