Heated Rivalry is shooting a third season at the same time as its second, and a Christmas film built around two of the show's other characters is being lined up for cinemas in December 2027, Deadline reported on Nov. 7.
The entertainment trade outlet, which attributed the news to people familiar with the plans rather than to the producers, said both six-episode seasons are in production and should finish in late November or early December. The film would then start shooting in December, it reported.
Heated Rivalry is a Crave original that streams in the United States and other markets on HBO Max. Asked about the reports, a representative for the Canadian streamer told Deadline there were no projects to confirm. The show's creator, Jacob Tierney, has not announced a third season either.
According to Deadline's account of the film, the holiday special would centre on Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.), the second couple from the first season, with other members of the ensemble appearing. Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, are not expected to take part.
TVLine reported the same plan, citing Deadline's story, and described the film as a Christmas special planned for a theatrical release in December 2027. Collider, which also picked up the Deadline report, noted that the two seasons are being filmed consecutively.
Season two is scheduled to arrive in spring 2027, with an April launch considered likely, Deadline reported. The new episodes are expected to adapt The Long Game, the sixth of Rachel Reid's Game Changers novels, and to introduce another couple from the books: Harris Drover, played by Justice Smith, and Troy Barrett, played by Charlie Gillespie. Among the other additions to the cast are Emily Hampshire, David Tomlinson, Brendan Morgan and Lauren Chan.
Talk of a longer shoot circulated in August after Dylan Walsh, a recurring guest star, said in a Cameo video that he thought the cast was making 12 episodes. Tierney later told Andy Cohen on SiriusXM that season two would run to six episodes, as the first season did. Reid has also written a short story, "Merry Christmas, Scott and Kip!", about the pair's first Christmas together.
Heated Rivalry has already tested cinemas. Paired episodes from its six-episode first season are screening this weekend at Regal, AMC and Cinemark sites, and Deadline reported that 880 theatres had taken $420,000 on Friday, putting the weekend on course for about $1.3 million.