Heated Rivalry Producers Launch Real-Life Irina Foundation
The charity at the heart of Heated Rivalry has stepped off the page and into real life.
Executive producers Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady have launched a real-world version of the Irina Foundation through their production company, Accent Aigu Entertainment. Deadline reported the launch on 1 October, with The Hollywood Reporter also confirming the move.
In Rachel Reid's books, the fictional Irina Foundation was started by Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov and named for Rozanov's mother. Hollander and Rozanov are the rival professional hockey players whose relationship drives the story. The show keeps that origin. The new organisation keeps the name.
The real-life Irina Foundation is described as a private, independent fund. That means it operates separately from the production and the broadcaster. Its stated purpose is to champion inclusivity and mental well-being through participation in sport and the arts, with a focus on LGBTQIA2S+ and underserved communities. In plain terms, it aims to help more people take part, and to support wellbeing while they do.
It already has corporate backing. Kate Spade New York made the inaugural donation, meaning the first gift to get the fund started. The personal care brand Harry's gave early support. No grant amounts or first recipients have been disclosed.
For viewers coming to the story fresh, Heated Rivalry is a Crave Original, meaning it was commissioned by the Canadian pay-TV and streaming service Crave. It is an adaptation by Tierney of Reid's Game Changer book series. Tierney and Brady oversee the series as executive producers, the senior creative and business leads on a production.
The foundation arrives as work continues on screen. Production has begun in Canada on Season 2 of Heated Rivalry. Season 2 is set to premiere in spring 2027.
The project has an independent backstory. Accent Aigu developed Heated Rivalry after a $200,000 early offer for the property, according to a September feature in The Hollywood Reporter. The company stayed with the series through production.
For fans, this means the Irina name will now live in two places. One supports good works inside the fiction. The other is being built to fund real participation projects outside it.
