Heated Rivalry Author Rachel Reid Claps Back at Season 2 Casting Critics

The author of the books behind Heated Rivalry has a message for fans second-guessing the show's new cast: we have been here before.

Rachel Reid, who wrote the Game Changer novel series the television adaptation is based on, took to her Instagram Story to address negative online reactions to the Season 2 casting of Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie. "Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for Ilya and Shane was wrong and bad…" she wrote, alongside a side-eye selfie, according to Deadline.

The pointed reference is to Season 1. That run adapted the second book in the series and became an overnight hit, driven largely by Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams' performances as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander. Reid herself had earlier posted an Instagram reel in February 2026 saying it was hard to imagine anyone would be perfect as Ilya and Shane — a remark that now reads as a precedent for the criticism she is pushing back against.

Smith and Gillespie have been cast in the secondary lead roles of Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively. Harris and Troy are the central couple from Role Model, the fifth book in Reid's Game Changer series — a set of linked romance novels set in the world of professional ice hockey. The casting was reported by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter on 7 August 2026, with Deadline confirming the Season 2 premiere the same day.

Series creator Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady said they knew from the start of the casting process they were looking for actors who could create something special together. They praised Justice and Charlie for connecting with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of Harris and Troy, per Deadline.

Production on Season 2 began in Canada in August 2026. The season is a Crave Original — Crave being the Canadian streaming service operated by Bell Media — and is set to premiere in spring 2027.

For fans, Reid's Instagram post carries a clear subtext: the same scepticism greeted Season 1's leads, and that season became the show's breakout hit. Whether Season 2 follows the same arc is a question the spring 2027 premiere will answer.