'Heated Rivalry' Author Rachel Reid Defends Season 2 Casting After Fan Backlash
Author Rachel Reid has pushed back against online criticism of the season 2 casting of her TV series "Heated Rivalry," telling fans on Instagram that the actors chosen matter more than matching every physical detail from the page.
The debate kicked off on Friday, 7 August 2026, when Crave and HBO Max confirmed that Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie would join the show's second season. Smith plays Harris Drover, the hockey team's social media manager, and Gillespie plays Troy Barrett, a professional hockey player traded to the Ottawa Centaurs. Variety first reported the castings on 7 August, and HBO Max made the announcement official on its Facebook and Instagram pages the same day (The Hollywood Reporter).
Some fans objected to Smith's casting, arguing that Harris was written as chubbier than the hockey players in Reid's source material and that Smith, described by critics as "skinny," did not match that description. Reid, who serves as a consulting producer on the series, weighed in on Instagram on Friday to address the comments directly (The Hollywood Reporter).
Showrunner Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady released a statement praising both Smith and Gillespie. "We are thrilled," they said, backing the casting choices. Tierney serves as writer, director and executive producer; Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson are executive producers, with Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje as producers. Mike Goldbach joins season 2 as co-writer alongside Tierney (The Hollywood Reporter).
Harris and Troy's budding relationship is the engine of "Role Model," the fifth installment of Reid's "Game Changers" book series. That novel, along with the rest of the series, forms the foundation of the television adaptation.
Season 2 also brings a shift in location. Ilya Rozanov, played by Connor Storrie, decided in the season 1 finale to move to the Ottawa team to be closer to his boyfriend Shane Hollander, played by Hudson Williams. Ottawa is expected to serve as the season's home base (The Hollywood Reporter).
Crave renewed "Heated Rivalry" for a second season early into the first season's run. HBO Max confirmed it will continue to air the series outside Canada. Production on season 2 was scheduled to begin in August 2026, with a release aimed for spring 2027 (The Hollywood Reporter).
For fans of the books, the casting debate touches on a familiar tension: what a character looks like on the page versus who can bring that character to life on screen. Reid's decision to step into the conversation herself signals that the author is paying attention — and is not willing to let the discussion run without her.
