Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) will face new challenges in “Heated Rivalry” season 2. That means new characters and more casting news.
The actors playing Coach Wiebe, Commissioner Roger Crowell, and Dr. Galina Molchalina have been revealed.
Who Is in ‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2?
Ilya follows through on his plan from season 1 and joins Ottawa’s team to be closer to Shane. His new coach is Wiebe, played by Kevin Zegers, according to Variety. Zegers, 41, worked as a child in the “Air Bud” franchise. The Canadian actor later was in “Gossip Girl,” “Transamerica,” and “The Madison.”
Season 2 of “The Long Game” adaptation will include the hockey league’s commissioner. Paul Gross from “Due South” will play Roger Crowell, who prioritizes the league’s image and profits.
Milla Jovovich of the “Resident Evil” franchise joins the cast to play psychologist Dr. Gaina Molchalina. The Russian therapist is important to moving Shane and Ilya’s relationship forward.
“The Long Game” comes after other books in Rachel Reid’s series. The casting of the main characters from those books was recently revealed.
Daniel Diemer was cast as Ryan Price from “The Tough Guy.” Shaheen Jafargholi plays musician Fabian Salah, who is the enforcer’s love interest. More actors were cast as Fabian’s friends.
Robert Naylor will be Wyatt Hayes, who is in multiple books. He was on Ryan’s team and later plays in Ottawa.
Season 2 Will Heavily Involve Troy and Harris From ‘Role Model’
GettyShowrunner Jacob Tierney assured fans that Shane and Ilya will be front and center next season. But he is interested in another couple from the series.
“In ‘Long Game’ you are like, OK, we’re here to ground this in something that feels very real,” Tierney said at BookCon. “And the same thing with Troy and Harris, right. I think there’s an easy, fascicle way of looking at ‘Role Model’ as it’s very grumpy/sunshine, it’s very apple orchard. It can drift into things that you want. But Troy is a really damaged guy. And Troy is quite damaged on the show. I would say we are digging into that even harder.”
Troy Barrett joins Ottawa’s team, and his love story intersects with our main couple. Justice Smith was cast as social media manager Harris Drover, and Charlie Gillespie will play the struggling Troy.
Season 1 also adapted multiple books. Episode 3, “Hunter,” was based on the first book of the series, “Game Changers.” Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.) were the main characters in that episode and were in the background of the rest. It’s been confirmed that they will return for the second season.
Production of season 2 has started, and the show’s Instagram account asked fans to give the cast and crew space if they come across one of the filming locations. The cottage that was heavily featured in season 1 will be one of those locations after it became a sought-after Airbnb. Season 2 is expected to be released in the spring of 2027.
