Has Heated Rivalry already introduced the star of season two?
Robbie GK as Kip Grady and Matthew Finlan as Kyle in Heated Rivalry. (HBO/Crave)
Robbie GK as Kip Grady and Matthew Finlan as Kyle in Heated Rivalry. (HBO/Crave)
Between Heated Rivalry finding a UK home as well as news that season two in the works, we’re very excited.
Based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, the TV series has mainly focused on the story of Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), two rival ice hockey players who enter into a secret fling.
The series takes its name from the second book of Reid’s series with the first being Game Changer.
That book focuses on the love story between Scott Hunter, captain of the New York Admirals, and Kip Grady, a smoothie-maker.
A lot of the book was adapted into Heated Rivalry‘s third episode, “Hunter.” Though sadly, the episode finished with Scott (François Arnaud) and Kip (Robbie GK) apart. Readers of the book, however, will know their story has a different ending…
And as well as introducing us to Scott and Kip, both the book and the episode introduced the audience to Kyle.
Played by Matthew Finlan in the series, Kyle is a bartender at The Kingfisher, Kip’s favourite gay bar. The two flirt on a couple of occasions but ultimately Kip has his sights firmly set on Scott.
However, Kyle is a main character in the fourth book of Reid’s, Common Goal where he meets Scott’s teammate, Eric Bennett, a character who has not been depicted in the TV series yet.
The book sees Bennett look to life after hockey which includes embracing his sexuality. Meanwhile, Kyle is a grad student with a broken heart. The two have fun at first before feelings develop and they have to make some decisions.
The plot of Common Goal is just one example of the direction Heated Rivalry season two could go in.
With two episodes left to go of season one and big things being teased for Scott and Kip, we won’t have a firmer idea until the credits are rolling.
Whatever the series has planned for Scott and Kip is more than likely to have an impact on Ilya and Shane, and maybe even Kyle and Eric.
Ilya and Shane’s story is told over two books in the series, Heated Rivalry and The Long Game, spanning a decade altogether.
Whether that’s all wrapped up by the end of season one remains unclear; season one has already covered eight years by our count.
So, if season one finishes off (pun not intended) Ilya and Shane’s story, as well as Scott and Kip’s, that could leave season two for Kyle and Eric as well as books three and five, which each focus on a different queer hockey player.
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