Meet Sabrina Jalees, who plays an essential role in Heated Rivlary season two
Sabrina Jalees to star in Heated Rivalry season two. (Kelly Balch/Getty)
Canadian comedian, actress, and writer Sabrina Jalees is taking on the role of hockey agent Farah Jalali in Heated Rivalry season two.
Fans were eagerly anticipating the casting of Farah, who plays a pivotal, supportive role in the romance between ice hockey stars Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).
With season two now officially in production, here’s everything you need to know about Sabrina Jalees and her Heated Rivalry character…
Who is Sabrina Jalees in Heated Rivalry season two?
The 41-year-old will be playing Canadian sports agent Farah Jalali, who represents Shane and Ilya.
In Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, she appears in The Long Game, the basis of season two, and supports the ice hockey stars’ romance.
Season two is set to draw mostly from The Long Game, which continues Ilya and Shane’s journey as a couple with all the highs and lows.
However, based on casting, it seems elements from Reid’s books Role Model and Tough Guy will be interwoven.
Role Model centres on the relationship between the Centaurs’ social media manager, Harris Drover (Justice Smith), and complicated hockey player Troy Barrett (Charlie Gillespie).
Other key hockey players have also been cast: Daniel Diemer as Ryan Price, Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas and Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes.
Jalees joins the wider supporting cast, building out the Heated Rivalry world with characters that are not on the ice. She joins Milla Jovovich as Ilya’s therapist Dr Galina Molchalina, Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah, Emily Hampshire as Vanessa and also Priyanka as Tarek.
Is Sabrina Jalees queer?
Jalees is a lesbian. Throughout her career, Jalees has been open about her sexuality.
She has shared that she was initially shunned by her extended Muslim family after coming out. She laid out that experience in her 2013 Canadian comedy tour, Brownlisted.
Jalees is married to fashion designer Shauna McCann. The pair tied the knot in 2012.
Together they have a son named Wolfie. The actor often posts about her child on her Instagram, documenting the reality of queer parenting.
Speaking to HuffPost in 2019 about being a queer parent, she shared: “The great benefit about being gay is that you go into that journey knowing that it’s not going to be this specific story.
“People do look at you when you’re a gay couple with a baby like you’re two pigeons with a hat. How did those two pigeons get that cool hat? And how did they decide which one would wear it?”
What else has Sabrina Jalees been in?
In 2020, Jalees appeared on Canada’s Drag Race. She served as a co-judge of a mini-challenge in the episode ‘The Snow Ball’.
Jalees starred in the 2019 TV comedy series Carol’s Second Act as Dr. Lexie Gilani alongside Patricia Heaton. She also wrote for the show.
She has also starred in Black Mirror, Mile End Kicks and I Used to Be Funny.
Jalees also wrote for Search Party and served as a consulting producer and writer on Netflix’s Big Mouth.
Heated Rivalry is streaming now on HBO, Crave and NOW. Season two is confirmed to premiere in spring 2027.
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