Heated Rivalry producer had to get rid of people to ‘protect’ filming vibe

Heated Rivalry producer Brendan Brady has said the show’s production team is doing everything it can to “protect” the set.

Season two of Heated Rivalry is in production, and expectations are high. The production team is also making a conscious effort to keep season two details under wraps.

Most importantly, however, producer Brady revealed they’re doing everything in their power to replicate the season one atmosphere.

While fans are hungry to see Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams back on their screens as Ilya and Shane, that also creates a desire for behind-the-scenes details.

“There are eyes on us that we can’t help but feel, but we are trying to really protect the experience that everybody had on season one,” Brady explained in a new interview with Canada Media Fund.

“A great example is last night we were filming outside the city, and we did a barbecue.

“And that’s very much how our show felt in season one, where it was just really nice vibes, very summer camp element to it. So, we’re just trying to hold on to that.”

‘As a team, you can trade out players’

Brady also pushed back on describing the Heated Rivalry cast and crew as a “family” and instead sees it like a “sports team.” 

“There’s a lot of talk in our business about how it’s a family. We’re a family. And I really reject that idea,” he explained. 

“I think it’s way better to think of it more like we’re a sports team. And as a team, you can trade out players.

“If somebody’s not the right player, it’s not because they’re a bad person or that you don’t love them. It’s more that you’re not playing with us in the way we need to play.

“There were some folks that weren’t right on the team, and we adjusted them.”

Despite Brady’s note that some have been “traded” from the production, season two will welcome several new cast members.

A similar sense of being conscious of protection was recently articulated by François Arnaud.

The actor, who plays gay player Scott Hunter, shared he is “protecting myself a little more” following Heated Rivalry fame.

Early this year, Brady and his fellow Accent Aigu Entertainment cofounder and executive producer, Jacob Tierney, launched the Irina Foundation. Together, the pair launched the real-life charity inspired by Ilya and Shane.

They aim to turn fans’ love of the gay hockey romance into practical support for LGBTQIA2S+ communities. One month after the organisation launched, the foundation announced they had raised $150,000+ globally.

Season two of Heated Rivalry is projected to have a spring 2027 release.

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