We’re reportedly getting more of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander in Heated Rivalry, making the blue wave continue in beautiful ways this week. Rachel Reid‘s third installment of Hollanov’s story in the Game Changes series, Unrivaled, is coming on June 1, 2027, so we all safely assumed the third season would be coming thanks to the show’s glowing and deserved popularity. According to sources at Deadline, Season 3 will also be filmed back-to-back, potentially giving us a guaranteed release schedule that’s quicker than the one from its debut to Season 2 in April 2027. (It’ll be worth the wait either way!)
Theaters are also currently playing the episodes in blocks, and on its opening weekend, it’s already been a success in a way TV episodes generally aren’t. While those of us who are fans of the books and the romance genre aren’t surprised by any of this, I continue to hope that executives will take the right message.
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We want more inclusive romance adaptations. We want character studies and profound conversations on our screens. We want the accessibility to watch these shows whenever and wherever. (This is also my plea to get Slo Pitch available here in the US.) Romance-centric shows, queer ones especially, deserve the spotlight, and it continues to be so rewarding to have this much reassurance when it comes to Heated Rivalry.
But the three seasons aren’t all we’re getting. According to the same sources, there will also be a movie that’ll maybe follow François Arnaud’s Scott Hunter and Robby G.K.’s Kip Grady in a Christmas special. It’ll be playing in theaters, where you can undoubtedly find us all seated with tissues prepared because the theatrical release alone is substantial. No matter where the story goes, the green light means giving us the kind of hope that we rarely have with TV shows.
Too many of us are used to cancellations of our favorite shows, but it remains profoundly hopeful to see the world of Heated Rivalry continue to expand like this. Every bit of Season 2 news (casting included) makes the anticipation for April of next year even more thrilling.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Crave | HBO Max