Posted in: HBO, Max, TV | Tagged: Heated Rivalry

Heated Rivalry Author Reid Clarifies GMA Comments on Shane/Season 2

Bestselling author Rachel Reid clarified their comments regarding Heated Rivalry Season 2 and why Shane coming out to his team.

As work on the second season of HBO Max, Crave, and series creator Jacob Tierney's Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams-starring Heated Rivalry rolls on, bestselling author Rachel Reid is looking to clarify some comments that they made while checking in with ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday. During the interview, Reid discussed how the book series came to be and the global success of Crave and HBO Max's live-action adaptation of the second novel. When the conversation turned to the upcoming second season, Reid noted that they were excited to see how fans react to moments on-screen that weren't in the books.

"Shane coming out to his team was actually not something that was on the page in the books because it just wasn't something that I felt was necessary to the story when I wrote it," Reid shared. "Obviously, if I knew it was going to become something so big in the series, I might have included it! But I'm really excited for that scene to be in the show because I think it is really important. So that's something viewers can look forward to. And there's lots of stuff that will be a little different from the books that I think people will like."

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Reid posted a video message apologizing for her choice of words during a brief interview and clarifying what she meant about Shane coming out to his team not being "necessary to the story." Reid began by clarifying that they weren't in a position to discuss what might or might not be in Season 2, and that they were addressing the second season only based on what Tierney had previously discussed. Then, Reid owns up to not knowing why they said that a scene where Shane comes out to his team wasn't necessary, when it was.

From there, Reid offers the two reasons why the scene was included in the book. While it's best to hear the reasons directly from the bestselling author, Reid felt that including a scene like that in the second novel might be redundant, since it had already played out in the first, Game Changer. But since the scene from Game Changer never made it to the show, Reid felt that having that moment for Shane during the second season (hypothetically) would make perfect sense. In addition, Reid shared that the scene wasn't included because it would have made it harder to wrap up the story, adding that there was no way to know at the time that there would be more books, let alone more Shane and Ilya.

Last month, Williams highlighted the differences between the two seasons during a conversation about his life and career at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Noting that it felt "surreal' to be back in the show's universe, Williams explained that Season 2 will show how Shane's (Williams) and Ilya's (Storrie) relationship evolves. "It's a sad book. If Season 1/Book 1 is the yearning season, Book 2 is external adversity and interrelational communication problems that feel very real and human," teased Williams. "Just to be able to play those as Shane is going to be frustrating and annoying to leave set with things that are left unsaid, but hopefully it will make for good TV."

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tierney offered additional insights into the second season, including what it's been like working with co-writer Mike Goldbach and his goal for it. Here are some of the highlights:

Tierney on Why Series Doesn't Really Have Spoilers: "What's so funny about the level of secrecy is like there's a book – you can just look at it. It'll tell you honestly, 90 percent of what you'd like to know is in that book." Just as the first season focused on Reid's second novel, along with elements from the first book, the second season will focus on one book (the sixth, The Long Game) while also including storylines from another (the fifth, Role Model).

"Heated Rivalry" Is About "Feelings and Sensations," Not "Secrets": Tierney: "This is not the usual suspects. Like, we're not trying to hide a villain from you… there are books, read them, and then make two guesses, three guesses, and I bet two of them will be right. This show is not built on secrets. It's built on feelings and sensation. It's a very visceral show. It's very sensual in that way, and it's all in the execution of it."

Tierney on Co-Writer Mike Goldbach: "Mike is such a good writer, and he's been so amazingly helpful to me," Tierney said, "We're very happy with where we're at with the scripts. We're really happy with this cast."

Tierney on His Goal for "Heated Rivalry" Season 2: "I've never experienced fandom like this before, and I have to just trust myself the way I trusted myself last time. I'm gonna try to make the best show I can make — that's really all I can do. I can never make everybody happy at the same time. I hope I can make a majority of you happy, and I hope you also just cut me the slack to wait and see."

As for who else is returning for the second season of Heated Rivalry, we're looking at François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. as Scott and Kip; Sophie Nélisse as Rose, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana; Christina Chang and Dylan Walsh as Shane's parents, Yuna and David, respectively. In addition, Callan Potter and Benjamin Roy return as Hayden and JJ, respectively, and Kamilla Kowal is back as Jackie.

Previously, we learned that Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek, VisionQuest), Edvin Ryding (The Young Royals, 28 Years Later), Robert Naylor (Mile End Kicks, Cardinal), Sabrina Jalees (I Used to Be Funny, Black Mirror), and Priyanka (Drag Brunch Saved My Life, Meet Me Next Christmas) had joined the Season 2 cast. Hampshire will play Vanessa, with Ryding tapped to play Luca Haas. Naylor is set as Wyatt Hayes, with Jalees as Farah Jalali and Priyanka as Tarek.

The seven join previously cast Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow) and Charlie Gillespie (One Night Only), who were tapped for the roles of Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively. In the book series, Troy is a hockey player who gets traded to Ottawa after some big issues with the Toronto team (no spoilers), while Ottawa social media manager Harris looks to help Troy start over.

In addition, Daniel Diemer (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) and Shaheen Jafargholi (The Agency) have been tapped for the roles of Ryan Price and Fabian Salah, respectively. In the literary universe, Ryan is a Canadian player in the National Hockey League who struggles with anxiety and body image issues as he moves from team to team, while Fabian is a Lebanese Canadian indie musician who is openly gay. Kevin Zegers (The Madison) had been tapped to play Coach Wiebe. In addition, Paul Gross (Good Night, and Good Luck) is on board as Commissioner Roger Crowell, with Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil, The Fifth Element) tapped for the role of Dr. Galina Molchalina.

And let's not forget Brendan Morgan (The Handmaid's Tale) as Zane Boodram, David Tomlinson (Fellow Travelers) as Cody Kent (Dallas Kent in the books), Gerry Dee (Animal Control) as Coach Cooper, Michelle Mylett (Letterkenny) as Lisa, Lauren Chan (The Devil Wears Prada 2) as Gen, and Nick Stahl (Let the Right One In) as Curtis Barrett.

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