Just when we thought the Heated Rivalry casting department might finally need a nap, the show has done it again. Milla Jovovich, Kevin Zegers and Paul Gross are joining Season 2 of the queer hockey phenomenon — and if you’ve read Rachel Reid’s novels, you already know exactly which scenes just got a whole lot more interesting.
Who’s Playing Whom
Milla Jovovich joins as Dr. Galina Molchalin, the therapist Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) sees over the course of The Long Game — the sixth Game Changers novel and the season’s primary source material. That’s right: the star of Resident Evil and The Fifth Element is trading zombie apocalypses for the scariest genre of all — an emotionally repressed athlete learning to talk about his feelings. We are not worthy.
Kevin Zegers by Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Kevin Zegers will play Coach Weibe, head coach of Ottawa’s professional team — the club Ilya calls home in Season 2. The Canadian actor has come a long way from Air Bud, through Gossip Girl and Transamerica, to behind a professional hockey bench. Somewhere, a golden retriever is very proud.
Paul Gross rounds out the trio as Roger Crowell, commissioner of the professional hockey league. The Due South and Slings & Arrows icon playing the most powerful man in hockey is the kind of Canadian casting that feels legally required. And when your two leads are hiding a relationship inside a pro sports league, the commissioner is not a background character — he’s a ticking clock.
Why Book Fans Are Losing It
Season 2 adapts The Long Game, which finds Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya no longer circling each other but actually together — building a life while performing “just rivals” in public. Dr. Molchalin’s casting means we’re getting Ilya in actual therapy, a storyline the fandom has been hand-wringing (correctly) about for months. And per The Hollywood Reporter, creator Jacob Tierney is also weaving in Role Model (Troy Barrett and Harris Drover’s slow-burn — that’s Charlie Gillespie and Justice Smith) and seemingly Tough Guy, which brings Ryan Price and Fabian Salah (Daniel Diemer and Shaheen Jafargholi) into the fold.
The Bench Keeps Getting Deeper
Today’s announcement builds on an already loaded offseason: Justice Smith, Charlie Gillespie, Daniel Diemer, Shaheen Jafargholi, Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees and Priyanka have all joined, while Sophie Nélisse, François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh and more return from Season 1. Mike Goldbach joins Tierney as co-writer, and Rachel Reid remains a consulting producer — so the books are in safe, canon-compliant hands.
Season 2 is currently in production, aiming for a spring 2027 premiere on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the U.S.
The Bottom Line
A decade ago, a show like Heated Rivalry couldn’t get made at all. Today it’s booking the star of a billion-dollar action franchise to play a therapist, and one of Canada’s most beloved actors to run its fictional league. The show that turned two waiters into stars keeps swinging for the top shelf — and Season 2 is still a full hockey season away.
Header photo: Milla Jovovich by Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
