Two new faces are joining the world of Heated Rivalry — but the casting announcement for Season 2 is sparking some criticism among fans who were hoping to see more book-accurate body diversity.
Crave confirmed on Friday that the cast of the wildly popular hockey romance will be expanding in its second season to include Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie.
Gillespie, who hails from New Brunswick and recently appeared in the movie One Night Only, has been tapped to play Troy Barrett, a forward on the Ottawa Centaurs. He also previously starred in the Netflix show Julie and the Phantoms, which was cancelled after only one season.
Smith, known for his roles in I Saw the TV Glow, Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, will be playing Harris Drover, who is the Centaurs’ social media manager.
Troy and Harris are the central characters of Role Model, the fifth book in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, which the show Heated Rivalry is based on. Crave has stated the second season of the show will continue following the first season’s main characters Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, while incorporating Troy and Harris’s story.
“From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen,” director Jacob Tierney and producer Brendan Brady wrote in the casting announcement.
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“Justice and Charlie do exactly that. They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.”
While some fans are excited by the announcement, other fans are expressing disappointment with Smith’s casting as Harris, calling it a missed opportunity to have more inclusivity in the types of bodies presented as desirable on screen.
“Harris in the book is described by himself as being a little pudgy, unathletic, and is described by Troy as having a broad chest, solid body, soft belly, being stocky and rugged, and I am just so sad that we’re losing that piece of Harris,” BookTok content creator Taylor Layne, who posts under Taylor Just Reads, shared in a TikTok on Sunday.
“As a big gay Libra myself, I related so much to Harris, and I was so excited to see more body diversity, especially in a show about jacked athletes. […] I believe that the show will be amazing and that the actors will be fantastic, but at the same time, I’m heartbroken.”
The comments on Crave’s Instagram and TikTok posts revealing the casting are filled with fans expressing mixed feelings.
“Justice Smith has been 10/10 in everything I have ever seen him in! I’m very excited to see him in HR,” @geeky_spice wrote in an Instagram comment.
“I love Justice as an actor, but as a bigger guy, I really wanted a character in a romantic role who had a body type like mine,” user @Jax wrote in a TikTok comment on the show’s casting announcement, adding, “While I’m disappointed in the lack of representation I’m sure Justice was the right choice.”
CBC News reached out to the producers of Heated Rivalry for comment, and were referred to the casting announcement.
Other fans pointed out that the casting of Ilya and Shane also sparked controversy when it was first announced — and now actors Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams have skyrocketed to fame in the wake of the show’s massive international success.
Reid appeared to echo this on Instagram over the weekend.
She shared a selfie of her side-eying heavily on her Instagram story, along with the caption, “Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for Ilya and Shane was wrong and bad…”
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Smith expressed his excitement to tackle the role in a story post on his Instagram on Sunday, writing that he is “moved by the support and love i’m getting from fans in my dms, fans who have welcomed me with open arms and who already feel a responsibility to protect me.”
“i am honored to play a character you all care about deeply and i promise i will take good care of him if you give me the chance,” the post continued.
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The second season is slated to come out in Spring 2027, and filming has already begun, much to the excitement of fans feverishly following every development. After Storrie and Williams were spotted in Toronto, fans flocked to Canadian Tire to purchase a reusable bag Williams was carrying.
As the shooting continues, Tierney posted a request last week for fans to give cast and crew space at filming locations.
