The world of hockey romance is abuzz with excitement as Crave’s Heated Rivalry welcomes five new additions to its cast.
Emily Hampshire, a prominent Canadian actress known for her roles in Schitt’s Creek and 12 Monkeys, will take on the role of Vanessa, a sex shop worker. Joining her is Sabrina Jalees, a Canadian comedian and actress, who will portray sports agent Farah Jalali, and Priyanka, the winner of the first season of Canada’s Drag Race, who will play Tarek, an office assistant.
The cast also includes Robert Naylor, a Canadian actor and musician recognized for voicing D.W. Read in Arthur, as goaltender Wyatt Hayes, and Edvin Ryding, a Swedish actor known for his role as Prince Wilhelm in Netflix’s Young Royals, as rookie hockey player Luca Haas.
The announcement of the new cast members was shared on Instagram by Crave on Thursday.
The upcoming season two of Heated Rivalry will pick up the story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, former hockey rivals turned lovers, from Rachel Reid’s sixth novel, The Long Game, part of the Game Changer series. Game Changers is a collection of hockey romance novels set in a shared universe with interconnected character storylines.
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will reprise their lead roles in the TV series adaptation.
The first season of the show covered the events of Reid’s initial two books, Game Changer and Heated Rivalry.
With the new casting reveal, it is anticipated that the third novel in the series, Tough Guy, will also be adapted. Vanessa and Tarek are associates of Fabian Salah, the love interest of hockey player Ryan Price in Tough Guy.
The upcoming season will also integrate the narratives of Troy Barrett, a hockey player traded to Ilya’s new team, and Harris Dover, a social media manager, from the fifth installment of the series, Role Model.
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