The world of hockey romance is abuzz with excitement once again as Crave’s Heated Rivalry welcomes five new additions to its cast.
Emily Hampshire, a renowned Canadian actress, will take on the role of Vanessa, a sex shop employee, while Sabrina Jalees, a Canadian comedian and actress, will portray sports agent Farah Jalali. Additionally, drag queen Priyanka will play Tarek, an office assistant.
Emily Hampshire is best recognized for her performances in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek and the TV series 12 Monkeys. Sabrina Jalees, on the other hand, has previously hosted the radio and web show Laugh Out Loud and contributed as a writer for Canada’s Got Talent.
Priyanka achieved fame by winning the inaugural season of the reality TV show Canada’s Drag Race.
Joining the lineup are Robert Naylor, a talented Canadian actor and musician, who will portray goaltender Wyatt Hayes, and Edvin Ryding, a Swedish actor, who will take on the role of rookie hockey player Luca Haas.
Robert Naylor is known for lending his voice to the character D.W. Read in the animated series Arthur, while Edvin Ryding starred as Prince Wilhelm in Netflix’s Young Royals.
The new casting details were unveiled on Thursday via an announcement on Instagram.
Crave has confirmed that the upcoming second season of Heated Rivalry will continue to follow the romantic journey of hockey rivals-turned-lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, based on the sixth novel of Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series, The Long Game. The Game Changer series comprises interconnected hockey romance novels with overlapping character narratives.
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are set to reprise their lead roles in the TV adaptation.
The first season of the series adapted the initial two books of Reid’s series, namely Game Changer and Heated Rivalry.
With the latest casting announcement, it is highly probable that the third novel in the series, Tough Guy, will also be brought to the screen. Vanessa and Tarek are associates of Fabian Salah, the love interest of hockey player Ryan Price in Tough Guy.
