# Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie join Heated Rivalry’s second season

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/heated-rivalry-season-2-casts-justice-smith-and-charlie-gillespie/
- Published: 2026-08-08T05:32:18+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-08T11:47:31+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/heated-rivalry-season-2-justice-smith-charlie-gillespie-1236830101/
- Topics: Americas, Entertainment, TV, World

## Key points

- Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie join “Heated Rivalry” season two.
- They play Harris Drover and hockey player Troy Barrett.
- Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams return.

## Summary

Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have joined the second season of “Heated Rivalry”, the Canadian romantic drama commissioned by Crave and streamed on HBO Max in the US. Their casting introduces a new storyline from Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” novels while returning stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams continue as the central couple from the first season.

Smith will play Harris Drover, Ottawa’s social media manager, and Gillespie will portray Troy Barrett, a hockey player traded from Toronto after ending ties with a former teammate accused of sexual assault. The series is created and directed by Jacob Tierney, who executive produces with Brendan Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson; Reid is a consulting producer and Mike Goldbach co-writes the second season.

## Coverage

- [Variety: Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie join Heated Rivalry’s second season](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/heated-rivalry-season-2-justice-smith-charlie-gillespie-1236830101/)
- [The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2 Finds Its Troy and Harris in Charlie Gillespie and Justice Smith](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/heated-rivalry-season-2-troy-harris-cast-announcement-1236643726/)
- [Deadline: ‘Heated Rivalry’ Casts Justice Smith & Charlie Gillespie As Harris & Troy; Season 2 Debut Confirmed For Spring 2027](https://deadline.com/2026/08/heated-rivalry-justice-smith-charlie-gillespie-harris-troy-1237028622/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.