Owner Of ‘Heated Rivalry’ Cottage Did “Soul Searching” Before Agreeing To Season 2: “I’m A Private Guy”
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Michael Kutryk, the Toronto doctor who owns the Muskoka cottage used as Shane's lakeside home in the Season 1 finale of "Heated Rivalry", has revealed he did "a little bit of soul searching" before agreeing to let the production return for Season 2. Speaking to HGTV, he explained that although he could have pushed for more money given the show's evident need, his private nature and personal attachment to the retreat made him reluctant to exploit the situation, so he ultimately named a modest fee rather than squeezing the producers.
Kutryk had originally let the show film for "almost nothing" during Season 1 due to its small budget, and recalled that the 45-person crew scratched his table without ever replacing it, yet he still quoted a "very reasonable price" for the Season 2 return, which surprised and pleased producers. He only discovered how explicit the source material was after listening to Rachel Reid's original novel as an audiobook, and separately turned down a persistent Airbnb booking request in favour of another rental company's offer. Season 2, which recently began filming in Canada with a cast including Justice Smith, Charlie Gillespie and Emily Hampshire, is due to premiere in spring 2027, and Kutryk says he remains unsure whether he will continue renting out the cottage once that season airs.
- Cottage owner agreed to let "Heated Rivalry" film Season 2 there again
- He charged a modest fee despite knowing the show's demand for the location
- Season 2 films now, cast set, premieres spring 2027
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Michael Kutryk is a Toronto doctor who owns a cottage in Muskoka, a lake district in Ontario, Canada, that appeared as a character's home in the first series of the television drama "Heated Rivalry", based on the novel by Rachel Reid. The show is now returning for a second series, meaning the production needed his permission and his property again.
Kutryk agreed to let the crew film there once more, but has spoken publicly about weighing up whether to do so, given that he values the cottage as a private retreat rather than a film set. His comments give a behind-the-scenes look at the practical and personal negotiations that go into location filming for a television production.
The wider context is that "Heated Rivalry" season two has begun filming in Canada, with actors including Justice Smith, Charlie Gillespie and Emily Hampshire, and is expected to be released in spring 2027.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Allowing the production to return can be seen as a fair-minded choice that supports a creative project which has grown beyond its modest first-season means. The owner has first-hand knowledge of the location’s importance to the story and can negotiate terms that recognise both the crew’s needs and the property’s value, while enabling fans and local production work to benefit. This view places weight on cooperation, artistic continuity and a reasonable commercial arrangement.
The case against
Declining further filming would also be entirely reasonable, given that the cottage is a private retreat rather than merely a business asset. A large crew, prior damage that was not resolved as expected, the programme’s explicit content and possible effects on future rentals all give the owner legitimate reasons to protect his property, privacy and reputation. This view places weight on clear consent, respect for personal space and adequate compensation for the disruption and risk involved.
Full account
Michael Kutryk, a Toronto doctor whose lakefront property in Ontario's Muskoka region doubled as the remote family cabin in the Season 1 finale of Heated Rivalry, has revealed he did some "soul searching" before agreeing to let the production return for a second season. The house featured prominently in the episode titled "The Cottage", in which Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) takes his love interest, rising hockey star Ilya Rozanov, for a private getaway away from the public eye — a plotline that inadvertently mirrored Kutryk's own reluctance to expose his retreat to a wider audience a second time.
Speaking to HGTV, Kutryk explained that although he had grounds to negotiate harder given the show's evident need for the location, he chose not to press his advantage. "I did a little bit of soul searching about allowing them to come back," he said. "I know they need it, and I realise I could be difficult and try to squeeze them, but I couldn't bring myself to do that." He recalled that when producers asked what he wanted in return, he first raised a scratched table from the earlier shoot before settling on what he described as a modest, fair fee — one that reportedly left the crew surprised and grateful. Notably, he says he never even asked them to repair the damaged furniture.
Kutryk's involvement with the production began modestly: he agreed to let the crew use his home for very little money when the show was working with limited resources for its first season. Only after signing on did he look into what he had actually agreed to host, discovering the series was adapted from a novel by Rachel Reid and centred on professional hockey. Curiosity led him to the audiobook, and he has said the experience left him taken aback by how candid the source material was, leaving him uncertain what the crew might end up filming — and showing — at his property. He ultimately decided to let the process unfold regardless, reasoning that the filming would happen whether or not he worried about it in advance. Once the property's association with the show became public, interest in renting it reportedly grew sharply, including attention from short-term letting platforms, though Kutryk says he eventually agreed to different rental terms he found difficult to turn down.
Season 2 of Heated Rivalry, which streams via Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the United States, began production in Canada this month after being greenlit in December 2025, with a release expected in spring 2027. The returning cast is reported to include Justice Smith, Charlie Gillespie, Daniel Diemer, Shaheen Jafargholi, Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees and Priyanka, alongside the show's central pairing. The series follows two up-and-coming professional hockey players who publicly maintain a bitter on-ice rivalry while secretly conducting a romantic relationship off it. Despite the property's newfound fame, Kutryk remains ambivalent about hosting film crews or paying guests again once the new season airs. "It's still true: I'm a private guy," he said. "This is my retreat. I built this to get away from the world, so I don't know how much longer I'll continue to share it."
Where outlets differ
Deadline (via its report on the HGTV interview) includes extra colour not found in the other account: the size of the film crew (45 people), the detail that a producer explained the show's premise to Kutryk before he sought out the book, and the claim that Airbnb was "desperate" to secure the property as a booking before he went with another rental company's offer.
Variety's account foregrounds the show's HBO Max branding and greenlight/release timeline (greenlit December 2025, expected release April 2027) and gives a fuller show synopsis, whereas Deadline focuses more on the Season 2 cast list and describes the premiere only as "spring 2027".
Deadline names the male lead's character simply as "Shane" and does not name the actor playing Ilya Rozanov, while Variety gives the character's full name, Shane Hollander, and credits Connor Storrie as playing Ilya Rozanov.
Deadline opens by framing the cottage as celebrity property ("the hottest piece of property in Canada") and notes the show's originally very small budget, a framing device Variety does not use.