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HBO’s Heated Rivalry is captivating audiences — but what did the TV adaptation change from Rachel Reid‘s Game Changers book series?
Based on the hit book franchise, Heated Rivalry follows two rival professional hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), whose animosity on the ice is just a front for a secret romance.
Heated Rivalry blew up on social media after premiering on Crave and HBO Max in November 2025 — in large part due to the heated scenes between Williams and Storrie. Creator Jacob Tierney opened up about the work that went into developing the fictional TV couple.
“We talked about how every time these guys aren’t touching, they want to be,” Tierney told Swooon at the time. “So the act of not touching should be more difficult for them than touching. They would want to be physical with one another, and that’s part of the public/private dance that they do, and the frustration of being in public.”
He continued: “There’s a magnetism because there are two characters that essentially have this chemistry immediately. This magnetic electric thing is happening between them, and they do not get to satisfy it because they’re not allowed to be physical with each other the way that they would like to be in public.”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of what differs in the TV adaptation of Heated Rivalry:
Expanding on Shane’s Life Outside of Romance
As readers may know, the book series doesn’t explore as much of Shane’s parents or his cultural identity since his mother is Japanese and his father is Canadian.
“I felt like [his cultural identity] needed to be said out loud because his name is Shane Hollander,” Tierney told Teen Vogue. “So you can whitewash him in your brain really easily when you’re reading a book or when you’re listening in a way that I don’t want to with this show.”
Speaking of Shane’s arc, his excessive dieting is addressed in Heated Rivalry‘s sequel book The Long Game. But the show doesn’t wait to hint at Shane’s complicated and concerning relationship with food.
Investing More Time in Scott Hunter
The third episode of the show focused on Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip’s (Robbie G.K.) romance, which is actually the central story of Reid’s Game Changer. Elsewhere in the HBO series, Scott is utilized more when it comes to Shane and Ilya’s romance.
Playing the Long Game Between Shane and Ilya
Building up the suspense is a priority in the show, which waited years while the book spanned only two weeks between Shane and Ilya’s initial hookup and then taking the next sexual step.
Ilya’s Life Out of the Spotlight
Notably, Svetlana (Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova) and Sasha’s (Kaden Connors) individual roles in Ilya’s life are expanded on in the show compared to the book.
Less Locations
There are some places book fans were hoping to see that Tierney confirmed were cut due to budget restrictions preventing them from showing more areas on screen.
