In 2025, HBO Max debuted a masterpiece book adaptation that can continue for several more seasons to be a decade-defining project. Aside from revivals and reboots, looking at other forms of storytelling for live-action inspiration has become a Hollywood go-to when it comes to developing new projects. Some of the most-watched shows on TV right now were originally from print, such as Prime Video’s Reacher, CBS’s Tracker, and even the upcoming Harry Potter remake, which will debut on HBO Max at the end of the year. That said, one aspect of the adaptation sandbox that is quietly growing revolves around romances.
The respective success of Netflix’s Bridgerton and, most recently, Prime Video’s Off Campus series proves that. Amidst this wave, there’s one book adaptation that best exemplifies how book adaptations should be done — Heated Rivalry. Originally a Crave production, the show was picked up by HBO Max for broader distribution. Based on Rachel Reid’s book of the same name, Heated Rivalry has a straightforward story that follows pro-hockey arch-rivals Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as they develop a multi-year secret romance.
Heated Rivalry season 1 was both a critical and commercial hit for HBO Max, posting an average of 10.6 million viewers per episode in the U.S., per Warner Bros. Discovery. Beyond that, its appeal transcended those who loved Reid’s books. Creator Jacob Tierney was able to reach the perfect balance of honoring the source material while also taking creative liberties to keep the show fresh and interesting, even to those who read the book.
How Heated Rivalry Can Run For At Least Five Seasons
Heated Rivalry
Considering the immediate success of Heated Rivalry, HBO Max and Crave have already guaranteed a sophomore year. In terms of narrative, this makes sense, as Shane and Ilya’s story continued in the books with The Long Game. For context, their story is only a part of a bigger universe that Reid created with the Game Changers series that focused on different characters. However, instead of dedicating a season to a variety of couples, Tierney has already confirmed that Heated Rivarly season 2 will still have Shane and Ilya at the center of its storytelling.
Assuming that it will be able to maintain its popularity, which it likely would, considering that it is maintaining its creative team, Heated Rivalry season 3 will have new material to cover, as Reid has announced a third book about the couple called Unrivaled. However, if Tierney and his team want to really spend time with these characters and delve deeper into their characters, he also has the option to split the events of The Long Game and Unrivaled into two seasons each, which mean that at the end of it all, Heated Rivalry can run for five seasons.
For what it’s worth, the second book is a lot more dense and emotional than the original, so it would make sense for it to be broken into a couple of seasons. As Shane and Ilya’s story become more serious and mature, it’s possible that Unrivaled will also be dense, fully justifying the approach.
Heated Rivalry is available to stream on HBO Max.
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