Excitement is brewing in the realm of hockey romance once again. Crave’s Heated Rivalry is welcoming five new actors to its ensemble.
Emily Hampshire, a talented Canadian actress, will portray Vanessa, a character working in a sex shop. Joining her are Sabrina Jalees, a Canadian comedian and actress taking on the role of sports agent Farah Jalali, and Priyanka, a drag queen playing the part of Tarek, an office assistant.
Emily Hampshire is most recognized for her performances in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek and the TV series 12 Monkeys. Sabrina Jalees previously hosted the radio and web show Laugh Out Loud and wrote for Canada’s Got Talent. Priyanka was the winner of the inaugural season of Canada’s Drag Race.
Also announced in the cast are Robert Naylor, a 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 D.W. Read in the animated series Arthur, while Edvin Ryding starred as Prince Wilhelm in Netflix’s Young Royals.
The news of these new cast additions was shared on Instagram by Crave on Thursday.
Crave has confirmed that the second season of Heated Rivalry will continue the love story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, former hockey rivals turned lovers, from Rachel Reid’s sixth novel in the Game Changer series, The Long Game. The Game Changers series consists of hockey romance novels set in a shared universe with interconnected character stories.
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will reprise their lead roles in the TV series adaptation.
The first season of the show adapted the initial two books in Reid’s series, Game Changer and Heated Rivalry.
With the recent 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 acquaintances of Fabian Salah, the love interest of hockey player Ryan Price in Tough Guy.
The upcoming season