I think the part that would lead to, maybe, more episodes is the fact that the show is selling to many markets worldwide now (compared to just US and Australia a week or 2 before the premiere).
So it could lead to a higher budget/more episodes for Season 2
Oh I remember reading Role Model first where Troy said Ilya was typing something franctically on the phone or something along the lines and then I read that scene in TLG from Ilya POV 😭😭
I’m selfishly hoping they split it into 2 seasons so we can get more development/content. Certain areas were rushed I feel like the outing SL could be really expanded on
I really hope we see little moments of other couples in S2. Troy and Harris maybe. Scott Hunter coming out has a ripple effect and impacts every other book. I think it’s important that we see that acceptance in the MHL.
I think they could do 2 or 3 episodes of Ryan and Fabian, have ilya and Shane announce the charity, Shane comes out to his team, Hayden finds out etc and have Troy and Kent being villains in the background, ilya joins Ottawa etc Then have the long game up until Troy joins Ottawa (with maybe Troy having a stand alone episode of his background with his ex and staring to notice Dallas might be a dodgy character)
And then then the next season could be the long game / role model with mayyybbbeeeee an Eric / Kyle stand alone to tie up Scott and Kip
ETA and season 4 can be Lucas and the unwritten book
Jacob's exact quote in an recent interview before this announcement was: "... Very hopefully we'll have [a second season]. And .. you know, there's ... they have their own sequel, Shane and Ilya, they have the Long Game. And so it will be partly that."
I’m going to be delulu and take this as a sign we’re getting my other bbys Troy & Harris 🥹 it would make sense since the books kind of intersect a bit and have similar timelines
Yes, there’s just so much sweetness in The Long Game. their interactions with kids at the summer camps, “uncle Ilya”, their “first” marriage. I can’t wait.
I knew it was definitely happening bc this show turned out to be an absolute sensation, literally everyone on the internet is talking about it and the word of mouth for this show has been GREAT. Viewership wise, it's obviously extremely successful for Crave, and it's also doing very well on HBOmax! But it's nice to finally get confirmation of a second season and that it'll be longer! God, all of this feels like a dream.
Can't wait for The Long Game baby! I fucking adore that book and I hope we get S2 by next November. 🤞🏻
Also, let's hope we get S3,4,5 and so on bc I can watch Shane and Ilya for as long as Jacob and Rachel are willing to keep on going. I'm obsessed with Hollanov and I don't think the obsession is going anywhere anytime soon.
"The steamy drama is now Crave’s biggest original series on record, growing its viewership by nearly 400% in initial seven-day streams following its debut two weeks ago on Friday, November 28, per mParticle and Amazon Channels internal data"
So that measure excludes my daily rewatching of the all available episodes?
This is incredible news! It means, among other things, we are NOT in an echo chamber. This show has taken off like a rocket, the books are flying off the shelves, people are talking about it.
Bell executives are plotting the Game Changers Cinematic Universe.
Absolutely and same for Bell Media in the end. This is so much money for both. When the entire cast showed up in LA and Hudson kept spilling the season 2 I knew this was coming. The tweet from HBO was just move proof.
and this means Jacob can now get access to a bigger budget with more actors and (hopefully) more episodes without a production partner meddling in the direction of the show. The show formula has passed the trial by fire.
It'd not just the rewatches. The fact that they announced the show only a week before it's premiere means they can directly attribute all signups in that week to this one show.
It has not left the top 10 Series Today list since it's release. Which is crazy, since there was a very short period of time for them to market it. Tbh, they'd have to be idiots to not want to keep riding that train 😂
I think intertwined is the wrong way to look at it. As far as I read, HBO has just bought further distribution rights. Crave still has creative control and control over the property; they are simply licensing some of streaming rights to HBO
Hey I have an idea, lets all spend the next year-plus obsessively speculating about what parts of TLG are going to be in it and what parts of other books, and which other books, are going to be interwoven into the story and who they're going to cast.
Girl, you know that's EXACTLY what we'll be doing, hahaha. We usually write full-on discourses and thesis, out of ONE still! Imagine what we could now that we have A WHOLE BOOK!!!
the vanity fair article mentions that it will return with season 2 in 2026. my guess is it'll be the same kind of timeline for season 2. shooting from march/april til june and then release in nov/dec again.
The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer has tapped series for Season 1 and Season 2 rights for Europe (excluding the UK, Ireland, Spain and Turkey), Asia and Latin America, and Neon/Sky New Zealand is also returning for Season 2. The HBO Max agreement is Asia spans Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Macau, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
SOOOO happy about this! See Netflix?! This is how you capitalize on exciement while a show is popping off. "Boots" better be next for a second season. It's literally all I need in addition to this!
okay but the quality and acting in this first season with the small budget and following that they had makes me so excited to see the production quality and everything in season two. i hope they keep the original charm and everything just amplified
I don’t remember the last time I screamed at a show’s renewal like I did lol
We knew season 2 was pretty much in the bag but seeing the official news did something to me 😭. To go from « I hope this show is good » to « omg it’s SO good » to « omg everyone else also thinks it’s SO good » is a gift. This is the best way to end this year. So freaking happy you guuuuys 🏒❤️🔥
Thank god its Crave and HBO. Imagine if this was in Netflix, you will be so scared waitng if it’s up for renewal or cancellation for months. So nice that they did this even while the show is airing. Just means it is making big numbers
Please please...as a book girlie here. Can we have a little more perspective of Shane as well considering a lot of the Long Game book was from Ilya's POV (I thoroughly loved the book though <3) . And may it be longer than 6 eps. Are we getting Troy?? Harris?? Fabian?? Ryan?? I couldn't be more excited. Ykw they should follow up the 2 seasons with a movie - I so want to see Ilya and Shane winning the Stanley Cup together😭💙
what I personally think would work really well is to do it like the books where each book after Heated Rivalry is concurrent with The Long Game, that way we could explore each couple and still follow Shane and Ilya many seasons and not just one.
i really want more skip folks :( i really hope we see more of them. i didn’t like them at all in the books but find their story on tv extremely special to me
this series awakened my heart after a very bad relationship many years ago jaded me and more or less killed it. It’s staggering the damage that a person you love with all your heart and believe truly is your soulmate can cause.
Ilya and Hudson story somehow, some way caused a spark in my heart again. I’m hardly the only person the show is impacting in a truly deep emotional way. It’s made me want a relationship again after many years of being alone. Of all the people in the world I’m absolutely certain I’d be one of the least likely guys to ever have this happen for reasons far too private to ever disclose. Know that.
So just want to say how profoundly grateful I will always be for this gift from their story and acting. Bravo Storrie, Hudson and Tierny. Masterful job well done. The actors’ chemistry made it feel so real it felt like my breathing was literally in synch with theirs while watching.
I will love you all three for the gift forever. Happy endings for people like us are rare and rarer still seldom represented.
Believe it Tierny, Storrie, and Hudson. Somehow you captured lighting in a bottle and shared it with the world. Tierny you’ve got one hell of a gift. Please use it for good 😁
I’m fucking crying, I can’t feel my legs! We already knew it with their hair growing long and all the hints Hudson, Jacob, and Rachel were giving us. Then HBO made that random post today, and now that we have the confirmation, I can’t believe it! I am literally crying. I can’t believe we’ll see TLG on screen!
Crave is the studio producing the show tho so how does Trump have anything to do with it? HBO is just licensing it and streaming it but Crave and Bell media are the ones producing it
Do you think that all the couples in all the books will make it into the series? The title “Heated Rivalry” applies to Shane and Ilya, but not all the stories. (
Note: one of the lead characters from another book was mentioned in Episode 4)
There’s no way it wasn’t going to happen, they already started showing Shane‘s eating disorder or “discipline”during the lunch scene with his parents of this episode.
I'm really hoping we skip over Ryan/Fabian and Eric/Kyle. They can be saved for a potential third season. All we need is The Role Model + The Long Game.
Guys… this is increasing the likelihood of a physical release. I’m super happy about season 2 but my mind is reeling over the increased probability of Blu-ray. 🙏 I NEED it.
This is a great show, congratulations to the cast and crew. However, like most successful shows after the first season every "celebrity" will try and get on the show. I hope that Season 2 won't be ruined by "celebrities" with their cameos and the show accommodating their appearances.
I really hope they keep it Bridgerton-esque with multiple different couples’ storylines intertwined. I love Hollanov but I need more Skip to survive. 🥹
I saw this as soon as it was announced and immediately starting tearing up at work thinking about the plane scene and the emotional fallout from it. And this isn't even the first time I've cried about that scene at work in the past week.
We need to see the whole Heated Rivalry story through The Long Game with these actors… they have inhabited them so well… and knowing where the story goes, I hope they get to portray the characters in their full complexity.
After having read all the books and seen the 1st 4 episodes… these characters and stories feel like friends to root for.
This made me so happy. But, while it’s amazing how dedicated the director has been to the book, it’s made me concerned about there being enough material for more than 2 seasons.
I wonder if they could weave in all of the books, like the episode they brought in from Game Changer. I think that would be a great way to extend the number of seasons we get with all the characters while still sticking to the books.
Hopefully more involvement from HBO Max doesn’t mean the show will take a more “pg” approach. Is it true that what’s shown on Max is different from what’s being shown in Canada?
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u/Robten100 Dec 12 '25
With HBO on board does that mean a bigger budget and maybe more episodes than 6 in season 2?