13 October 2026, 17:35 | Updated: 13 October 2026, 17:45
Heated Rivalry creator explains why he refuses to include Eric and Kyle in season 2.
Picture:
Crave, Carina Press
By Sam Prance
Eric Bennett and Kyle Swift are the focus of Rachel Reid’s fourth Game Changers book Common Goal but will they be in Heated Rivalry?
Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney has revealed why he won’t be including Eric Bennett and Kyle Swift in season 2.
Heated Rivalry revolves around the passionate secret romance of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. However, they’re just one couple in Rachel Reid’s books. Game Changer couple Scott and Kip play a major role in season 1. Meanwhile, Role Model’s Troy and Harris and Tough Guy’s Ryan and Fabian are all set to appear in Heated Rivalry season 2.
What about Eric Bennett and Kyle Swift though? It’s not looking good for fans of the beloved Common Goal couple.
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Discussing the new couples in Heated Rivalry season 2 with Andrew Rannells at a book event, Jacob teased: “A lot of them, they’ve been announced, but yeah, we have Troy and Harris from Role Model. We have Ryan and Fabian from Tough Guy. And we have their worlds. We have the people that orbit them and intersect with the main story.”
He then added: “Not everybody — please don’t yell at me yet. I hear it, but I’m not talking about that yet. When a fan shouted Benny, he then said: “Does Benny intersect with Shane and Ilya? No, he does not.” Andrew suggested that there could be some artistic license but Jacob said: “No, it’s not license. It’s all in the books.”
Fans who’ve read Common Goal, will already know that Eric (Benny) is an older bisexual hockey player on Scott’s team who explores his sexuality with Kip’s friend, grad student Kyle.
While Scott and Kip play a big role in Eric and Kyle’s story, Shane and Ilya don’t really interact with them.
Whether or not Eric and Kyle will appear in future Heated Rivalry seasons is yet to be confirmed.
Discussing season 2 and the new characters further, Jacob said: “Ilya joins Ottawa and then there’s a lot of people in Ottawa, and that team becomes quite significant. It is a much bigger world, and it is crazy because I’ll go like three days without seeing Connor [Storrie] or Hudson [Williams], and then they come back.”
Nevertheless, Shane and Ilya will remain at the centre of the show: “My guiding principle was always, we’re following Shane and Ilya’s love story, and so the other stories that come into it, because the world is much bigger now, are stories that intersect with theirs.”
He ended by saying: “There’s still a very clear through line for me and it’s a real pleasure to be back there.”
What do you think? Would you like to see Eric and Kyle in Heated Rivalry?
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