Heated Rivalry author reveals plans to turn the series into a musical

15 January 2026, 09:53

Rachel Reid pictured at Heated Rivalry premiere and Ilya and Shane looking cosy.
Rachel Reid has spoken about a potential musical adaptation. Picture: Getty & Crave

By Lily Bell

Rachel Reid has teased that she is considering making a Heated Rivalry musical.

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Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid has revealed plans to turn the series into a musical, following the show's worldwide success.

The steamy romance between fictional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov has become a viral sensation. Fans all around the world are obsessing of the relationship of the onscreen couple and the real-life friendship between actors Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams.

As Heated Rivalry has been confirmed for season 2 - which will feature a brand new couple for fans to fall in love with - it seems a musical may also be in the works.

Shane and Ilya pictured on Heated Rivalry.
Connor Storrie and Hudson WIlliams as Ilya and Shane in Heated Rivalry. Picture: Sky

In an interview with Variety magazine, author Rachel Reid was asked about the possibility of a Heated Rivalry musical. She replied: "I hope so, because I still hold the stage rights to that. It was the thing that when I signed the contract, I was like, 'Yeah, that’ll never happen.'

"But now I’m like, 'Maybe.' We’re talking about all sorts of things right now."

She even opened up about a previous conversation with actor Hudson Williams: "I was saying to Hudson a couple weeks ago that it feels like we could do literally anything.

"It just seems like we have too much power and we also have the power to destroy ourselves very easily. We could take it all down with one bad post, one bad tweet.

"We could destroy the whole show and everybody’s lives. I was just like, 'This is too much power.'"

Actors Connor and Hudson pictured smiling with author Rachel Reid.
Heated Rivalry has helped author Rachel Reid afford treatment for Parkinson's. Picture: Instagram

In the same interview, Rachel also revealed the show's success has helped her afford treatment for Parkinson's disease.

After showrunner Jacob Tierney discussed her condition during a CNN interview, Rachel was contacted the following day by a “top Parkinson’s expert” in the world who offered to help her.

Now, for the first time ever, Rachel has a Parkinson’s expert, a neurologist and appointments scheduled to discuss her treatment plan.

Read more about Heated Rivalry here:

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