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The Heated Rivalry season 2 rumors of a drastically bigger budget are wrong, says showrunner Jacob Tierney

Don't get your hopes up: Heated Rivalry season 2 won't have the budget to take Ilya and Shane to outer space.

A still from Heated Rivalry
Image credit: HBO Max
Jules Chin Greene
News by Jules Chin Greene, Staff Writer
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Don't expect the Heated Rivalry TV show to go to space quite yet. 

Even as Game Changers writer Rachel Reid and Heated Rivalry show creator Jacob Tierney joked about having "space money" now, in the wake of the show's success, to bring Shane and Ilya beyond the Earth's atmosphere, don't get your hopes up. The two gathered together at BookCon to reflect on the Game Changers books and on the past, present, and future of the Heated Rivalry show. And Tierney shed light on what him and the rest of the production team are working with for the show's sophomore season. 

Jacob Tierney was told on the Heated Rivalry panel at BookCon that "a lot of people that your budget for season 2 has drastically [grown]," to which Tierney replied, "Yeah, they are wrong." 

Tierney joked about what he's told the new cast members from Heated Rivalry season 2 about what they can expect to gain from the show.

"It's like listen, here's the thing: we might make you famous. We've done that. The good folks at Peloton will make you rich," referring to the wildly popular Peloton ad featuring Hudson Williams. 

Watch the full Heated Rivalry panel from BookCon 2026 here:

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Jules Chin Greene

Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.

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