TORONTO — Actress Emily Hampshire, comedian Sabrina Jalees and drag queen Priyanka have signed on for roles in the second season of Crave’s steamy hockey series “Heated Rivalry.” Hampshire, best known for her role as Stevie in “Schitt’s Creek,” has been cast as Vanessa, while Jalees will play Farah Jalali. Priyanka, who won the first season of “Canada’s Drag Race,” will play Tarek, while Robert Naylor, who voiced D.W. Read in “Arthur” as a child, has been cast as Wyatt Hayes and Swedish actor Edvin Ryding will play Luca Haas. The casting announcement doesn’t include descriptions of the characters, but fans can take some hints from “Game Changers,” the series of books on which the show is based. In the books, Luca and Wyatt are both hockey players, while Tarek and Vanessa are friends with one of the players, and Farah is a sports agent. “Heated Rivalry” became a breakout success when it debuted late last year, propelling stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie into the mainstream. Last week, Crave announced that Season 2 would star Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, alongside Williams and Storrie reprising their roles of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Harris and Troy feature in the book “Role Model.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026. Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press CTV News, BNN Bloomberg, and CP24 are owned by Bell Media, which is a division of BCE.
