Ottawa’s film office is in talks with producers of the hit queer hockey drama Heated Rivalry about bringing the production to the nation’s capital. The Ottawa Film Office says it has been engaged in discussions regarding the series since the Prime Time conference in January, a major Canadian media production industry event in Ottawa. “We have been actively working to attract the production to Ottawa. We also have another production meeting scheduled for next week as part of those ongoing discussions,” Ottawa Film Office CEO and Film Commissioner Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos said in an email. Season 2 of the steamy television series starring Canadian actor Hudson Williams (Shane Hollander) and American actor Connor Storrie (Ilya Rozanov) is being shot primarily in Toronto and Montreal. Filming is expected to wrap up in December. Rumours that some scenes of the show will be filmed in Ottawa have circulated on social media, but no confirmation of any production dates in the capital has been announced. Williams, director Jacob Tierney, and producers of the series attended and spoke at the Prime Time event in Ottawa. The show is being developed by Accent Aigu Entertainment, founded by Tierney and producer Brendan Brady. The final episode of Season 1 hinted that Ottawa would play a part in the next season. Ottawa is Shane Hollander’s hometown. The City of Ottawa embraced the excitement when the show hit streaming platforms late last year. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe declared January 29 ‘Shane Hollander Day,’ and the Ottawa Senators started selling ‘Heated Rivalry’ inspired Senators jerseys with the names “Hollander” and “Rozanov” on the back. The show set a record at the Canadian Screen Awards (CSA) with 16 wins, including best lead performer for Williams. The show became a cultural phenomenon when Season 1 became available on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the United States. Heated Rivalry is adapted from a series of novels by Nova Scotia-based author Rachel Reid. CTV News, Crave and CP24 are owned by Bell Media, which is a division of BCE.
