'Heated Rivalry' Creator Speaks Out About Racism Against Hudson Williams, Teases Major Season 2 News

Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney is speaking out.

He gave a new interview with two notable pieces of info for fans of the Crave/HBO Max hit, starring Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie.

If you don’t recall, a few weeks ago Hudson and his co-star Francois Arnaud posted the same message to their Instagram Stories, slamming all of the so-called “fans” that have been sending hateful messages to them.

They wrote: “Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/misogynistic/ageist/ableist/parasocial/bigoted comments of any kind. None of us need your hateful ‘love,’” they said. “We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side. If you can’t accept that [get the f--k out of here].”

Jacob addressed some of the racism and messages the cast have been receiving.

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Jacob told Deadline, “We didn’t expect any of this attention or reaction from a public that might not exist at all. We’ve learned a lot [since the show aired], and there’s a lot to think about moving forward in terms of the fandom and all that comes with it, negative and positive.”

“We have a non-white lead. I think that’s f-kin’ important. We can learn a few lessons out of that: you don’t need to be making an Asian show to have an Asian lead. Hudson’s a f-king star, man,” he added.

He also teased something big about season two. While it’s expected to cover the events of “The Long Game,” which is the sixth book in the Rachel Reid series, it looks like Jacob is being a little coy about how much will be covered in season two.

“Who said I’m doing it all? There’s a lot of material,” Jacob said when asked, alluding that some of “The Long Game” could be pushed into future seasons of the show.

Season two will begin filming in August and debut in April 2027. Find out which actors are expected to return!