Heated Rivalry creator reveals how he shaped Shane and Ilya’s romance in new book

Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney is giving fans a closer look at how Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov’s romance made the leap from page to screen, with a new book examining the creative decisions behind the hit television series.

I’ll Believe in Anything: The Making of Heated Rivalry Season 1 (The Annotated Scripts) is published by Little, Brown and Company on Tuesday, 13 October. The book brings together all six scripts from the first season, annotated by Tierney, alongside behind-the-scenes insights into the costumes, intimacy choreography and storytelling choices that helped bring Rachel Reid’s hockey romance to television.

One of the most revealing aspects of the collection is Tierney’s approach to telling Shane and Ilya’s story. Rather than filling in every gap between their encounters, he concentrated on the moments that mattered emotionally to the characters, allowing their relationship to shape the narrative.

Tierney has explained that the structure of the story centres on the couple’s love rather than documenting everything they do when they are apart. Their memories of meeting, seeing one another across a room and sharing significant moments become more important than filling in every detail of their lives. This approach helps explain the emotional rhythm of the series, which follows the two hockey rivals over several years as their attraction develops into a relationship they struggle to navigate publicly.

Hudson Williams plays Shane, while Connor Storrie portrays Ilya, whose contrasting personalities help drive the central romance. The book also explores how the show weaves in the relationship between Scott Hunter, played by François Arnaud, and Kip Grady, played by Robbie G.K. Their storyline sits alongside Shane and Ilya’s secret romance, broadening the series beyond its central couple while giving the different relationships room to develop.

The book goes behind the scenes

Tierney has discussed changes made to the opening of the pilot, offering a glimpse into how the finished programme differed from his original script. Other subjects include the origins of Ilya’s distinctive Canadian Olympic fleece and the planning behind the show’s intimate scenes, giving readers an insight into the practical decisions involved in adapting a popular romance for television.

Author Rachel Reid, whose Game Changers novels inspired the series, contributes the foreword. The release gives fans an opportunity to revisit the first season through the writing and production choices behind it, as anticipation builds for the second season, expected in 2027.

Book details: I’ll Believe in Anything: The Making of Heated Rivalry Season 1 (The Annotated Scripts) by Jacob Tierney, with a foreword by Rachel Reid. Published by Little, Brown and Company on 13 October 2026.