Google Unveils Interactive Easter Egg for Hit TV Series ‘Heated Rivalry’
- - Google Unveils Interactive Easter Egg for Hit TV Series ‘Heated Rivalry’
Melissa CopeltonFebruary 12, 2026 at 2:24 AM
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Photo by Harold Feng/Getty Images
Sorry, we’re still at the cottage. Heated Rivalry premiered on HBO Max in the U.S. on November 28, 2025, and ever since, it’s pretty much the only thing anyone can talk about.
The six-episode romantic drama, which originally aired on Canada’s Crave, is based on Rachel Reid’s 2019 novel of the same name, part of her Game Changers series.
Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams as Canadian hockey pro Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Russian hockey pro Ilya Rozanov.
The pair is introduced as teenage rival hockey players who eventually go on to fall in love after a roughly seven-year situationship.
Related: ‘Heated Rivalry’ Official Merch May Be Sold Out, but These Etsy Styles Are in Stock (and Selling Fast)
Given the show’s staggering popularity — including an 8.9/10 rating on IMDb — Google decided to join in on the steamy fun.
If you go to the Google homepage and search “Heated Rivalry," you’ll be greeted with a cheeky text message exchange between Lily and Jane (Ilya and Shane).
To keep their relationship secret, Ilya, who identifies as bisexual, and Shane, who identifies as gay, saved each other’s contacts under women’s names in their phones.
“Lily: Still obsessed with us?”
“Jane: I’m not obsessed with anything!”
“Lily: How many times have you looked us up?”
“Jane: I don’t know. Maybe twice?”
“Lily: *Winking Face Emoji”
“Jane: See you next season :)”
For those of you who watched the show, you know why “I don’t know. Maybe twice?” is especially comical.
As for season 2, showrunner Jacob Tierney, confirmed that the series is slated to return in spring 2027, with filming anticipated to begin in July or August of this year.
Though Tierney, 46, has remained fairly tight-lipped about the plot, fans can expect that it will mostly follow Reid’s book The Long Game.
For her part, Reid, 45, also confirmed a new novel titled Unrivaled, set to be released in September. It will mark the seventh text in her Game Changers series, and will continue Shane and Ilya's love story.
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
