The owner of the cottage made famous in Heated Rivalry season one says he needed to do some “soul searching” before allowing production to return for season two.
During a recent interview with HGTV, Michael Kutryk revealed that he was contacted about filming for the highly anticipated second season, which got underway earlier this month. However, he said it wasn’t an immediate yes.
“I did a little bit of soul searching about allowing them to come back,” he shared. “I know they need it, and I realize I [could] be difficult and try to squeeze them, but I [couldn’t] bring myself to do that. When they called, they said, ‘How much do you want?’ First, I told them they scratched my table, then I named a very reasonable price. They were shocked and appreciative. I actually didn’t even get them to replace my table.”
In season one of HBO Max and Crave’s breakout queer hockey romance, the cottage served as the emotional backdrop for a major turning point. When Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) invited his secret lover, Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), to his private cottage for a two-week stay of uninterrupted alone time together, it led to them growing closer and ultimately confessing their love for each other. But the cottage also played a role in Ilya and Shane deciding to come out to the latter’s parents after Shane’s father accidentally caught them together at the home.
After Heated Rivalry became a breakout hit following its release in December 2025, Kutryk started getting calls from Airbnb about renting his now-famous cottage. After receiving “an offer too good to refuse,” he agreed to rent it out starting in the spring and all the way into the fall.
As for whether Kutryk plans to allow visitors at his cottage again, he told HGTV, “We’ll see after season two airs what demand is like.”
“It’s still true: I’m a private guy,” he added. “This is my retreat. I built this to get away from the world, so I don’t know how much longer I’ll continue to share it. [And] I already share it: There’s a huge buck who lives with his harem on the property, and when I was trying to plant the flower beds, I came upon three different patches of turtle eggs. They still come and lay their eggs there.”
Heated Rivalry season two is set for a spring 2027 release on Crave and HBO Max. In addition to returning stars Williams and Storrie, Charlie Gillespie, Justice Smith, Daniel Diemer and Shaheen Jafargholi have also been added to the cast.
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