Jacob Tierney teases 'Heated Rivalry' Season 2 with this Rachel Reid romance

NEW YORK – Much to the disappointment of fans, “Heated Rivalry” starsHudson WilliamsandConnor Storriedid not join the show’s panel at BookCon. But they did get a few Season 2 insights.

At the first in-person BookCon in seven years, approximately 3,000 fans of the steamy hockey romance greeted author Rachel Reid and show creatorJacob Tierneywith ear-splitting screams on April 18. Many sported shirts that read “I’m comingto the cottage” and “Ask me about our lord and savior Ilya Rozanov.”

The two extra chairs on the stage caused a stir on social media and in-person ahead of the talk. Would Williams and Storrie make a surprise appearance? They did not, though the show's stars did send in questions for Reid and Tierney. Storrie’s was a voice memo recording played for the crowd, a consolation prize. The extra chairs were simply the default setup for the weekend, BookCon organizers told USA TODAY.

Rachel Reid, Jacob Tierney tease ‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2

“Heated Rivalry” sSeason 2 will largely be based on “The Long Game,” set 10 years later. But, like Scott and Kip’s “Game Changer” storyline in Season 1, another couple will also get airtime. Reid and Tierney teased that the second season will also include“Role Model,”a grumpy-sunshine romance between Troy Barrett, a recently traded player, and Harris Drover, the team’s chipper social media manager.

“Troy's a really damaged guy, and Troy is quite damaged on the show. I would say we're digging into that harder, because that's what's interesting and that's all there in those books,” Tierney said. “That's why it's such a fertile playground for me as a creator to have fun.”

He added, “But Ilya and Shane are the heartbeat of this series, of my show. It's always going to be about Ilya and Shane.”

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Though he told Deadline in a recent interview that he was weighing splitting “The Long Game” into two seasons, he kept mum when asked about it on the panel.

“It really is different. The challenge of it is from an adaptation point of view is that you're in much more serious territory. There's still lots of flirting and there's lots of sex. (But) it’s like this kind of danger, this kind of hotel room, adolescent sex stuff is largely gone. And so it presents really new challenges.” Tierney said. “‘The Long Game’ is an emotionally sophisticated book that takes this couple seriously.”

The 'whole world seems to care' about Ilya and Shane

While fans await a release date and casting decisions for Season 2 (evenJill Biden threw her hat in the ring), they at least know Reid’s new novel, “Unrivaled,”will be out June 1, 2027.Shane and Ilya’s third story was initially set for aSeptember publication date, but Reid pushed it back because of how overwhelming the last few months have been.

“I have a little bit of regret deciding to write a book at the same time, but I am excited,” Reid said on the panel. “I'm in a place where the whole world seems to care about what happens next to these characters or has thoughts about them. … But I'm still determined to try to just stick to what I have always done when I was writing, just kind of pretend that I'm just writing for me and I hope other people like it.”

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find heron Instagram, subscribe to our weeklyBooks newsletteror tell her what you’re reading atcmulroy@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Heated Rivalry' creator gives Season 2 teaser at BookCon

byJastin Mags

in

April 19, 2026

Jacob Tierney teases 'Heated Rivalry' Season 2 with this Rachel Reid romance

NEW YORK – Much to the disappointment of fans, “Heated Rivalry” starsHudson WilliamsandConnor Storriedid not join the show’s panel at B...

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Struggling Phillies place closer Jhoan Durán on 15-day IL with left oblique strain

The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into Saturday night’s home game against the Atlanta Braves as losers of seven of their last nine games. The Phillies’ pitching staff has been struggling, and the team revealed hours before first pitch that it won’t have its closer for a while longer.

The Philliesannouncedthat Jhoan Durán has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 15, with a left oblique strain. He hasn’t pitched since April 11, when he recorded a save in a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Durán,whom Philadelphia acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline last year, has made seven appearances for the 8-11 Phillies this season, notching a save in each of his five opportunities.

Theflame-throwingrighty’s posted a 1-1 record so far with a 1.35 ERA, piling up eight strikeouts without issuing a walk in the 6 2/3 innings he’s pitched.

Durán’s spot on the roster will be taken by right-handed reliever Seth Johnson. The Phillies recalled him from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Johnson has made one relief appearance for Philadelphia this season, and that was on Monday in a 13-7 win over the Chicago Cubs.

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When the 27-year-old entered the game, the Phillies were ahead 12-2. He made it through the seventh inning unscathed before allowing five runs — three earned — in the eighth.

Johnson logged 10 appearances for the club last season, posting a 4.26 ERA.

The Phillies’ bullpen has been nipped by the injury bug so far this spring. Jonathan Bowlan and Zach Pop have also spent time on the IL.

Durán won’t be eligible to come off the IL until April 30. With him out, it’s possible Philadelphia looks to another right-hander in closing situations, Brad Keller. The Phillies signed Keller to a two-year deal in free agency this past offseason. He served as the Cubs’ closer late last season, collecting a trio of saves.

Keller has a 4.70 ERA through 7 2/3 innings of work this season.

Regardless whom the Phillies pick to fill Durán’s void, their bats will have to come to life in his absence. Philadelphia’s offense, which has been shut out three times in this forgettable nine-game stretch, has also been lacking the juice it was expected to bring in 2026.

byJastin Mags

in

April 19, 2026

Struggling Phillies place closer Jhoan Durán on 15-day IL with left oblique strain

The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into Saturday night’s home game against the Atlanta Braves as losers of seven of their last nine ...

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Everything we know about Season 3 of 'The Pitt'

Spoilers! The following contains spoilers from theSeason 2 finale of "The Pitt."

It's officially time to check out of"The Pitt."

HBO Max's acclaimed series, set over the course of a shift at a Pittsburgh emergency room, wrapped up its second season on April 16, with an emotional finale featuringa wild birth that leads to a c-section, crying in the parking lot and some therapeutic karaoke. And now fans will have to wait months before seeing their favorite healthcare workers again.

But that doesn't mean we can't start talking aboutSeason 3 of the series already,which should hopefully be full of the same drama, emotion and shock that fans have come to love.

Here's everything we know aboutSeason 3 of "The Pitt"so far, from when it's back to who will be returning.

How does 'The Pitt' Season 2 end?Here's where every hospital character ends up

When will 'The Pitt' return for Season 3?

It'll be awhile until you can check yourself back in to Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, but not as long a wait as for many streaming TV shows in the modern era. "The Pitt" is scheduled to return in January 2027, eight months from its emotional April 16 finale. But most streaming shows take a year or even two or three (like Netflix's "Beef" for example) to come back for new seasons, so it might seem like no time at all passes before we see Dr. Robby again.

"I'm too nervous about being unemployed again, so I tend to press my luck," Noah Wyle told USA TODAY. "We're crafting storylines in the writers' room, we'll be back shooting in June, and hopefully get back on the air in January."

When will The Pitt' Season 3 be set?

Each season of "The Pitt" takes place over the course of 15 hours of a single day, focusing on the chaos of the emergency room in real time. Each day is a particularly rough one for the healthcare workers, keeping the stakes high. Season 1 had the staff responding to a mass shooting. Season 2 was set on the 4th of July, a traditionally busy day for hospitals because of fireworks, heat and large gatherings (plus the hospital being forced to go analog following a cyber security threat did not help). Season 3 will be quite a bit chillier, Wyle says.

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"It will be pre-Thanksgiving, moving into colder weather," says Wyle, 54. "The holidays are approaching. The weather's changing. People are turning on their heaters for the first time."

"It will be explosive," he promises.

Sepideh Moafi steps into "The Pitt" Season 2 as the new attending physician, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi. Who else is new for Season 2 of HBO Max's Emmy-winning drama? And why are they at the Pittsburgh ER? Find out on January 8.

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Who's new on 'The Pitt' Season 2? Meet Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi and more

Sepideh Moafi steps into "The Pitt" Season 2 as the new attending physician, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi. Who else is new for Season 2 of HBO Max's Emmy-winning drama? And why are they at the Pittsburgh ER? Find out on January 8.

The early-winter setting also means it won't be very long for the characters between seasons (Seasons 1 and 2 were set about 10 months apart). "So it's not as big a (time) jump as the last time," says creator R. Scott Gemmill. "And we'll play with the colder weather."

Who is returning, and who is not, for 'The Pitt' Season 3?

"The Pitt" caused major drama for its fans when producers announced thatDr. Mohan, played by Supriya Ganesh, would not be returning for Season 3.Producers explained that, trying to stay true to the realities of a teaching-style hospital that they're trying to portray, characters will have to come in and out of the story without warning.

"Part of the nature of the business of a teaching hospital is that people come, they learn, and they leave," Gemmill says. "In order to try to be truthful to the process, we're turning over our cast. It's still a great launching pad for young actors. They do their time with us and then, God bless, they go on and do great things."

Producers haven't announced any other official departures, but it has been announced that Ayesha Harris, who plays night shift doctor Parker Ellis, will become a regular for Season 3, meaning her character probably makes it off the night shift.

What will Season 3 of 'The Pitt' be about?

There will be medical emergencies and character drama all over again in Season 3, and Dr. Joe Sachs, a producer and medical advisor on the show, explains how hard it is to make that all happen in a single day of story time.

"We have to do character development in 15 hours, in one day," he says. "We have to be very careful to keep it real, yet reveal things about characters that add to the richness of the storytelling and the emotional content."

"In terms of Season 3, what we're doing is we're trying to create the richness, the experience, of what everyone can go through in a 15-hour shift that will be entertaining, and that will be revealing, and that will help the audience learn new things about the characters."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Everything about 'The Pitt' Season 3 we know so far

byJastin Mags

in

April 19, 2026

Everything we know about Season 3 of 'The Pitt'

Spoilers! The following contains spoilers from theSeason 2 finale of "The Pitt." It's officially time to check out o...

Read More