His later statement confirmed only that the account had been paused. Walsh said he should not have speculated about either the filming schedule or the episode total.
No announcement from Crave, Bell Media, HBO Max or the producers has supported a 12-episode order. There is also no confirmation of a split season, simultaneous filming for two seasons or an early third-season commission. A single number supplied plenty of theories, but television scheduling remains stubbornly resistant to collective wishful thinking.
Why did viewers find 12 episodes plausible?
Bell Media renewed the series in December 2025 after its six-episode debut became a Canadian and international breakout. HBO Max committed to carrying the second season in the United States and Australia, while NEON will stream it in New Zealand.
The renewal announcement did not disclose the length of the new season. Bell Media’s June 2026 programming slate also listed the drama among Crave’s returning originals without giving an episode total, even though the company supplied counts for several other shows.
Creator Jacob Tierney has previously argued for keeping the storytelling compact. The Daily Beast reported that he said he would not make a season longer than six episodes and told the Los Angeles Times that he preferred to “tighten the belt” rather than allow the show to become “loosey-goosey.”
Those comments encouraged speculation that Walsh’s 12 might refer to more than one production block. His clarification makes that theory no more official than it was before. It remains possible only in the broad sense that many unannounced television plans are possible.
When will the second season arrive?
Production was scheduled to begin in Canada in August 2026. Tierney told CBS News earlier in the year that the writing team was preparing to shoot during the summer and that new episodes would arrive “as soon as humanly possible.” Executive producer Brendan Brady offered viewers less operational detail, advising them to “enjoy the yearn.”
TVLine reported that a spring 2027 target had been discussed during the same media appearance. However, the platforms have not formally announced a premiere date.
The drama follows rival professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. Their competitive relationship develops into a secret, years-long romance shaped by professional pressure, denial and the practical hazards of being emotionally honest in elite sport.
Walsh plays Shane’s father, David Hollander, opposite Christina Chang as Shane’s mother, Yuna Hollander. His supporting role did not prevent one informal message from becoming the show’s leading production story for several days. Such is the efficiency of modern fandom.
The cast expansion matters more than the rumoured count
The more substantial development is the widening ensemble. Tierney has said the next chapter will adapt material from Rachel Reid’s The Long Game, which continues Shane and Ilya’s relationship, while also incorporating elements of Role Model.
That second novel focuses on hockey player Troy Barrett and social media manager Harris Drover. Charlie Gillespie and Justice Smith have been announced in those roles.
Variety also reported on August 14 that five additional performers had joined the cast:
- Emily Hampshire as Vanessa
- Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas
- Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes
- Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali
- Priyanka as Tarek
Tierney previously described the coming story as entering “much more serious territory.” After the secrecy and danger that shaped much of Shane and Ilya’s earlier relationship, the characters will face the less cinematic but no less difficult realities of maintaining an adult partnership.
The expanded cast suggests the adaptation is opening more of Reid’s interconnected Game Changers world. That tells viewers considerably more about the creative direction than an unverified episode number, although it is admittedly less convenient for rapid social-media arithmetic.
A popular show creates its own leak machinery
The first season generated unusually intense online attention after its late-2025 debut. The Associated Press reported that the series dominated social media, renewed interest in Reid’s novels and reached No. 1 on HBO Max as the finale approached. Bell Media also cited heavy engagement across fan platforms when announcing the renewal.
That enthusiasm has not always remained benign. In March, Hudson Williams and François Arnaud condemned abusive behaviour from parts of the fandom, writing that nobody needed fans’ “hateful ‘love.’” Their response provided a less cheerful measure of how closely some viewers scrutinize the actors and their activity online.
Cameo now sits inside that same publicity system. Paid messages may feel informal, but fan accounts can redistribute them within minutes, stripping away their original context and turning uncertain phrasing into apparent production intelligence. Casting posts, filming locations and social-media activity receive similar treatment.
For now, the official position is straightforward. The second season is moving forward, filming was scheduled to begin in August, and the story will add characters from elsewhere in the book series. Walsh does not have an official 12-episode announcement, and neither does anyone else. The mystery survives, largely because there is still no confirmed number to solve.
