Reid Responds to Heated Rivalry Season 2 Casting Criticism
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- Rachel Reid posted on her Instagram Story with a side-eye selfie responding to negative reactions about the Season 2 casting, writing: "Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for Ilya and Shane was wrong and bad…"
- Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have been cast as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, the couple from "Role Model," the fifth book in Reid's bestselling Game Changer series
- Season 2 of the Crave Original is set to premiere in spring 2027, with production having begun in Canada earlier this week
- Season 1, based on the series' second book, became an overnight hit largely due to Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams' steamy performances as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, launching both actors' Hollywood profiles
- Troy Barrett is a hockey player on Ilya's team with a history of bullying, while Harris Drover is the team's cheerful social media manager
- Series creator Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady praised Smith and Gillespie for "immediately connecting with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters"
Why it matters: With Season 1's breakout success turning relative unknowns Storrie and Williams into sought-after Hollywood names, the freshly cast Smith and Gillespie inherit enormous expectations to recreate that chemistry by spring 2027—and Reid's preemptive Instagram flex signals she already knows the fan discourse is coming.
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