Lauren Chan is heading to the rink. The model, entrepreneur and former Glamour editor will join the cast of Heated Rivalry for season 2, playing Gen, a photographer for the fictional Ottawa Centaurs, according to a press release from the show's network, Crave.
A Bigger Ensemble Around the Central Couple
Heated Rivalry built its following on the romance between two rival hockey players, but season 2 is widening the frame. Along with Chan, the show has added Emily Hampshire as Vanessa, described as a lesbian best friend character, plus Edvin Ryding and Robert Naylor in new roles. Most of the newly announced women are written as supporting figures orbiting the male leads, which makes Gen's position, as staff photographer for the team itself, stand out as a potential bigger part.
What Happens to Gen's Storyline?
In Rachel Reid's Game Changers novels, which the show adapts, Gen is a Quebecois photographer who dates a man. Season 2 draws from both The Long Game and Role Model, but adaptations routinely change details from their source material, and there's no confirmation yet on whether Gen's arc will follow the books or diverge from them.
Whether Gen's story bends toward the books or breaks from them, her casting alone signals that Heated Rivalry sees room to grow beyond its central couple.
Chan's Momentum
The casting caps a remarkable run for Chan. She founded plus-size fashion label Henning in 2018, sold it to Universal in 2023, and in 2025 became the first out lesbian to appear solo on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. She's since guest-judged Canada's Drag Race and Project Runway, competed on The Traitors Canada, made her acting debut in The Devil Wears Prada 2, and married director Hayley Kosan in a widely covered wedding.
MQ's Take
Heated Rivalry has already nudged mainstream sports culture toward more openly queer storytelling since its 2025 debut. Adding Chan, and expanding the cast of queer women around its central couple, suggests the show knows its audience wants more than one romance to root for. A confirmed lesbian storyline would be the natural next step, and Chan is exactly the kind of casting that keeps that hope alive.
Sources: them., Gay Times, Out
Cover photo: CHROMAT, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
