BookCon 2026: ‘Heated Rivalry’ author Rachel Reid and show creator Jacob Tierney in conversation for first time

The first panel at BookCon drew lines of fans an hour before it started. Fans showed up in style. I saw a bunch of t-shirts with the faces of actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storie plastered on them. Boston Raiders, Montreal Metros, and New York Admirals jerseys abound as well. 3,000 fans are here, waiting to see Rachel Reid and Jacob Tierney talk for the first time.

But although this may be the first public discussion between the Hot Competition writer and creator of the show on the beautiful stage, it’s clear that the two were in perfect harmony from their first Zoom call. It is presided over by the former Vogue Youth editor-in-chief Versha Sharma, Reid and Tierney took the stage at BookCon for a session called “Game Changing TV: A Hot Rivalry.” The conversation spanned all their interactions, from their first DM to the music that made the show, to how their lives have changed since the show aired.

Tierney, whose comedic skills shine through, discussed how the show moves at lightning speed. The adaptation began in August 2023, with the first episode airing on November 28, 2025. The start and creation of Heated Rivalry happened at lightning speed on television. Tierney, former founder and director of Letterkennyhe said, instead of the show being slowed down by roadblocks, it always seemed to be going faster. The show was sold to HBO before it was completed, and the sixth episode ended four days before it aired.

Reid, who has written six novels in Game changers series, he participated in the journey from the beginning, first meeting Tierney on Zoom. The author said that throughout the process, he felt respected and involved in reading drafts of the script and audition tapes.

Although the show’s leads, Hudson Williams, who plays the role of Shane Hollander, and Connor Storie, who plays the role of Ilya Rozanov, were not physically present, they both asked questions on behalf of the pair. Story’s question was appropriate, asking the two what made them such a good match for this practice. The two said their ideas felt like a natural fit, and Reid noted that, as he wrote the infamous kiss between Scott and Kip that was featured in episode 5. It has been burned Competitionhe had an image for a cinematic version, which Tierney was able to bring to life.

This show is famous for its intimate sex scenes and many of them are not there just for the sake of it. Tierney said she wants to make the show with a lot of fun and a hot show in there, but more than that, sex is a vehicle for the show’s characters to be honest and vulnerable with each other.

Music also came, with the show dropping needles, including Tatu’s “All The Things She Said” and Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe in Anything,” which has been revived two decades after their release. There are no official figures in music; instead, they let the songs be like impersonating the right actor, with Tierney noting that the songs have to do “some work.”

Tierney is in the middle of the second season of writing Hot Competition, which takes Reid’s succession, It’s a long game. The writer and director called It’s a long game “an emotionally complex book” and said parts of Reid For example they will find a way for a second season. For Reid, a new book on Changing the game series, It cannot be comparedwill be released in 2027. The writer is still in the writing stage, he said that when he felt the pressure to write It’s a long gamethe previous book in the seriesIt is incomparable presents a new challenge due to the show’s huge popularity.

Fans in the room seemed relieved, hearing in person from the author and creator of Hot CompetitionI enjoy the hour dedicated to the show that is burning the internet and booking the world. Moderator Versha Sharma concluded with a sentiment that the entire room could agree on: “Rachel Reid’s universe is as worldly as it should be.”