Heated Rivalry fans watched Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) dream up a mental health charity together in one of the most emotional moments of the show’s first season. Now, in a case of fiction becoming reality, the team behind the Toronto-filmed sports romance has brought the idea to life.
Last Tuesday, Accent Aigu Entertainment, the production company behind the hit Crave series, launched the Irina Foundation, a real-life organization inspired by the fictional charity created by Shane and Ilya in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series.
The foundation was co-founded by Accent Aigu’s Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady, who also produce Heated Rivalry, and will support established nonprofits that offer sports and arts programs for LGBTQIA2S+ and underserved communities, with a focus on inclusion, mental well-being and belonging.
Spoilers ahead if you haven’t made it to Heated Rivalry’s season one finale. In “The Cottage,” Ilya opens up to Shane about losing his mother, Irina, after her struggles with mental illness. That’s when Shane suggests they start a charity in her honour.
The TV series leaves them at the planning stage, but Reid’s novel goes a little further. In the epilogue of Heated Rivalry, Shane and Ilya publicly announce the Irina Foundation, and the organization goes on to support mental health causes and inclusive youth hockey programs.
“We chose the name Irina Foundation because, at the heart of Heated Rivalry, Irina represents something much bigger. She reminds us that behind every struggle is a person who deserves to be seen, loved and supported,” Jayme Alter Wilson, president of Accent Aigu Entertainment, said in a statement. “The Foundation is our way of honouring that message. We hope to channel the love people have for the world Rachel has created, and for Shane and Ilya, into something that can make a meaningful difference in the real world.”
The new foundation also landed its first major donor just a day after it was announced. Williams and Storrie took a break from filming Heated Rivalry’s second season last Wednesday to make a surprise appearance at the Kate Spade New York Global Summit on Women’s Mental Health in New York City, where Kate Spade was announced as the foundation’s inaugural donor.
The pair joined Tierney, Brady, author Rachel Reid, Wilson and a couple of their cast members for a conversation titled “Authentically Ourselves: Resilience, Belonging and Community” (Williams stood out in a blue-and-black Journey Knit Cardigan by Indigenous Canadian designer Justin Jacob Louis, a $350 piece that reportedly sold out within hours).
The Irina Foundation is already accepting donations in Canada and internationally. More details will be announced in the coming months, but in the meantime, visit irina-foundation.com for more info.