Heated Rivalry Author Reid Dismisses Season 2 Casting Backlash
Rachel Reid responds to fan criticism over the casting of Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie in the upcoming season.
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Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 8 items across 2 sources · 21h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
Rachel Reid, author of the novels behind the Heated Rivalry series, pushed back against negative fan reactions to the Season 2 casting of Justice Smith as Harris Drover and Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett. Reid posted on Instagram comparing current criticism to prior skepticism about earlier casting choices, implying the concerns have proven unfounded before.
- Rachel Reid dismissed fan criticism of Justice Smith's casting as Harris Drover by invoking past successful casting decisions that faced similar skepticism.
- Some fans criticized Smith for being 'skinny' while the character is described as chubbier in the source material.
- Production team defended the casting by emphasizing the actors' chemistry and depth of understanding of their characters.
- Reddit discussion highlighted that Harris is described as 'stocky' rather than 'chubby' in the books, and questioned the series' overall body diversity in queer representation.
How it unfolded
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Analysis Reddit discussion on character descriptions
User GrumpySatan commented that Harris is described as 'tall, rugged and stocky' in the books, not chubby, and noted the series historically lacks body diversity in its queer representation.
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Event Season 2 casting announced
Charlie Gillespie cast as Troy Barrett and Justice Smith cast as Harris Drover for Heated Rivalry Season 2.
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Reaction Fan criticism emerges online
Some fans online criticized the casting of Smith, particularly noting concerns that he is 'skinny' while Harris is described as chubbier in Reid's source material.
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Reaction Reid responds on Instagram
Rachel Reid posted an Instagram story dismissing negative comments, referencing that fans previously criticized the casting of Ilya and Shane but those performances proved successful.
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Report Production team defends casting
Showrunner Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady released a statement praising Smith and Gillespie's connection and their understanding of the characters' depth.
What people are saying verbatim
“Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for Ilya and Shane was wrong and bad…”
Rachel Reid, Author · Instagram story · Aug 7
“Rachel Reid has given us two beautifully layered characters in Harris and Troy who you can't help but root for. From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen.”
Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady, Showrunner and executive producer · The Hollywood Reporter · Aug 7
“They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.”
Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady, Showrunner and executive producer · The Hollywood Reporter · Aug 7
“He is basically as built as everyone else just with slightly less defined muscles. Biceps that could crush a watermelon. This is... well its not really the series you go to if you want body diversity in the queer representation.”
GrumpySatan, Reddit commenter · Reddit · Aug 8
Voices from the web unedited
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The thing is.... he isn't really chubby. This is kinda a fanon thing. He is described tall, rugged and stocky in books, but that isn't chubby. The author has shared pictures of the person she modeled him off before. He is basically as built as everyone else just with slightly less defined muscles. Biceps that could crush a watermelon. This is…
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I've been ignoring HR most of my life....could explain why I get fired from jobs a lot tho.