Kudrow, who plays Michele Weinberger, will be romantically paired with a character played by Keegan-Michael Key, while Sorvino’s Romy White will begin a relationship with a character played by Rob Huebel.

The actresses disclosed the development during an appearance at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Friday, August 14, where they appeared in character to preview the follow-up film.

The sequel, commonly referred to as *Romy and Michele 2*, is currently filming and is planned as a Hulu release in 2027.

The announcement provides the first substantial information about the sequel’s story since production began earlier this year.

A Wedding Brings the Friends Back Together

According to *Entertainment Weekly*, the sequel follows Romy and Michele as they attend the wedding of a former classmate.

The event prompts the friends to reconsider their personal lives and ask whether they have neglected romance while building their careers and maintaining their close friendship.

The report describes the characters’ realization with the question, “Wait, did we forget to fall in love?”

Sorvino also told the D23 audience, in character as Romy, that the pair are entering “a whole new phase” of their lives and are considering whether it is finally time to find “true love.”

The new relationships represent a change from the original film’s romantic setup, particularly for Michele and Sandy Frink, played by Alan Cumming.

Cumming is returning as Sandy, but *Entertainment Weekly* reported that the relationship between Sandy and Michele appears to be platonic in the sequel, with Michele having moved on to Key’s character.

Earlier filming images showed Key’s character proposing to Michele, although those images did not establish whether Michele accepts the proposal.

The Boutique and the Friendship Remain Central

The sequel keeps Romy and Michele’s professional partnership intact, with the friends still operating the Beverly Hills fashion boutique they opened after the events of the original film.

The boutique was originally financed with money loaned to them by Sandy, and the sequel’s story places the business several decades further along.

By the time of the sequel, Romy and Michele have paid off that debt, according to *Entertainment Weekly*.

Sorvino said at D23 that fashion remains central to the characters’ lives and that they continue to own what she described as a “really chic” Beverly Hills boutique.

The sequel also preserves the characters’ enthusiasm for dancing, with Kudrow and Sorvino indicating that the film will include a new sequence connected to the original movie’s memorable Cyndi Lauper dance performance.

Costume designer Mona May, who worked on the original film, has returned for the sequel.

The production’s costume approach is described as a contemporary interpretation of vintage styles that have returned to fashion since the original film’s 1997 release.

Returning Cast and New Additions

Kudrow and Sorvino are reprising their roles as Michele and Romy, respectively, and both actresses are serving as executive producers on the sequel.

Cumming is returning as Sandy, while Janeane Garofalo, Camryn Manheim and Julia Campbell are also reprising their roles from the 1997 film.

Garofalo returns as Heather Mooney, Manheim as Toby Walters and Campbell as Christie Masters.

In addition to Key and Huebel, the sequel’s newly announced cast includes Wendi McLendon-Covey, Patrick Warburton and Breckin Meyer.

Additional recent casting reports identified Anna Baryshnikov and Sofia Wylie as further additions to the ensemble, although their specific roles were not disclosed in the available reports.

From Cult Comedy to Streaming Sequel

The original *Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion* was released in 1997 and starred Kudrow and Sorvino as best friends attempting to impress former classmates at their 10-year high-school reunion.

The follow-up is being produced by 20th Century Studios and is intended to stream as a Hulu Original in the United States.

The film is directed by Tim Federle, and Robin Schiff, who wrote the original movie, is returning as screenwriter.

International distribution plans reported by *Entertainment Weekly* indicate that the film will be available on Disney+ in international markets.

The D23 announcement does not provide a specific 2027 release date.

For now, the confirmed development is that Romy and Michele’s next story will place both longtime friends in new romantic relationships while preserving the business, fashion and friendship elements associated with the original film.

The pair performed “For Good,” the signature Wicked song associated with their characters, Glinda and Elphaba. Grande and Erivo also performed a medley of “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

The appearance marked a public reunion for the actors after their work together on the Wicked films and their previous joint performances during the films’ promotional period.

The two performers previously sang the same songs together during the November 2025 television special Wicked: One Wonderful Night, according to reports on the London concert.

The Performance and Its Wicked Connection

Grande and Erivo played Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in the two-part film adaptation of Wicked. Their characters’ relationship is central to “For Good,” which appears in the musical’s story as a farewell between the two women.

The performance also connected Grande’s current concert repertoire with the film partnership that brought the two artists together in the public eye over several years. The “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again” medley had also been performed by Grande and Erivo in their earlier televised Wicked appearance.

Erivo had indicated before the concert that she planned to attend one of Grande’s United Kingdom tour dates. In an interview reported by Cosmopolitan, Erivo said Grande knew she was coming to London in August.

The O2 appearance fulfilled that earlier indication without being announced as a scheduled guest performance in advance. Videos from the performance circulated online after Erivo joined Grande onstage.

Grande’s Planned Hiatus

The reunion took place after Grande announced that she intends to take a break from public-facing work once the Eternal Sunshine Tour concludes. A representative for Grande said she would be “taking a step back from visibility” after completing the tour.

The representative said Grande wanted to finish the tour “on a high note,” describing the planned break as a decision related to ongoing public scrutiny. The statement said the pause was not reactive or impulsive and had been planned quietly over a longer period.

Grande’s announcement followed public discussion of scrutiny directed at her health and appearance, although her representative did not disclose a medical diagnosis in the statement cited by news outlets.

The planned hiatus also affects Grande’s previously reported professional commitments. She is not expected to participate in the London West End production With George, a project that would have brought her back together with Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey.

The Remaining Tour

The London performances are part of Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour. The tour’s concluding run includes 10 performances at the O2 Arena, with the final scheduled show set for September 1.

Grande’s decision to continue with the tour before taking time away from public appearances was reflected in the statement from her representative. The representative said Grande was focused on completing the tour and prioritizing her health and happiness afterward.

The surprise appearance gave the London audience a live reunion between two performers whose collaboration had been closely associated with the Wicked films. It also placed Erivo’s return to the stage alongside Grande in the final phase of Grande’s current tour, before the announced pause from public-facing work.

Her father, Alan “Skip” Panettiere, announced the death in a family statement issued through publicist Kasey Kitchen on Sunday, August 16.

“She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” her father said in the statement.

The family asked for privacy while grieving, according to the statement.

No cause of death had been announced as of August 17, and Reuters reported that the circumstances were under investigation.

A Career Across Film and Television

Panettiere began working as a child actor and appeared in television commercials and programs before establishing herself in film and television.

Among her early film credits was Pixar’s 1998 animated feature A Bug’s Life, in which she voiced Dot, a young princess ant.

Her work on the film’s read-along album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for Children, according to Reuters.

She also appeared in the 2000 football drama Remember the Titans, which starred Denzel Washington, and later acted in films including Raising Helen, Ice Princess and Scream 4.

Panettiere became widely known in 2006 as Claire Bennet on NBC’s science-fiction drama Heroes.

Claire was a high-school cheerleader with regenerative abilities, and the character became one of the series’ central figures.

She subsequently played Juliette Barnes on Nashville, a musical drama centered on performers and the country-music industry.

Her performance on Nashville brought two Golden Globe nominations, in 2013 and 2014, for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.

Panettiere also appeared in the Scream franchise, including a return as Kirby Reed in the 2023 film Scream 4 sequel entry.

Reuters reported that her most recent screen appearance was in Sleepwalker, a psychological thriller released in January 2026.

Public Discussion of Health and Recovery

In recent years, Panettiere spoke publicly about postpartum depression, alcohol addiction and recovery.

NBC News described its report on her death as also addressing her public discussion of those experiences.

Panettiere’s memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, was released in May 2026.

The book’s published synopsis described an account of postpartum depression, addiction, recovery, trauma, domestic abuse and loss.

In a 2022 interview with Good Morning America, Panettiere discussed alcoholism and postpartum depression.

“I didn’t know where the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning,” she said in that interview.

Panettiere’s public comments formed part of a broader account of the challenges she experienced after becoming a parent and while navigating recovery.

Those past disclosures do not establish a cause of death, which had not been released by authorities or the family as of August 17.

Family and Legacy

Panettiere is survived by her daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Reuters reported that Panettiere had said Kaya lived with Klitschko in Ukraine.

Panettiere’s brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died in February 2023 at age 28.

His family said at the time that he died from cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, together with complications involving the aortic valve.

After her brother’s death, Panettiere spoke about her grief in an interview with People.

Her death was reported less than a week before her 37th birthday, according to ABC News.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said Panettiere had been a member since 1994.

Her work as a child performer and adult actor spanned animated film, network television, serialized drama and horror films.

Further details about the investigation and the circumstances of Panettiere’s death were not immediately available.

In conversation, she seamlessly slips in and out of that singular voice — a little breathy, a little squeaky, a little lispy, a little New York — that made her “Little Shop of Horrors” heroine an instant icon. It wasn’t a register she’d planned on hitting at the audition. It just came out of her in the moment, and it stuck.

“I didn’t think about it,” Greene, 75, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “It was weird, I mean, I don’t know where half of this stuff came from.”

Back on tour with ‘Little Shop’

In her long and robust career on the stage and screen, Audrey is perhaps Greene’s defining role. Her tragicomic shopgirl of skid row belted her way into audiences’ hearts off-Broadway in 1982, and then in Frank Oz’s 1986 film opposite Rick Moranis.

The catchy musical about that flesh-eating plant is never too far in the rearview either. Every few years it seems she’s beckoned for an encore. In 2015, she reprised the role for three sold-out shows, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing Seymour.

Starting this weekend, she'll be making stops around the country for the next few months for 40th anniversary screenings, from Seattle (Aug. 18) to Atlanta (Nov. 13). Performances of “Somewhere That’s Green” have been promised too.

'Somewhere That’s Green'

That aching ballad about wanting more, aside from being one of the big showstoppers, holds a special place for Greene. She remembers first listening to it on the unemployment line, waiting to get her check, and quietly singing along.

“I just knew there was an Audrey inside of me waiting to be born,” Greene said.

She carried that feeling to the audition where composer Alan Menken jumped in to play the piano with lyricist Howard Ashman, already her great friend, looking on. When she finished, everyone was in tears.

Getting the role wasn’t any sort of immediate windfall either. When they started at the WPA Theatre in New York, she was being paid $50 a week for a month of rehearsals and two months of shows off-Broadway. But it was a hit. One night, Steve Martin, who would later play Audrey’s abusive dentist boyfriend in the film, even came to see it with Mary Tyler Moore.

On the stage, she performed “Somewhere That's Green” sitting on a trash can. For the film, Ashman wrote the number to be staged like the Leslie Caron and Cyd Charisse numbers they both loved, where a character walks into a room and suddenly they’re in a different outfit for the song.

“You would think I would just have been floored and so excited that he gave me this gift,” she said. “Instead, I call him up and I’m crying my eyes out. And I’m saying, wait for this, ‘Where’s my trash can?’”

Ashman, she said, just laughed and assured her that they’d elicit the same response when the camera pans out to reveal she’s still on skid row. Ironically, this whole exchange happened before she’d even officially been cast in the movie.

How the audience saved Audrey from dying

The story of how the film was made is long and bumpy. John Landis was originally attached to direct, then, briefly, Martin Scorsese, before it found its way to Oz. Greene’s participation was never a given, either. Producer David Geffen wanted to get a “bigger name,” like Cyndi Lauper, on screen.

“I never thought I would have gotten the film,” Greene said.

But it’s hard to imagine anyone else turning in a performance as distinctive. Test audiences loved her Audrey so much that they wholly rejected an ending in which she dies.

“I love that death scene, personally,” Greene said. “But I had an inkling, you see, because Frank directed the Audrey for the screen more heroine-like.”

He’d taken out lines from the play like “you don’t meet nice boys when you live on skid row,” she said in Audrey-speak. She thinks it set her up a little differently. Then at the end, there’s the line “when I die, which should be very shortly.” On stage, she said it to the audience. In the film, she says it to Seymour. It's more intimate and serious.

“Frank thinks it’s because we didn’t take a bow, like in the play, but I think it’s because it’s just the line is interpreted two different ways. One sets it up that this is silly and I’m OK, and the other one is it’s real and it’s touching,” she said.

Oz ultimately relented and they shot a happier conclusion. Now, Greene just likes that they both exist (the original in a director’s cut).

Keeping Howard Ashman's memory alive

Remembering “Little Shop” is also a way to remember Ashman, who died of complications related to AIDS in 1991. Their friendship was one of many laughs, songs and adventures. He even took her on her first trip to Paris.

“We got into my room and he put on a bubble bath, because he knows I love bubble baths. I got into the bath, he gave me Champagne, he gave me caviar, he put on Piaf,” she said. “We had separate rooms, of course, but we were close, so what can you do? And I’m from the theater, so I’m not modest.”

He also looked out for her. When they were drawing up contracts for the “Little Shop” stage run, all she could think about was making sure London was in there. Unbeknownst to her, Ashman had also given her a half point of the profit, “because I created Audrey,” she said.

“That’s how generous and kind he was and how much he loved me,” she said. “Everybody loves Audrey because we, I, loved her first. And everybody loves “Little Shop” because we put so much love in it … I am so grateful and very humble because when they love ‘Little Shop’, they keep it alive, and they keep Howard Ashman alive.”

Duckworth’s mother, Joni Duckworth, confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Thursday, Aug. 13.

“My son, Tyler, passed away earlier this week,” Joni Duckworth wrote, according to reports citing her statement.

She added that the cause of death had not yet been determined and said she would share information about memorial services after discussing arrangements with Tyler’s father.

What Police Reported

The Grand Forks Police Department told PEOPLE that officers were dispatched to Duckworth’s apartment at approximately 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, after downstairs neighbors reported water coming through their ceiling.

Police said officers entered the apartment and determined that the water was coming from the bathtub in Duckworth’s bathroom.

Duckworth’s body was found in that bathroom, according to the police account reported by PEOPLE.

Authorities said it was not immediately clear how long Duckworth had been dead, although police said he had been seen the previous day.

Police reported no apparent signs of foul play and said the death did not appear suspicious.

The official cause of death remains pending, with an autopsy and toxicology testing planned.

Police told PEOPLE that toxicology results may take approximately 10 to 12 weeks.

No credible report reviewed for this article establishes a medical cause of death, and no conclusion about contributing circumstances should be drawn before the investigation is complete.

Television Career

Duckworth first appeared on MTV’s The Real World: Key West in 2006 after graduating from Tufts University.

He later competed on The Challenge seasons titled The Duel, The Gauntlet III, Cutthroat, Rivals, All Stars 2 and All Stars 3.

Duckworth won Cutthroat in 2010 and Rivals in 2011, making him a two-time champion of the competition series.

He returned to the franchise for The Challenge: All Stars 2 in 2021 and All Stars 3 in 2022.

In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Duckworth discussed returning to the franchise after his consecutive victories.

“I won two in a row and won against pretty stacked casts, but that was 11 years ago,” he said at the time.

Duckworth said his motivation for returning was primarily to compete and determine whether he could still manage the physical and strategic demands of the series.

Outside reality television, Duckworth had been working as a middle and high school teacher, according to PEOPLE’s report.

Recent Public Appearance

Duckworth attended a Challenge Mania fan event in Minneapolis on July 31, nearly two weeks before his death.

He shared photographs from the event with fellow The Challenge cast members Rachel Robinson, Brad Fiorenza, Tina Barta and Mark Long.

In an Instagram post following the gathering, Duckworth thanked fans and described the event as a chance to represent his hometown of Minneapolis.

The appearance was his most recent publicly reported fan event before his death.

Investigation Continues

Duckworth’s family has not announced service details as of Aug. 14.

Authorities have not announced an official cause of death.

The available reporting establishes where Duckworth was found and the circumstances that led police to the apartment, but it does not establish why he died.

Further information is expected after the autopsy and toxicology process is completed.

Speaking during a panel at Fan Expo Boston, Evans said, “I have a daughter now,” before explaining that parenthood had altered his approach to work.

“You need a really good reason to want to go to work now,” the actor said, adding, “You know, priorities have shifted a bit.”

The remarks were shared in videos from the appearance and reported by multiple entertainment outlets.

Evans did not provide additional personal details about his daughter or discuss her publicly beyond the comments reported from the panel.

Welcoming Their First Child

Evans and Baptista welcomed their first child together on Oct. 24, 2025, in Massachusetts, according to PEOPLE.

The couple named their daughter Alma Grace Baptista Evans, PEOPLE reported, citing a source familiar with the family.

The Los Angeles Times also reported the child’s arrival and name after PEOPLE reported the birth.

At the time, a source told PEOPLE that Evans and Baptista were enjoying privacy and the early days of family life with their baby.

The couple has generally kept their relationship and family life out of the public spotlight.

Evans and Baptista were first publicly linked in January 2022 and married in September 2023.

Evans previously confirmed that the couple held wedding ceremonies on the East Coast and in Portugal during an appearance at New York Comic Con in October 2023.

Evans’s Earlier Comments About Family

The actor’s recent remarks are consistent with comments he made before becoming a parent.

In an interview with PEOPLE before his daughter’s birth, Evans said that he wanted a wife, children and a family.

“That’s absolutely something I want: wife, kids, building a family,” Evans said in that interview.

He also said that relationships, family and love could ultimately matter more to people than the work they created.

At the premiere of Red One in November 2024, Evans was asked whether he hoped to become a “superhero” father like his costar Dwayne Johnson’s character.

“Yeah, I hope so. Yeah, absolutely,” Evans replied, adding, “The title of dad is an exciting one.”

His Boston comments are the most direct public discussion of his experience as a parent since the couple welcomed their daughter.

Balancing Family and Acting

Although Evans said parenthood has made him more selective about work, he continues to have major film commitments.

He is scheduled to reprise his role as Steve Rogers in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, which Entertainment Weekly reported is scheduled for release on Dec. 18.

Evans told Entertainment Weekly at San Diego Comic-Con that he had received at least a dozen proposals for returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe over an eight-year period before agreeing to come back.

He said the project ultimately felt right after Robert Downey Jr.’s involvement in the franchise’s next chapter, including Downey’s reported role as Doctor Doom.

Evans also said that he was not eager to return to the role for just any project, describing the characters and their place in the Marvel universe as valuable.

The comments present his professional choices as selective rather than signaling a complete departure from acting.

A Deliberately Private Family Life

Evans and Baptista have not made their daughter a regular subject of public appearances or social-media posts.

Their first public appearance together after becoming parents came at the 2026 Academy Awards, several months after Alma’s birth.

Evans presented the award for best screenplay during that ceremony, while he and Baptista attended the event together.

The couple’s limited public discussion has kept the focus on the information they have chosen to share themselves or through confirmed reports.

At Fan Expo Boston, Evans’s brief statement offered a small window into how he is approaching the change without disclosing further details about his family.

For now, his message was straightforward: becoming a father has changed the calculation behind accepting work, while leaving room for projects he considers meaningful.

“People criticize me for Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, because of their politics or their views,” Winfrey said in an interview published by the Television Academy’s emmy magazine.

“Everybody has their own path in life, and it has not one thing to do with me, and I don’t have one thing to do with them,” she added.

Winfrey said her original intention was to share information she believed could benefit viewers, rather than to shape the men’s future political identities.

“At the time, the reason and intention behind me giving them their breaks was I thought they had valuable information to share that had been meaningful to me,” Winfrey said.

How Dr. Phil Came to the Show

Winfrey described McGraw’s first major appearance on her program as a consequence of his assistance during a 1998 legal dispute involving the beef industry.

Texas cattlemen sued Winfrey for alleged defamation after she discussed beef and mad-cow disease on her talk show, and her legal team hired McGraw as a trial consultant.

Winfrey said McGraw accompanied her during the preparation for the trial and impressed her as practical, direct and approachable.

She subsequently invited him onto The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he appeared as an expert on relationships and personal problems before receiving his own syndicated program.

McGraw’s self-titled daytime show ran for more than two decades before ending in 2023, after which he launched Merit Street Media and continued appearing in political and cultural programming.

Dr. Oz’s Rise From Medical Contributor to Federal Official

Winfrey said her friend and television personality Gayle King introduced her to Oz, whose ability to explain medical subjects in accessible language appealed to her.

Oz began appearing on Winfrey’s program in 2004 and later hosted The Dr. Oz Show, which established him as a nationally recognized television medical personality.

His later career moved into electoral politics and federal administration.

Oz currently serves as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency responsible for administering major public health insurance programs.

President Donald Trump selected Oz to lead CMS, and the Senate confirmed him in April 2025 by a 53–45 vote.

Winfrey publicly supported John Fetterman, Oz’s Democratic opponent, during Pennsylvania’s 2022 Senate election.

McGraw’s Political Involvement

McGraw has also taken a more visible role in conservative political circles since his daytime television career ended.

The White House named McGraw as a member of the Religious Liberty Commission established during Trump’s administration.

The commission’s membership included religious leaders, policy advocates and public figures, including McGraw and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

McGraw also appeared at a 2024 Trump campaign rally in New York, where he criticized diversity, equity and inclusion policies and defended Trump against accusations that he was a bully.

Those public affiliations have renewed scrutiny of Winfrey’s role in introducing both men to a mass television audience.

Winfrey’s response draws a distinction between providing an early media platform and accepting responsibility for decisions made by former television colleagues years later.

The comments do not indicate that Winfrey has resumed a professional partnership with either man.

Instead, she presented their current views and activities as separate from the reasons she originally invited them onto her program: information she believed had helped her and could help her audience.

The actor made the comments in a British Vogue profile published August 13. People and LGBTQ+ outlets Them and PinkNews subsequently reported on the remarks.

“I’ve said it before but I used to go to trans clubs,” Kidman told British Vogue. “That’s where I learnt to do my hair and makeup.”

Kidman described herself at the time as “a little freckled-faced red-headed girl” who would sit down while women at the clubs styled her. “They would make me beautiful,” she said.

She said the makeovers included lashes, straightened hair, hairpieces and makeup. After leaving, she recalled feeling attractive and changed by the experience. “I would walk out of there and I would feel pretty,” she said. “I would feel like I was transformed.”

A connection to fashion, acting and performance

Kidman linked those early experiences to her later interest in fashion, makeup and hair. She also connected them with her studies in literature and her love of acting.

“And so that’s probably where it all started for me – clothes and make-up and hair – and then all of it mixed with studying literature and loving acting,” Kidman said.

The remarks present the clubs not simply as nightlife venues but as places where Kidman encountered practical beauty knowledge and performance-related expression. The published reports do not identify the clubs, the women involved or the precise dates of Kidman’s visits.

The wording in the interview refers to “trans clubs,” while subsequent coverage characterizes the people who helped Kidman as trans women. The available reports do not establish whether Kidman meant clubs organized specifically for transgender people, venues primarily attended by trans people or particular events within a broader queer nightlife scene.

The comments arrive in a broader discussion of Kidman’s style

Kidman’s account appeared in a profile that also discussed her personal life, approach to uncertainty and continuing interest in nightlife. In a separate section of the same interview, she described going to clubs and raves while wearing glasses and, sometimes, a dark wig to avoid recognition.

Kidman said her evening could involve dinner followed by a club at 1 a.m. She told the magazine that disguising herself allowed her to dance, provided she was surrounded by people she had brought with her.

That contemporary clubbing detail gives additional context to Kidman’s recollection of earlier experiences in trans clubs, although the interview does not state that the two periods were connected. The article likewise does not say that Kidman identified as transgender or that her visits represented anything other than the experiences she described.

Why the account has drawn attention

The comments were widely circulated because they attribute a foundational part of Kidman’s relationship with beauty and presentation to transgender women. Them summarized the story as Kidman going “straight to the source” to learn makeup, while PinkNews reported that she credited trans women with helping her develop beauty skills associated with her Hollywood image.

Kidman’s description centers on instruction, care and transformation rather than on a specific professional makeup artist or formal beauty course. She recalled the women performing the styling themselves and described the emotional effect of leaving the club feeling “pretty” and “transformed.”

No source reviewed for this report independently identified the individual trans women Kidman recalled or corroborated the events through their testimony. The account therefore rests on Kidman’s published recollection, reproduced by multiple outlets, rather than on independently documented details about the clubs or participants.

The interview provides no further explanation of when Kidman began visiting the clubs, how often she went or whether the women understood their interactions as mentorship. Those details remain unavailable in the reporting published by August 14.

What is clear from the interview is that Kidman remembers those encounters as formative. She placed them at the beginning of an enduring interest in hair, makeup and clothing that later became intertwined with literature and acting.

The announcement was made by Crave on Thursday, August 13, and came one week after Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie were announced as additional season-two cast members.

Hampshire will play Vanessa, Ryding will portray Luca Haas, Naylor will play Wyatt Hayes, Jalees will appear as Farah Jalali, and Priyanka will play Tarek.

The five actors will join returning stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who play professional hockey rivals Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.

Smith and Gillespie are set to play Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively, characters who form the central couple in the season’s additional storyline.

The surprising past

Naylor’s casting has attracted attention because of an earlier voice-acting role that contrasts sharply with the adult hockey drama. Before joining Heated Rivalry, Naylor voiced Dora Winifred “D.W.” Read, Arthur Read’s younger sister, in the long-running animated children’s series Arthur.

PinkNews reported that Naylor voiced D.W. from 2007 to 2012. Reference listings also identify Naylor as D.W.’s voice in Arthur, including episodes from the late 2000s and early 2010s.

In Heated Rivalry, Naylor’s character is Wyatt Hayes, a starting goaltender for the Ottawa Centaurs. The Hollywood Reporter described Wyatt and Luca as Ottawa teammates of Storrie’s Ilya Rozanov and Gillespie’s Troy Barrett.

The casting connects Naylor’s childhood voice work with a series centered on adult relationships, professional sport and queer identity. Heated Rivalry follows LGBTQ+ characters navigating romance and public visibility within the world of professional hockey.

Who the new characters are

Ryding’s Luca Haas is described as a rookie player for the Ottawa Centaurs. The Swedish actor is known for playing Prince Wilhelm in Netflix’s Young Royals and appears in the film 28 Years Later.

Jalees will play Farah Jalali, an agent who represents Shane and Ilya in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series, the source material for the television adaptation. Jalees is known for work including I Used to Be Funny and Black Mirror.

Hampshire, recognized for her role as Stevie Budd in Schitt’s Creek, will portray Vanessa. Vanessa is described as a close and supportive friend of Fabian Salah, a musician whose story is part of Reid’s third Game Changers novel, Tough Guy. Priyanka will play Tarek, another friend in Fabian’s circle.

Priyanka is a Canadian drag performer and actor known for winning the first season of Canada’s Drag Race. Her casting adds another LGBTQ+ performer to a series whose audience and subject matter are closely tied to queer representation in mainstream entertainment.

Season-two story and timing

The first season was based primarily on Reid’s Heated Rivalry, the second novel in the Game Changers series, and focused on Shane and Ilya’s concealed relationship alongside their competition on the ice.

Season two will draw from The Long Game, Reid’s sixth novel, which continues Shane and Ilya’s story after they enter a committed relationship. Series creator Jacob Tierney has also said that Role Model, which takes place during the same period in the books, will provide source material for the new season.

The additions of Vanessa and Tarek indicate that Fabian and hockey player Ryan Price’s storyline may appear in the television adaptation, although casting for Fabian and Ryan had not been announced in the reports reviewed.

Production is scheduled to begin in August, with the second season targeting a spring 2027 release. Crave commissioned the series with participation from the Canada Media Fund, while HBO Max is set to continue carrying it internationally.

The season-two announcement broadens the ensemble around the returning leads and introduces characters from several books in Reid’s series. For Naylor, the role marks a move from the familiar voice of an animated child character to a live-action part in a queer hockey drama aimed at an adult audience.