‘Heated Rivalry’ Cottage Owner Breaks Silence On Letting the Show Film At His House and Being Contacted for Season 2 | Just Jared
Much like the cottage in Heated Rivalry is Shane Hollander’s private escape, it’s the same for the home’s real-life owner.
Toronto-based doctor Michael Kutryk is breaking his silence and opening up about allowing the show’s production to film at his Muskoka retreat, as well as a return for season two, despite speculation that the show may have to find a new cottage to film at.
Michael‘s home was tracked down by a location scout for season one, who reached out to the home’s architect and then connected with the doctor.
He says producers told him the show had a “very small budget,” and he agreed to a low price that he says was “almost nothing,” which he nearly regretted.
“Not long before filming began,” Michael recalled to HGTV, “I was sitting out on the front stoop and all of a sudden these black SUVs pulled up, and [the crew members] started saying, ‘This is where we’ll put the porta-potties. This is where we’ll put the outdoor kitchen.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute, I thought this was supposed to be a small production? How many people are gonna be here?’”
Roughly 45 people were to be on site, which is small for normal production standards, but it “did not seem small to me!” Michael shared. “I had never imagined so many people.
“But they promised me it would just be for two days during the middle of the week, when I wouldn’t usually be using the house anyway, so I gave in.”
He then inquired about what the show was.
“The producer said, ‘It’s a series based on a book by a Canadian author [Rachel Reid], and it’s about hockey.’”
Michael then listened to the audiobook and was quite surprised when a scene turned erotic in the first chapter.
“My jaw just dropped as I listened,” he said with a laugh. “The pretty explicit nature of the book made me wonder just what they’d be filming … and showing!”
By then, it was too late to back out on, with Michael saying, “I just thought, OK, they’re gonna film what they’re gonna film. What’s done is done.”
While Michael wasn’t present during filming, he shares that what you see on the show is exactly how his cottage looks in real life, aside from a few paintings that had to be taken down.
“That’s pretty much all my stuff there in the house,” the doctor said. “They changed virtually nothing. I did have to take down all the artwork, because if it’s filmed and the artist sees it, the show would have to pay for it.”
But, for that steamy scene with Shane and Ilya on the bed, “they did swap out the mattress for that scene.”
Heated Rivalry did reach out to use the cottage for season two!
“I did a little bit of soul searching about allowing them to come back,” Michael shared. “I know they need it, and I realize I [could] be difficult and try to squeeze them, but I [couldn’t] bring myself to do that. When they called, they said, ‘How much do you want?’ First, I told them they scratched my table, then I named a very reasonable price. They were shocked and appreciative. I actually didn’t even get them to replace my table.”
As for season one, Michael also admits he was surprised at how much of the cottage was shown in the episode.
“I was really surprised at how much of the house Jacob [Tierney] showed,” Michael said. “I thought they would just show little vignettes of it. I was amazed they highlighted the cottage in all of its non-expansiveness — that it’s not huge or grand or sprawling. They even admit that only one bedroom has an en suite bathroom … [It’s] really something; they actually show it’s not a mansion. It’s just my little home.”
If you missed it, new details were recently revealed for the physical release of Heated Rivalry season one.
Filming for season two is currently underway. Find out the latest casting announcements and everything you need to know about what to expect!
Posted To:Heated Rivalry