
When Parrell joined the team as cinematographer for the popular new hockey romance, he was initially concerned it would look cheap – a common worry in the film industry. He’d first heard about the project from a friend at a dinner in Toronto. It was a drama for Crave, based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, about two rival hockey captains falling in love. The story would be filmed in Montreal, Moscow, and Las Vegas, featuring glamorous locations like penthouses and arenas. Despite these ambitious settings, Parrell says it was likely the lowest-budget project he’d ever worked on, especially compared to the standards of a streaming service like HBO, where the show, Heated Rivalry, is available in the US. While he wouldn’t call it a favor, he admits he initially saw it as a chance to work with familiar faces.