After the Success of ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Canadian Network Crave Has Found Its Next Romance Novel To Adapt

After the success of the Heated Rivalry adaptation, Canadian network, Crave, has looked at what could have made it get so much attention. The reason? The smut!

Because of that, the Bell Media-owned network has optioned another romance novel. This time, Crave is going for a dark romance, optioning Five Brothers by Penelope Douglas. The plan is to create it into a multi-season series.

Five Brothers was released in 2024, and it is something Douglas immediately connected to as she developed the storyline. As you would expect based on the title, it’s a story that follows one woman’s journey into understanding and learning the secrets of the five Jaeger brothers.

The eldest is Macon, an ex-Marine. Then there is Army, a single dad who doesn’t even know if he is a Jaeger brother or not. Iron is the middle brother, and the blurb tells us that he’ll be in prison soon, and then Dallas is the one the lead female character hates.

Finally, there’s Trace, a man who is this woman’s favorite but who can’t be tamed for too long. He’s the one this woman is sure didn’t hold her tightly one night when she was crying. Something happened that night, and she has to figure out which of the five brothers it was.

Despite Crave planning on a multi-season storyline, there is only one book by Douglas. This could lead to a problem similar to The Handmaid’s Tale.

When mentioning the reason for the development of Five Brothers, Carlyn Klebuc, the general manager for original programming at Bell Media, said that, “Heated Rivalry proved there is global appetite for sexy, sophisticated, and mainstream romance stories. With complex lead characters, a boundary-pushing story, and a built-in audience, we’re excited to develop Crave’s next big swing in the romance genre.”

The wait for Heated Rivalry Season 2 also continues. The series has been renewed, and it is expected to arrive on Crave in 2027. There’s no word on when Five Brothers could arrive, as that is still in the planning stage.