It’s been a rough year in general, but especially for queer media on TV. While there’s still shows being produced, the tremendous shift rightward leaves dim hope for their continued production. It’s the perfect time for a show like Heated Rivalry, one that is unafraid to get hot and heavy. A series with an interesting journey to American screens.
Based on the romance novels by Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry is a production for Canadian streaming service Crave. Fan enthusiasm for the adaptation ultimately caused HBO Max to buy the U.S. rights. A sports love story, the series follows Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) two superstar hockey players. They meet as rookies, and the show follows their blossoming relationship as the duo navigate their professional and personal lives.
Heated Rivalry is far more interested in the personal. If you’re coming to the show hoping for some fast-paced hockey action, you’ll leave disappointed. Instead, the focus is on the fiery romance between our two leads. Williams and Storrie have incredible chemistry, and it shines through in their many scenes together. Ilya is the flashier role, and Storrie imbues the Russian native with a charm that’s hard to resist. In comparison, Hollander is a less dynamic character, but you can see Williams holding back the emotions. There’s more that he wants to say, but knows that he can’t.
The couple have put up a lot of walls, but they all come tumbling down in the bedroom. The show spends plenty of time on the sex scenes, and doesn’t hold back. It’s still rare that we see a series that depicts gay sex this openly and honestly. It’s also where we see our duo at their most vulnerable and connected. While the directing goes to great lengths to keep the scenes from getting too mature, there’s a sense of genuine passion that helps sell this relationship. Which is good because there isn’t much left to the program outside of it.
Heated Rivalry ultimately tells a pretty simple love story but overcomes it thanks to the strength of its central relationship. There’s a chemistry that is impossible to deny, like the best of romances. That it offers an oasis of sex-positive storytelling in our current desert is simply a plus. It’s a joy, then, that this series landed on American screens. If we can’t produce this type of work, the least we can do is import it.
Heated Rivalry is currently streaming on HBO Max. New episodes air on Fridays.