Unless you live under some sort of rock (or you’ve taken a break from social media, which, good for you!), you have likely heard of “Heated Rivalry” — the overnight-sensation Canadian sports romance television series and Crave original.
Based on Rachel Reid’s 2019 novel of the same name, “Heated Rivalry” explores the story of two closeted professional hockey players who develop a secret relationship over the course of their careers. Starring Hudson Williams as Montreal Metros captain Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Boston Raiders captain Ilya Rozanov, the show became a sleeper hit after the official trailer dropped in early October.
Three months and six episodes later, “Heated Rivalry” has taken both the internet and streaming services by storm. The show has consistently ranked at number one on HBO Max and served as one of the highest debuts of the year, shattered streaming records for Crave in Canada and was renewed for a second season mid-way through release.
The plot takes place over ten years, from their first meeting in 2008 until their trip to Shane’s cottage in 2018. While it's difficult to pull off a slow burn in only six episodes, show creator and director Jacob Tierney managed very effectively.
At the beginning, the show skips months of time between Shane and Ilya’s interactions with one another. Their first sexual encounter comes over a year and a half after their first interaction, and the two aren’t seen interacting with each other for another several months until the 2011 All-Star Game.
The first two episodes focus quite a bit on the sex and hookups. The sex scenes in the first two episodes, while quite drawn out (some of them being 5+ minutes), are incredibly well done. I am not someone who typically enjoys sex scenes, though not as puritanical about them as much of Gen Z, these scenes were not gratuitous or repetitive. Every sex scene served the plot in some kind of way, specifically as Shane grew more willing to explore his sexuality.
If you haven’t read the book, to sum it up in a word, it’s smutty. Very smutty. Almost Wattpad-y smutty. And while the creators and promoters of the show leaned heavily into the smuttiness, I actually believe “Heated Rivalry” is at its best when it transitioned to fewer explicit sex scenes and more implied sex (which they do in episodes three and four).
The two stars, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, were incredible. As noted by many outlets, and clearly evidenced in their interactions outside the show, their chemistry is palpable. Both men are extremely early in their careers and both of whom were waiting tables just one year ago.
Storrie blew me away with his portrayal of Ilya. I noticed, as did many audience members, that Storrie seems also unrecognizable in the show. His face looks different as Ilya, more typically Eastern European.
Furthermore, despite being from Texas (with apparently no Russian or Slavic relatives), Storrie pulls off an extremely authentic Russian accent. At one point in episode five, he flawlessly delivers a lengthy Russian monologue — not only impressive for an American actor, but especially impressive for an actor who only speaks as much Russian as the show required.
With all of that said, I don’t want to discount or discredit Williams. As Shane, Williams was able to sink into a role much different than his typical self — far less expressive, much more guarded. In the books, most of what readers learn about Shane is through internal dialogue, as he keeps his cards agonizingly close to his chest.
In lieu of internal dialogue, Williams' use of facial expressions was masterful. In episode two, during a scene after Ilya had ‘ghosted’ Shane for several months, Williams extremely effectively portrayed Shane’s vulnerability, hurt, lust and love entirely through his eyes.
In addition to Shane and Ilya, the show also takes time to share the story of another couple — closeted New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter and smoothie barista Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.).
Scott and Kip’s storyline takes the entirety of episode three and occurs over the span of several months rather than the year-long skips of the first two episodes. While episode three felt a bit jarring in the moment, eventually things fit into place at the end of episode five. Coincidentally, the ending of episode five was one of the greatest television moments I have ever seen.
François Arnaud, who plays Scott, was particularly excellent in his role. Despite looking quite different from the book’s physical description of Scott, he effectively pulled off Scott’s brooding nature. He also was able to portray the deep pain Scott feels after decades of being closeted and losing both parents. In particular, in one scene where he goes with Kip to an art gallery (and the aftermath), Arnaud gives a particularly strong and emotional performance.
That said, Scott and Kip’s storyline was deeply frustrating. In the book “Game Changer,” which focuses on their relationship, the entire plot occurs for the first six months of 2017. In the show, the plot takes place in 2014, which creates a three-year-long unexplained gap that is finally solved with episode five (which takes place in 2017). This is especially frustrating given episode three’s cliffhanger. The finale of episode five, despite being an incredible scene, occurs entirely unexplained.
Tierney and Arnaud have said the gap occurred due to an error caught during editing, which still makes little to no sense, considering there is no plot point that must occur in 2014. Swapping episode 3 and 4 wouldn’t disrupt the shot much at all, would solve this timeline gap and even give fans an interesting cliffhanger for Shane and Ilya. Instead, fans are left to headcanon three unexplained years. I desperately hope some of that gap is addressed in season two.
Regardless of this point, the show was masterfully put together. In particular, the attention to detail was incredible. One of my favorite examples of this is how much effort was put into recreating certain periods of time. In the late 2000s, Shane is seen texting and watching a video on a Blackberry. When Shane meets Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse), his brief girlfriend and then best friend, her outfit looks straight out of 2016 fashion. This also adds to the pressure around Ilya, Shane and Scott to remain closeted, as societal views on the queer community heavily evolved throughout the 2010s.
Furthermore, the showrunners did a fantastic job casting and writing the side characters throughout the show. In particular, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana, Callan Potter as Hayden Pike, Christina Chang as Yuna Hollander (Shane’s mother) and Nadine Bhabha as Elena. All four of these actors, despite not being in “major” roles, were incredible in their episodes and storylines.
While, for many, “Heated Rivalry” has been reduced to ‘that one gay hockey show’ — I believe it represents something more. Past the sex and the angst, there is a timeless love story found in Shane and Ilya’s relationship. The endless chemistry between Williams and Storrie lends itself to that.
Representation is deeply important and “Heated Rivalry” is a breakthrough for queer people in hockey. There has still never been an out active NHL player. Over time, despite progress for queer people in other sectors, the NHL has only grown less open to the community.
I hope that this show, through its dynamic storytelling and heart, can make an impact on an otherwise unwelcome community for queer people. If nothing else, it will certainly bring a wave of queer fans to hockey, making the rest of us a bit less lonely.
4/5 Stars
