Last November, a cultural phenomenon swept like a shockwave across the world’s media landscape. Based on a book series by Rachel Reid and adapted for screen by Jacob Tierney, an openly gay director and actor, the show “Heated Rivalry” became an unrivaled success, winning the hearts of viewers in every country it reached.
With a modest budget of 3 million CAD per episode and a small marketing campaign, the show took off with a slow start but rapidly grew its viewership as the word of mouth about a steamy, slow-burn romance between two queer hockey players spread globally.
In January this year, the Canadian prime minister gave a heartfelt speech, congratulating Rachel Reid and Jacob Tierney for bringing this story to the audiences and emphasizing the values of self-determination and freedom it embodies. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who portray the rivals in love, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, respectively, became Olympic torchbearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Zohran Mamdani endorsed the original book as well, after which its downloads in the New York Public Library jumped up by a whopping 529%, but the cultural impact of “Heated Rivalry” extends even further.
Hudson Williams shared that he, among others, received private messages from many queer athletes, talking about their experiences and struggles of living in the closet while pursuing a career in sports. Professional sports still remains one of the least accepting spaces for LGBTQ+ people, where homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny became normalized in casual interactions between teammates. “Heated Rivalry” challenged the toxic, hyper-masculine culture of locker room talk by centering gay love and emotional vulnerability in the narrative and finally offered visibility to those who couldn’t lead an open life for the fear of losing their careers.
A study by GLAAD found that queer representation in media increases LGBTQ+ acceptance in the general population, which lends even more significance to the success of “Heated Rivalry.” Reaching the mainstream is a remarkable achievement only a few queer shows have accomplished in the last decade.
However, the popularity of “Heated Rivalry” among straight women sparked online debates about fetishization of gay men, and the show was accused of glossing over heavier, messier parts of a gay relationship in favor of creating a clean fantasy that doesn’t reflect the reality of the LGBTQ+ community. While there is indeed no PrEP talk or intimate hygiene routines happening on screen, other fans argue that the audience shouldn’t always expect realism from the romantic genre and that some stories are allowed to exist with the sole purpose of depicting queer joy.
Jacob Tierney shared that one of his goals when filming was to create a show that focuses only on positive parts of the gay experience, since queer media is already over-saturated with tragic narratives. “Heated Rivalry” may be a fantasy, but a much-needed one in times when good news is rare and the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in society is at risk. Joyful, hopeful stories allow the audience to imagine a different future and temporarily disengage from the negativity that is flooding the modern media landscape.
Crave, the streaming service behind “Heated Rivalry,” has already renewed the show for season two, with HBO securing the rights as the main distributor. The still ongoing book series has enough material for Jacob Tierney to adapt, so if the show maintains its cultural momentum, the audience will get a chance to delight in many more stories of queer love and yearning over the next few years.
