Listen — the gays have waited long enough. We’ve suffered through years of “intense male friendships,” slow-mo locker room glances, and NHL bromances so homoerotic they practically come with a playlist of Lorde B-sides. But finally, finally, the gay hockey romance is here — and it’s not subtext anymore.
Heated Rivalry, based on Rachel Reid’s beloved novel (read: hot, heartfelt, and extremely re-readable), is skating its way onto Crave with actual queer characters, actual romantic stakes, and enough chemistry to fog up every rink in Canada.
Directed by queer-fave Canadian Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Good Neighbors), the series stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov — rival pro hockey players who are basically enemies with benefits. Think: enemies-to-lovers, but with slapshots, shared hotel rooms, and years of unresolved sexual tension buried under layers of team colors and denial.
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What starts as a secret teenage hookup becomes an epic, 8-year saga of love, lust, and low-key emotional devastation. It’s Call Me by Your Name on ice. It’s Brokeback Mountain but with power plays and ESPN contracts. It’s what would happen if every queer fanfiction trope you adore got scouted by the NHL.
Tierney gets it. “Heated Rivalry had me hooked from the very first chapter,” he said. “At its core, it’s a beautiful love story with characters who feel real and so deeply human.”
Yes, baby. Give us feelings and body checks.
Whether you’re here for the soft yearning, the toxic competitiveness, or just two hot dudes aggressively repressing their feelings until they can’t anymore, this show is ready to give you everything you’ve been thirst-tweeting about since 2019.
No metaphors, no sad indie fade-outs, no “we can’t be together because of sports” nonsense. Just love, lust, and locker room longing.
Your move, Netflix.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Crave ?? So can anyone outside of Canada find this show anywhere ?