UK viewers warm up for steamy ice hockey hit Heated Rivalry

TV’s latest word-of-mouth hit Heated Rivalry arrives in the UK this weekend, after setting pulses racing across the Atlantic and catapulting its cast to stardom in recent weeks.

Based on Rachel Reid’s books, the series centres on the illicit relationship between two ice hockey players – one Canadian and the other Russian – who are rivals on the ice but lovers off it.

The show has grabbed attention for its sex scenes, but has won praise for its heartfelt depiction of LGBT relationships, and sparked discussions about representation on TV and in sport.

It was made by Canadian streaming service Crave and was swiftly picked up by HBO Max in the US, where it was released in late November.

Canadian actor Hudson Williams plays Shane Hollander, while Connor Storrie, from Texas, plays Ilya Rozanov.

They are the first major roles for both actors, and the show has swiftly made them among the hottest properties in the industry.

They have been signed by one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, CAA, have been booked to appear on US TV chat shows, and will present an award together at this weekend’s Golden Globes.

The cast also includes François Arnaud, known for The Borgias and Midnight, Texas; and Christina Chang from shows like Nashville and CSI: Miami.

Heated Rivalry became “a word-of-mouth sensation” (according to Rolling Stone), “the year’s biggest TV surprise” (Variety) and “the unexpected TV conversation of the moment” (Newsweek).

It is “hard to fathom just how quickly Heated Rivalry took the world by storm”, Radio Times said last month.

The sex is “almost constant” and it’s “no exaggeration to say that far more of the show takes place between the sheets than on the ice”, David Opie wrote.

But he added: “As naughty as the show can be, it’s also rather moving at points… Heated Rivalry is as authentic in its feelings as it is in its approach to gay sex, something which mainstream productions rarely nail.”

That view was echoed elsewhere. The show “resonates because it embodies our lives”, Jim Downs wrote in the New York Times.

“If you want to understand why this show has become our community’s equivalent of a cultural earthquake, the answer is that watching a gay couple be mildly boring and in love is still radical,” he said.

Commentators have noted that both the show and the books have attracted a large female audience (the “wine moms”, as writer-director Jacob Tierney has dubbed them).

“But so much attention to female fandom… risks overshadowing what a bountiful gift Heated Rivalry is to the gays,” wrote David Rooney in the Hollywood Reporter. “That becomes increasingly apparent as each successive episode taps into richer veins of queer experience concerning the fight between desire and self-denial.”

He added: “The combination of sex-positivity and swoony romantic wish-fulfillment makes Heated Rivalry hugely satisfying, taking it far beyond the notion of ‘Canadian gay hockey smut,’ as it’s been reductively called.”

Not everyone agreed that it was telling LGBT stories in a new way.

Its “understanding of gay life is frozen in the past”, said Slate.

“I actually love the series, as do so many viewers, for its heat, its pacing, and its emotional pull,” wrote Jim Downs.

“But enjoyment does not preclude critique. And what the show reveals is that gay storytelling today is limited not so much by social acceptance as by the narrow stories it keeps repeating.”

Meanwhile, Bloomeberg said the show was reigniting a “troubling debate” about “what counts as ‘authentic’ storytelling” – noting speculation about the lead actors’ real-life sexualities (they haven’t commented) and that the books were written by a woman, although showrunner Tierney is a gay man.

Asked about the issue, Reid has said: “Queer joy is important to me, combating homophobia in hockey is important to me, the theme of being brave enough to live how you want and love who you want is important to me. I am not a gay or bisexual man, but I try to write thoughtfully and sensitively about these fictional characters.”

As for the homophobia point, some have suggested the show could trigger a change in attitudes in the sport, with the Athletic pointing out there have never been any openly gay players in the NHL and asking whether Heated Rivalry could “change hockey culture”.

The show is based on the Game Changers series of novels by Reid, who’s a Canadian author.

It’s specifically adapted from the second book in the series, titled Heated Rivalry, published in 2019, about ice hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.

There are six books in total, published between 2018 and 2022.

In 2023, Tierney approached her about turning the books into a TV show.

“What stood out to me in retrospect is that [Heated Rivalry] accomplishes a different task than these books usually do,” he told Rolling Stone. “This is not about somebody coming out, it’s about two people figuring out they are allowed to be in love. And that zig where the other books zag really stuck with me.”

Reid said she was most proud of helping to bring “a sweet, sexy, romantic, and, most importantly, happy queer love story to television”.

It is, she said, “a story where the sexual tension and romance isn’t subtext, or a tease, or something that ends in tragedy”, adding: “I want a million more shows like this one.”

The series will be available in the UK on Sky from Saturday, 10 January, starting with a double bill on Sky Atlantic from 21:00 GMT.

All six episodes will be available on streaming service Now from the same date.