Heated Rivalry is a Canadian television series about sports and romance. It was created, written, and directed by Jacob Tierney for Crave. The show is based on the Game Changers book series by Rachel Reid. The title comes from the second book in the series, which was published in 2019. The main characters are Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov. They are professional hockey players who keep a secret romantic relationship while playing for competing teams. Other actors in the show include François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, Sophie Nélisse, and Dylan Walsh.

The series was produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment and Bell Media. Most of the filming took place in Ontario, with Hamilton as the main location. This city was used to represent places like New York and Moscow. Important filming spots included Dundurn Castle, the FirstOntario Concert Hall, and the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, where all the ice hockey scenes were shot. The show had its first screening at the Image+Nation LGBTQ+ Film Festival in Montreal on November 23, 2025. The first season began airing on Crave on November 28, 2025. At the same time, it was released on HBO Max in the United States. HBO Max had bought the series nine days before the Canadian premiere. After the first season ended, Crave announced that a second season was being made. It is expected to be released in spring 2027 and will be based on Reid’s 2022 book, The Long Game.

Heated Rivalry received praise from critics. They especially liked Jacob Tierney’s direction, the writing, and the way the lead actors performed and interacted. It became the most-watched original series on Crave. It was also the most successful new series on HBO Max that was not animated. News outlets called the show a global success and a major hit with critics.

Premise

Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are professional ice hockey players who play for opposing fictional Major League Hockey teams, the Montreal Metros and Boston Raiders. Their competition on the ice is widely reported in the media and seen by the public as a strong rivalry. However, the two men also share a private, informal romantic relationship that occurs occasionally over many years while they continue their careers.

Cast and characters

• Trevor Hayes as Boston General Manager
• Kaden Connors as Sasha, Ilya's former romantic partner and the son of Ilya's former coach
• Harrison Browne as Connors, Ilya's teammate
• Devante Senior as Miles, Rose's friend and co-star

• Arthur Moukhortov as Sorren Miitka, Shane's teammate and the Metros' goaltender
• Vitali Makarov as Sergei Vetrov, the Russian Minister of Interior, former Soviet goaltender, and Svetlana's father

• Aidan Shaw as Kolya Andropov, Shane's teammate
• Wayne Ward as Tom
• Billie Mary Silas and Sam Nicole Silas as Ruby and Emma Pike, Hayden and Jackie's daughters
• Foster Blake as Maxime, the bartender at Le Tambour
• Tyrone Edwards as himself
• Lainey Lui as herself

Production

The book series Heated Rivalry is based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers novels, which were published from 2018 to 2027. Reid was inspired by the real-life rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin for the story. She also used real-life athletes such as Jaromír Jágr, Teemu Selänne, and Ilya Kovalchuk as inspiration for the character Ilya Rozanov. Wayne Gretzky and Paul Kariya inspired the character Shane Hollander.

Jacob Tierney first contacted Reid on August 7, 2023, after reading an article in The Washington Post about hockey romance novels. He had listened to the Game Changers series as an audiobook and wanted to adapt it into a limited television series. Tierney was unsure if the story could be adapted without changing its explicit sexual content. He explained that the sexual scenes in Heated Rivalry are important for character development, not just for shock value. When discussing the project with potential investors, Tierney and co-producer Brendan Brady faced suggestions to change the story or its tone.

In January 2025, it was announced that Crave, a streaming service, had agreed to produce the show based on a script written by Tierney. Reid confirmed this on her blog. In March 2025, a month before filming began, UK-based distributor Sphere Abacus joined Crave and Bell Media to fund the project, ensuring Tierney’s original vision for the show remained unchanged. In June 2025, Crave officially announced the series would be available on its platform. Tierney created, wrote, and directed the series. He also works as an executive producer with Brendan Brady through their company, Accent Aigu Entertainment. Lori Fischburg is a producer, and Reid is a consulting producer.

In a podcast interview, Brendan Brady said the budget for each episode was about 3 million Canadian dollars (2.2 million U.S. dollars). Rachel Goldstein, Tierney’s creative executive at Crave, advised against including the book’s epilogue in the series, as it might suggest a second season before it was confirmed. On December 12, 2025, Crave announced the series would return for a second season, with HBO Max as a key partner. The renewal followed strong viewer interest and high streaming numbers. The second season will adapt The Long Game (2022), the sixth book in the Game Changers series, which follows Heated Rivalry. Tierney said the second season would not premiere at the same time as the first, due to slower script writing. He also mentioned other writers might help with the season. Tierney plans to include a scene where Shane comes out to his team, an event that happens off-page in the book.

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie play Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, respectively. Other actors include François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh, Sophie Nélisse, and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova. Williams and Storrie signed on for three seasons. Both worked as restaurant waiters before being cast. Tierney emphasized the importance of finding actors with the physicality of hockey players who were comfortable with nudity and intimacy. He also wanted to cast them together because their relationship is central to the story. Williams and Storrie had strong chemistry during their first read, even over Zoom. Casting directors Jenny Lewis and Sara Kay were involved in the process.

Storrie auditioned shirtless for the role, even though it was not required. Williams met with three actors for chemistry reads, while Storrie met with one other actor. Storrie suggested Williams for the role. Williams said he felt a strong connection to Storrie, describing it as an "inexplicable X-factor." In a 2025 interview, Williams said he portrayed Shane as autistic after confirming with Reid that the character is on the autism spectrum. He was inspired by his father, who is also on the spectrum.

Nadine Bhabha, who plays Elena, was the first cast member. She is a friend of Tierney’s and was offered the role without an audition. Arnaud, another friend, was personally asked by Tierney to join the project. He initially thought the script was "soft pornography" but changed his mind after understanding how the sexual scenes develop the story. Christina Chang, who plays Shane’s mother Yuna, had a similar initial reaction but later called the script "amazing." Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, who plays Svetlana, said she wanted to challenge stereotypes about Russians in Western media, noting that Russia has many ethnic groups and cultural influences.

Principal photography for the first season began in April 2025. Filming took place in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, over 36 days. Scenes included a Las Vegas hotel room encounter between Shane and Ilya, and hockey rink scenes filmed near the end of production. In Ontario, locations included Toronto, Hamilton, and Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, which stood in for Moscow in one scene. The McMaster Burridge Gym in Hamilton was used for the first meeting between Shane and Ilya. FirstOntario Concert Hall in Hamilton was used for a Los Angeles party sequence.

All hockey scenes, including locker rooms and ice rinks, were filmed at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph. Real hockey players were used for background scenes, with body doubles for close-ups of the lead actors. Jonah De Simone doubled Hudson Williams, and Ralph Taggart doubled Connor Storrie.

The first-season finale was filmed in Muskoka. Montreal landmarks such as Windsor Station, St. George’s Anglican Church, Montreal Biosphere, and Parc Jean-Drapeau appear in the series. The Montreal skyline is visible from Shane’s apartment, and a framed picture of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal appears in Ilya’s hotel room. The series also includes references to Montreal neighborhoods like Mile End.

Release

The trailer for Heated Rivalry was released on October 9, 2025. The promotional posters for the series were photographed by Caitlin Cronenberg. On November 19, 2025, nine days before the series premiered on Crave, it was announced that HBO Max had bought the rights for the United States and Australia. The rights were acquired by HBO Max’s content chairman and CEO, Casey Bloys, and the Senior Vice President of content planning and programming, Jason Butler. This decision was partly because of online social media buzz from the Game Changers fanbase, who supported global distribution. In December 2025, after the series was renewed for a second season, HBO Max also bought rights for Latin America, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Macau, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Europe, except the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Turkey.

Heated Rivalry was originally planned to release in February 2026, after the 2026 Winter Olympics. However, in late September, Tierney and the executives decided to move the release date earlier to take advantage of increased interest in new shows during the holiday season. The series debuted on Crave with a two-episode premiere on November 28, 2025, followed by weekly episodes, with the finale airing on December 26. Before its television premiere, the first episode was shown at the 2025 Image+Nation festival in Montreal on November 23, 2025. The series is also available on Sky-owned Neon in New Zealand and Movistar Plus+ in Spain. HBO Max began streaming the series in the Philippines on December 19. It premiered on Sky in the UK and Ireland on January 10, 2026. In India, the series started streaming on Lionsgate Play on February 20, 2026.

The second season is expected to premiere in April 2027.

On December 10, 2025, the trailer for the series was shown at the Pride Night game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In January 2026, HBO Max and the 2026 Winter Olympics organizing committee announced that Storrie and Williams would be torchbearers for the games’ torch relay. The two actors participated in Feltre, Italy, on January 25. HBO Max planned to begin streaming Heated Rivalry and the 2026 Olympics to Italian viewers in February.

Reception

On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 89 critics gave the show positive reviews. The website's summary states: "Jacob Tierney adapted Rachel Reid's hockey-themed romance novels into a romantic and passionate story that celebrates true queer relationships, making Heated Rivalry a clear success." Metacritic, which calculates scores based on weighted averages, gave the season a score of 67 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Critics praised the performances of Williams and Storrie, as well as their chemistry. In The Washington Post, Rachel Kurzius wrote: "Their expressions show a mix of complex emotions, their chemistry is strong, and Storrie delivers an impressive Russian accent." For their roles in the first-season finale, TVLine named both Williams and Storrie as "Performers of the Week," while Film called them the strongest breakout performances of the year. Williams was also praised for his portrayal of an autistic character, with Time noting the performance’s nuanced and authentic depiction of autism. This review was supported by the Autism Research Institute. Arnaud’s portrayal of Scott received widespread praise. Dominic Baez of The Seattle Times compared the "Hunter" episode to the acclaimed "Long, Long Time" episode from The Last of Us, calling it "a meaningful and emotional addition" anchored by Arnaud’s powerful performance. Daniel Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter noted that Arnaud and Storrie were ineligible for Emmy consideration due to submission rules, but highlighted Scott’s championship moment and Ilya’s Russian monologue as standout scenes.

David Caballero of Collider gave the series an 8 out of 10, noting the strong early development of characters and the effective use of hockey in the story. Kaiya Shunyata of RogerEbert.com called the series "revolutionary" and described it as "one of the most entertaining shows of the year" and "the most significant queer show of the year." In The Globe and Mail, J. Kelly Nestruck praised Tierney’s writing and direction, saying he "explores the challenges of being queer and closeted in Canada versus Russia without focusing too much on social issues." Despite being unavailable to legally stream in Russia due to anti-LGBTQ laws, the show received an 8.3 user rating on Kinopoisk, making it one of the highest-rated shows in the country. Writing for Vanity Fair, Mikhail Zygar suggested that Ilya Rozanov’s story likely resonated with the Russian queer community.

Lucy Mangan of The Guardian gave the show three stars out of five, saying it focused too much on explicit depictions of gay sex and not enough on other parts of the story, such as character development. The show also sparked discussion about the visibility of LGBTQ people in sports and how media portrays gay and bisexual men, particularly in relation to boys’ love media and its mostly female audience.

Within weeks of its release, commentators noted the show’s impact as both a queer story and a romance novel adaptation. After only two episodes aired, Harper’s Bazaar listed it among the best queer television series of all time. By the end of the year, the series ranked among the best TV shows of 2025 on lists from Cosmopolitan, the New York Post, Refinery29, The Seattle Times, and the Toronto Star. In April 2026, British Vogue included it among the 29th best TV shows of the century. Media outlets also noted the show’s appeal to hockey fans. Vogue Adria and InsideHook highlighted the Empty Netters podcast, hosted by former ice hockey players, for its enthusiastic coverage of the series, which they cited as an example of "non-toxic masculinity" in the sport.

The fifth episode received widespread praise. Tom Smyth of Vulture and Mads Misasi of Tell-Tale TV gave it perfect five-star ratings, while Cody Schultz of Show Snob called it "a masterclass in storytelling" and one of the greatest television episodes of the year and of all time. Whitney Evans of TV Fanatic praised the episode’s structure, pacing, and Storrie’s performance, including his Russian accent work. Lissete Lanuza Sáenz of Fangirlish named it the best episode of the year, commending the performances of Williams and Storrie, as well as the direction, cinematography, lighting, and writing. Lyra Hale of Fangirlish highlighted the episode’s portrayal of intimacy as a model for romantic storytelling on television. BJ Colangelo of Film praised the performances of Williams, Storrie, and Sophie Nélisse, and said the series and Storrie deserve Emmy recognition.

The episode also gained popularity with audiences. Shortly after its release, it entered IMDb’s rankings of highest-rated television episodes, achieving a rare perfect 10 out of 10 rating. For a time, it tied with Breaking Bad’s "Ozymandias" (2013) as the only episodes to receive a perfect rating on the platform and ranked among the highest-rated episodes of all time. Following the episode’s success, the series itself entered IMDb’s Top 250 TV shows chart.

According to JustWatch, Heated Rivalry ranked fourth on its television streaming chart during the week of December 7, 2025. Whip Media, based on data from its TV Time platform, reported the series placed sixth during the weeks of December 7 and 14. FlixPatrol, which tracks streaming viewership data, ranked the series second on HBO Max’s Top 10 most-watched series chart in the United States on November 29, behind It: Welcome to Derry. The series also debuted at number two in Australia and consistently ranks as the number one show each week. However, it ranked below the top ten in Nielsen streaming ratings. Nielsen classified Heated Rivalry as "acquired," as HBO Max obtained it from Crave, and compared it to long-running shows like Grey’s Anatomy or NCIS.

Alongside its second-season renewal, Deadline Hollywood reported that the series became Crave’s most-watched original series to date, with viewership increasing by nearly 400% in its initial seven-day streaming window following its debut on November 28. Crave’s social media data showed that about one-third (33%) of the audience rewatched the entire season more than once, and 15% of viewers completed the series five or more times. Episode five was the most rewatched of the six episodes.

HBO Max also stated the show is the No. 2 driver of first-time viewers on the platform since its release. The series became a significant

Cultural impact and representation

After the 2025 premiere of the TV show’s adaptation, lead actor Hudson Williams said the series had connected with athletes who keep their sexuality private. During an interview on Radio Andy, Williams explained that he and author Rachel Reid received private messages from active players in the NHL, NFL, and NBA who shared stories about hiding their sexual orientation. Williams described these messages as proof that while the show is "celebratory," its portrayal of the difficulties faced by LGBTQ athletes "affects people deeply." The NHL also recognized the show’s influence, with a representative calling the series a "special way" to attract new fans to the sport.

The series has also been mentioned in personal stories about coming out. Jesse Kortuem, a former hockey player from Minnesota, publicly shared that he is gay and said the show Heated Rivalry inspired him to speak about his experience after leaving the sport due to fears about balancing his sexuality with his career. Argentine field hockey player Nicolás Keenan compared the episode "Hunter" to his own experience before publicly confirming his relationship with Dutch politician Rob Jetten.

Although the show includes LGBTQ characters and may have a strong influence, some experts, reporters, and former athletes say it has limits in changing culture. Adam Davies, a professor at the University of Guelph, said while the series helps more people see LGBTQ individuals, problems like unfair treatment and traditions in hockey—such as the past exclusion of Black Canadians and ongoing scandals—still make big changes difficult. Brock McGillis, the first openly gay professional men’s hockey player, doubted the show would encourage players to come out. While he praised the series, he suggested that scenes showing secret relationships might make players worry more about the risks of being openly gay in hockey.

The show is also known for casting actors who identify as LGBTQ. François Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter, is openly bisexual. Transgender actor and former professional hockey player Harrison Browne appears in a supporting role. The story in Heated Rivalry matches real data about LGBTQ athletes. A 2025 study of over 1,700 athletes found that about 39.4 percent of female athletes and 36.5 percent of male athletes hide their sexual orientation in sports because of team culture and strict ideas about masculinity. These findings match the experiences of characters Shane and Ilya, who both hide their sexuality to protect their careers. Research on college sports also shows that while non-LGBTQ athletes rarely worry about having LGBTQ teammates, LGBTQ athletes often hear more homophobic language in locker rooms.