Heated Rivalry expands queer storytelling in sports with season two on the horizon

A new joint HBO Max and Crave series centers on the yearslong romance between two rival hockey players, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, whose secret fling evolves into a long arc of love, denial and self-discovery over eight years. The drama unfolds as the two men navigate competing teams, shifting loyalties on the ice, and the personal identities they discover along the way. The instalments combine high-stakes sports drama with intimate character work, aiming to balance spectacle with a tender, character-driven core.

The show is based on a popular Rachel Reid novel and was adapted for television by Jacob Tierney. Hudson Williams plays Hollander and Connor Storrie portrays Rozanov. The adaptation has drawn attention for its unabashed treatment of sexuality on screen, a facet that has helped propel its early popularity. At a Hi Tops gay sports bar in West Hollywood, Storrie appeared before a receptive crowd and joked about how fans have embraced the show, before acknowledging the importance of queer storytelling on screen. The series includes several sex scenes that have sparked discussion across queer and mainstream platforms, contributing to the show's visibility and conversation around representation.

Despite its explicit material, Heated Rivalry has earned broad critical and audience enthusiasm. Season 1 runs six episodes and has remained a Top 10 program on HBO Max since its premiere in November. It holds a 96% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91% audience score, underscoring a warm reception for its blend of heat and heart. The series has also benefited from active social-media conversations and clips that amplify the leads’ on-screen chemistry, helping fuel its international reach and ongoing discussion about queer sports storytelling.

Not all reception has been unreserved. Some critics panned the pilot for prioritizing sensationalized sex over fully drawn character work, with comparisons to late-night Cinemax fare. Others, however, praised the show for its emotional honesty and its willingness to push past safety margins in queer television, arguing that Heated Rivalry stands out in a landscape that often plays it too safe. A reviewer on RogerEbert.com described the show as a standout in a wasteland of recent queer TV, noting that it is among the year’s most enjoyable offerings. The dialogue around authenticity and sexual representation continued as other actors and creators weighed in on what constitutes a truthful depiction of gay life on screen.

Public discourse extended into conversations about performance and identity. Jordan Firstman, in an interview, compared depictions of gay sex in Heated Rivalry to those in his own work and suggested that the show challenges conventional expectations about how queer characters should express intimacy. François Arnaud, who plays another player, publicly engaged with critics online, defending the show's approach and urging a broader view of how authentic queer experiences can appear on television. These exchanges highlighted how the show has become a focal point for conversations about representation, sexuality, and realism in modern television.

Crave and HBO Max announced a renewal for a second season, signaling strong early momentum beyond Canada. Justin Stockman, Bell Media’s vice president of content and programming, called Heated Rivalry a representation of the best of Canadian storytelling, praising its character work and its growing international footprint. The renewal underscores a broader industry pattern in which Canadian productions are finding global audiences through streaming partnerships with U.S. platforms, even as the industry continues to navigate shifts in leadership and investment following industry consolidation and political debates surrounding DEI initiatives.

The show originates from Canada and streams concurrently in the United States on HBO Max. Its emergence comes at a time when the North American television industry has faced organizational and budgetary changes that have affected diverse creators, including queer and nonwhite executives, in recent years. Proponents argue that Heated Rivalry demonstrates how Canadian creators can deliver high-quality, universally appealing drama that foregrounds queer storytelling without compromising on craft or accessibility. Williams and Storrie have publicly celebrated the supportive dynamics of their collaboration and the way their off-screen friendship has shaped the on-screen trust and chemistry that fans have responded to.

In interviews, Williams has stressed the importance of privacy alongside a commitment to authentic queer storytelling. He noted that while the series centers on queer lives and experiences, there is also value in protecting personal boundaries as actors navigate a highly public phase of their careers. He and Storrie have described a close friendship and mutual respect that translates to the on-screen closeness that viewers have embraced. The endorsements from the cast and the renewal announcement suggest that Heated Rivalry may play a significant role in shaping how audiences experience sports fiction and queer romance on streaming platforms. The second season confirms that the show has become a notable milestone in contemporary television, with potential for further exploration of identity, competition, and affection within the sport.

As the series continues to stream on HBO Max, Heated Rivalry is positioned as one of the more impactful queer television projects in recent years, merging a contemporary romance with a sports-tinged narrative and a willingness to push boundaries. The renewal signals producers’ confidence in expanding the eight-year arc and further exploring how the players’ relationship tests loyalties, ambition and the boundaries of public life. With a strong creative core, the show has the potential to influence future queer storytelling in sports and beyond, inviting conversations about representation, intimacy, and the ways in which audiences encounter love on screen.