When Heated Rivalry first hit screens on HBO Max last year, few could have predicted the cultural tidal wave that soon followed in its wake.
The series has been growing in popularity since being released in the UK, on Sky and streaming service NOW – with an impressive near-perfect score on reviews sites, and shooting to the top of global must-watch lists.
What appears at first glance to be a glossy sports-based drama, following two elite hockey players who are rivals on ice and passionate lovers off of it, has become an obsession for thousands of female fans across the world.
The Canadian series, developed from Rachel Reid’s hockey romance novel of the same name, unravels the budding romance of the two closeted athletes, competing in a the hyper-masculine world of an ice hockey league
While it doesn’t feature a single female romp, instead drawing focus on the relationship between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, its female fanbase haven’t been shy about why they love it.
And it runs much deeper for viewers than just offering up some eye-candy in the form of leading stars, Canadian actors Hudson, 24, and Connor, 25.
Heated Rivalry has been growing in popularity since being released in the UK, on Sky and streaming service NOW – with an impressive near-perfect score on reviews sites, and shooting to the top of global must-watch lists
The Canadian series, developed from Rachel Reid’s hockey romance novel of the same name, unravels the budding romance of the two closeted athletes, competing in a the hyper-masculine world of an ice hockey league
One of the most repeated explanations among its female viewers, from fan threads on forum sites to professional opinion pieces, is that Heated Rivalry offers up a romantic connection a far cry from traditional power dynamics seen on screen.
Rather than bringing to the table any traditional gender roles of relationships between men and women, fans have admitted they love the feel of watching a fictional relationship ‘where all parties are involved and treated equally’.
Not only this, but others have noticed that removing ‘heterosexual romance tropes’ gives women a chance to just ‘enjoy intimacy’ without being ‘fraught with expectation’.
One fan told Cosmopolitan: ‘It hits women like me so hard because it depicts a relationship where all parties involved are treated equally.
‘Women in heterosexual relationships are so used to being devalued by their partner, and their sexual pleasure isn’t always prioritised.
‘It’s just nice to watch smut where nobody is being degraded or devalued and the pleasure of both parties is the top priority.’
Another chimed in to agree that the depiction of hockey players Shane and Ilya’s relationship showcases ‘meaningful, exhilarating intimacy full of tenderness and desire’ that women crave.
While a third said they enjoyed the series’ saucy sex scenes were ‘intimate in a way that makes consent visible’, while noting it is ‘really attractive to see men depicted as vulnerable and down bad for a change’.
While it doesn’t feature a single female romp, instead drawing focus on the relationship between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, its female fanbase haven’t been shy about why they love it
It runs much deeper for viewers than just offering up some eye-candy in the form of leading stars, Canadian actors Hudson, 24, and Connor, 25
Elsewhere, others have noted that the series feels for them more than just a new queer love story – and instead part of a long-standing genre of ‘men-loving-men’ romance often popularised by its female fanbases.
Sex and relationships expert Casey Tanner added to the publication: ‘Women are drawn to watch men do something they crave more of in real life: be wildly, visibly vulnerable.
‘The chemistry between Shane and Ilya isn’t subtle — they pine, they spiral, they rearrange their lives around each other.’
A review on film critic Roger Ebert‘s website praised the series: ‘The removal of those expectations can be incredibly freeing when heterosexual relations are narratively off the table.
‘All of this opens the door for women to put their minds at ease and allow themselves the space to actually enjoy and feel.
‘On top of that, most people can appreciate something being sexy. Irrefutable connection is sexy; secret love affairs are sexy; undeniable chemistry is sexy; yearning is sexy.’
The two main character’s ‘yearning’ for each other is a subject point pointed towards by a number of viewers, where the show’s sex scenes are used as part of an ’emotional journey’, and not just for saucy enjoyment.
Sex therapist Tanner added in Women’s Health: ‘The erotic charge isn’t attraction to the men, it’s the familiarity of the emotional terrain the show explores.’
What appears at first glance to be a glossy sports-based drama, following two elite hockey players who are rivals on ice and passionate lovers off of it, has become an obsession for thousands of female fans across the world
When Heated Rivalry first hit screens on HBO Max last year, few may have predicted the cultural tidal wave that soon followed in its wake
‘For women, the thrill isn’t necessarily “I want one of them”, it’s “I want to be that wanted, that chosen”…
‘Women get to watch mutual desire and negotiated pleasure unfold at a psychological distance, the nervous system reads that as safer, and when we feel safer, desire actually has room to show up.’
Cosmopolitan writer Kayla Kibbe added: ‘Watching sex between two men is a welcome reprieve from the internalised pressure, anxiety and even trauma many women have come to associate with sex.’
It’s not just about the heat, either – with other female fans talking about Heated Rivalry as a moment of escapism, as well as hitting that popular enemies-to-lovers dynamic often used on screen.
Taking to Reddit, other fans chimed in with their own opinions of the show admitting it helped them feel ‘seen’ and ‘gave them a break’ from heterosexual storytelling.
One penned: ‘As a straight woman, I felt both seen, but also had the option to be out of the crosshairs. It gave me a break.’
Another chimed in to agree: ‘We don’t see women being objectified, sexualised, and victimised like in female and male romance. The women are uplifted as kind and supportive characters and allies.’
While a third wrote: ‘Most women don’t need to “see themselves” in a character in order to empathise with them,’ as a fourth added in: ‘It’s usually storyline and chemistry that matters to me, and I think this show did it a lot of better than any other show that I watched.’
It’s not just about the heat, either – with other female fans talking about Heated Rivalry as a moment of escapism for viewers
Fans have noted the series feels for them more than just a new queer love story – and instead part of a long-standing genre of ‘men-loving-men’ romance often popularised by its female fanbases
‘It’s seeing a romantic relationship where you don’t have to think about your own baggage and hurt,’ a fifth concluded.
It comes after Heated Rivalry finally hit screens in the UK, weeks after it was released to fans in Canada and the US on HBO Max – landing on Sky and NOW on January 10.
The television series is an adaptation of Rachel Reid’s queer hockey romance series Game Changers, drawing from the first two novels, Game Changer and Heated Rivalry.
Shane Hollander, a disciplined and reserved Japanese-Canadian, is the newly appointed captain of the Montreal Metros.
Across the ice is Ilya Rozanov, the charismatic and provocative Russian captain of the Boston Raiders.
Drafted first and second overall and relentlessly promoted as the face of a bitter rivalry, Shane and Ilya appear to be sworn enemies in public. Behind closed doors, however, a chance encounter sparks a clandestine relationship neither of them expected.
Over the next eight years, their connection deepens amid stolen moments, media pressure and the demands of elite professional sports.
Shane grapples with being closeted in a sport hostile to queerness while Ilya masks vulnerability with bravado – both men struggling with what it would mean to choose each other in public.
Running alongside this central rivalry is a quieter but no less meaningful love story between Scott Hunter, the respected captain of the Toronto Centaurs and Kip Grady, a gifted rookie finding his place in the league.
All six episodes of Heated Rivalry are available to stream on Sky and NOW.
