Melting Ice: How “Heated Rivalry” Became the Year’s Hottest Sports Romance
Based on Rachel Reid’s bestselling book series, Heated Rivalry has become one of the hottest sports dramas of the year. The original show blends high-stakes professional hockey with a slow-burning romance that’s just as emotionally charged as it is physical. Set over eight years in the Major League Hockey (MLH), the series follows a trio of players as they reckon with their paths of self-discovery, identity, denial, and love.
Scott Hunter (François Arnaud), a veteran player traded from the Montreal Metros to the New York Admirals, sees his private life clash with the public expectation of being an athlete. In Episode 3, “Hunter,” Scott meets Kip Grady [Robbie G.K.], initially asleep behind the register at a smoothie shop, but after trying his Blueberry-Banana shake, he quickly becomes a regular. Their chance meetings around town quickly deepen into something more intimate and complicated. Despite their chemistry, Scott struggles to be seen publicly with Kip, revealing the strain of remaining closeted in such a hyper-masculine sport.
Skating in parallel is the undeniable attraction between Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storries) as they both compete to be the next great. Shane Hollander, an Asian-Canadian rising star, joins the Montreal Metros as their new Captain after the draft. He becomes a trailblazer in a league long dominated by white athletes. However, the pressure of leadership, representation, and perfection weighs heavily on Shane, both on and off the ice.
Ilya Rozanov is an overly cocky, aggressive Russian player for the Boston Raiders who faces a different kind of pressure. Coming from a non-accepting LGBTQ+ country, seeking his family’s approval and carrying the financial burden of trying to support his family back home, Ilya pushes himself harder than anyone else on the ice. With his personality as a helmet, he’s been trained never to drop the puck, especially when his father’s approval feels as slippery as being on the ice right after the Zamboni.
What begins as a tense rivalry for bragging rights doesn’t necessarily lead the duo into the penalty box, but instead into an unexpected romance. Beneath the body checks, romantic tension between the two begins to break the ice, eventually something neither will be able to hide. In “The Roses” episode, in an intimate moment, everything changes when Shane and Ilya start addressing each other by their first name instead of their last names. The subtle shift is terrifying for Shane as he realizes he’s crossed an emotional line he’s not ready to face, and in a panic, he leaves Ilya.
The tension only further escalates when Shane enters a public relationship with actress Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse), leaving everyone swooning except for one. Ilya sits in jealousy, heartbreak, and anger watching Shane in a relationship with someone else.
Their story unfolds through moments of glances, silences, and the physical language of two men who were taught never to show any weakness. Williams and Storries’ microexpressions convey every unspoken thought, adding to the already unmatched level of natural chemistry that could—yes, I must—melt the ice. With Jacob Tierney as writer/director, the show remains faithful to Reid’s original series, making the fans of the series now fans of the series. His writing allows both actors to create the raunchy dynamic that makes those of us who loved Reid’s novel very happy indeed. The series generates enough heat to fog up the glass.
Produced by Canadian streaming service Crave, the series was initially expected to be released only in Canada. International fans, determined, took to social media to strategize ways to watch the show. With massive buzz across social media and the internet, global demand only continued to grow. Nearly one week before its expected release, HBO picked up U.S. and Australian distribution, while Crave partnered with Sky and Movistar+ to ensure the series reached other audiences worldwide.
Since its debut, Heated Rivalry has become Crave’s biggest original series on record, growing its viewership by nearly 400% in its first seven days. The show has already been greenlit for a second season, with HBO Max boarding for U.S. and Australian rights. Warner Bros. Discovery has secured Season 1 and 2 rights across most of Europe, Asia, and Latin America, while Neon/Sky New Zealand is returning as a partner for Season 2.
Lace those skates up; things are only going to get hotter.
Stream Heated Rivalry now on HBO Max, with new episodes hitting the platform every Friday.
Featured image: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie. Photograph by Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max
