When was the last time your heart melted watching ice hockey?
The new Canadian series “Heat Rivalry,” about privileged male hockey players who fall in love with each other, only to have their love challenged by a season’s worth of drama, has been hitting screens across North America since its premiere on November 28th.
The first period, the episode begins with Shane Hollander introducing himself to fellow up-and-coming star Ilya Rozanov before a major international tournament, but Ilya’s cockiness with the serious but straight-laced Shane falls short of the obvious spark between the two.
“This is a gay love story set in the world of hockey, so its very existence is an act of rebellion,” Jacob Tierney, the show’s creator who adapted the story from #Booktok favorite Rachel Reid’s queer hockey romance series Game Changers, told Toronto Life. “But the show itself is much happier. We didn’t want to subvert the romance tropes too much.”
But if your algorithm still hasn’t passed Heated Rivalry and you’re wondering who, what, where it came from, how you can watch it, and just how hot this show is, then you don’t need to skate any further because we’ve got your back.
