Heated Rivalry (And Why I Literally Cannot Shut Up About It)

I know, it’s been a while.

I’ve been incredibly busy in my businesses and, honestly, just haven’t had the time or headspace to sit down and write. But lo and behold, something has come along that I quite literally cannot stop talking about. Thinking about. Bringing up in conversations that did not ask for it… Heated Rivalry

For whatever reason, I have always had, perhaps a kink or perhaps just a very specific taste - a love of bisexual and gay men. As a teenage girl, I walked around high school carrying my books in a folder covered in pictures of emo boys kissing. I truly do not know where this fascination came from or why, but we like what we like, and this has been a very long-standing love affair of mine.

So when someone suggested I watch Heated Rivalry, pitched simply as “a raunchy gay hockey show with lots of sex”, I didn’t need to hear much else to get on board. What I thought I was signing up for was a show about gay hockey players who fuck. What I got was… so much more. And apparently I’m not the only one.

Based on the book by Rachel Reid, the series adaptation has absolutely blown up. So the question is, why? Let’s decode it.

The Rewatch Factor

This show didn’t just land. It looped.

Canadian streaming service Crave reported that the average episode was rewatched by around a third of viewers. Of those who watched, 15 percent watched an episode five or more times. Episode 5 had the highest percentage of rewatches of any episode. IYKYK!

Yes, I have just finished my third watch. Yes, I have also just finished reading the next book in the series, The Long Game. And no, I don’t think this is something I need to unpack further at this point hahaha.

The Sex Isn’t What People Think It Is

One thing that genuinely surprised me, and maybe even slightly disappointed me (lol), was that the sex scenes weren’t actually as raunchy as I expected.

For me personally, I don’t find them any more explicit than the heterosexual sexual relationships we see constantly on our screens. I don’t think this show is doing anything wildly graphic or extreme.

What I do think is happening is that most people simply aren’t used to seeing this level of intimacy represented between two men. Which, honestly, is pretty sad, because it means we’ve been missing out on this kind of queer representation for a very long time.

This isn’t sex for shock value. It’s intimacy. It’s yearning. It’s tenderness. It’s two men wanting each other without irony or apology.

Sport, Queerness, and the Reality Behind the Fantasy

The show also highlights something far heavier than a hot forbidden love story - The very real struggles of LGBTQ people in professional sport.

While the secrecy, longing, and “we can’t be together” tension is undeniably hot for viewers and readers, it’s also heartbreaking when you realise that for many athletes, this isn’t fantasy. It’s just their reality.

And this is where Heated Rivalry stops being “just a show”.

After the series aired, real-life hockey player Jesse Kortuem came out publicly and shared that the show helped give him the courage to do so. He spoke about watching the series and finally feeling represented - finally seeing a version of himself on screen.

This show did that!!!

It made someone feel seen. Safe. Brave enough to live out loud.

That matters.

The Chemistry (And Why the Internet Is Losing Its Mind)

We also need to talk about the acting, because without it, none of this works.

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie deliver performances that feel painfully real. Their chemistry is electric, vulnerable, restrained, explosive, all of it. And what’s especially beautiful is how openly they love each other off screen as best friends, not lovers, despite the internet desperately trying to ship them.

Honestly, I think that just goes to show how incredible their acting is.

They make the relationship feel so lived-in, so emotionally grounded, that people want to believe it exists beyond the screen. That’s not delusion. That’s excellent storytelling.

Why Women Are Loving This So Much

And now to the question I keep coming back to.

Why are women so obsessed with this show?

I think part of it is masculinity paired with softness. Strength without dominance. Desire without misogyny. Love that doesn’t rely on emotional withholding or power games, except of course when the characters are intentionally exploring some very consensual, very charged sub and dom dynamics.

And even then, what makes those moments work isn’t dominance for dominance’ sake. It’s trust. It’s communication. It’s Ilya looking at Shane and saying, “Get on your knees.” Not as a demand rooted in ego, but as an invitation grounded in safety. Control not taken, but offered. There is a world of difference between power used against someone and power held with them.

This is a story where intimacy is mutual. Where communication exists. Where vulnerability is not framed as weakness. And if that feels revolutionary, then maybe it says more about what we’re lacking in a lot of present day relationships than it does about the show itself.

Perhaps what we’re responding to isn’t just the chemistry. It’s the care.

And It’s Not Just Women

What’s been genuinely moving to watch is how many men are being affected by this story too.

I’ve seen plenty of straight male podcasters talk about the show and unexpectedly ending up in tears. Men openly admitting they didn’t expect to feel so much. Men talking about how deeply the tenderness, the longing, the restraint hit them.

Because men are almost never shown this version of themselves either.

Being touched softly. Being desired without pressure. Being allowed to feel deeply without it being played for laughs or framed as weakness.

Heated Rivalry doesn’t just offer queer representation. It offers emotional permission. And that lands far wider than anyone expected.

Why We Keep Pressing Replay

Heated Rivalry isn’t just about hockey. Or sex. Or queerness.

It’s about longing. Being chosen. Being seen. Being loved without apology.

Because somewhere between the emo boys on my teenage folder and the hockey rink on my screen, this story hit something real.

And if this turns into a recurring theme here, just know that I warned you. I have more thoughts. More feelings. More replays. This is only part one of my Heated Rivalry brain rot.

Sorry not sorry.

I’m coming to the cottage.