However, ten days later, Tierney told Variety that the second season would not premiere at the same time the following year, citing slower progress on the episode scripts. Tierney’s creative executive at Crave, Rachel Goldstein, discouraged him from adapting Heated Rivalry’s epilogue into the series, as it could have been perceived as setting up a second season that had not been confirmed at the time. The first season then premiered online on Crave on November 28, 2025, and was picked up for streaming on HBO Max in selected territories; Neon in New Zealand; and Movistar Plus+ in Spain. A trailer for the series alludes to the covert nature of the hockey players’ tryst as a woman asks Shane if there are “any gay hockey players.” The first two episodes of “Heated Rivalry”premiered on HBO Max on Nov. 28.

Inspired By ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Guy Takes Smoothies to a Hockey Rink and Makes a New Friend

Heated Rivalry is, almost exclusively, the story of Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), two high-level professional hockey prospects who fall in love. It doesn’t feel like hockey, and it doesn’t feel like anything else on TV right now; it feels a little bit like falling in love. While it isn’t ascending to Bluey levels of global streaming dominance, what’s unique about the show has been its growth. To really appreciate what’s going on on the ice, you have to be in that big refrigerator, shoulder to shoulder with the raucous crowd, bodies flying at you left and right.
For a time, which started on December 20, 2025, it tied with Breaking Bad’s “Ozymandias” (2013) as the only television episodes to receive a perfect rating on the platform, and ranked among the highest-rated episodes of all time. Tom Smyth of Vulture and Mads Misasi of Tell-Tale TV both gave the episode perfect five star ratings, while Cody Schultz of Show Snob described it as “a masterclass in storytelling” and one of the greatest television episodes of the year and of all time. David Caballero of Collider gave the series an 8 out of 10, noting the effective early development of their characters both individually and as a potential couple, and the prominent yet accessible use of hockey in the story.

• Learn more about what content you can watch with Streams at the Disney+ Help Center.
• Podcast, Tierney stated that he had intended to ask Carly Rae Jepsen to submit an original song for the first season, but “didn’t even try” due to budgetary restrictions, adding that he would “definitely be asking” in the future.
• Blood and sex are both effects viewers register with their own bodies, but so too is time.
• Furthermore, 15% of viewers were reported to have completed the series five or more times and episode 5 was the most rewatch among the six episodes.
• “Heated Rivalry,” a romantic drama inspired by Rachel Reid’s book series “Game Changers,” dropped its first two episodes on the streaming service on Nov. 28 and left viewers wanting more.
• The conversation between Shane and Ilya in a Tampa hotel in the episode “I’ll Believe in Anything” was also filmed on the first day of production; the scene served as one of Williams and Storrie’s audition scenes.

The series became a significant word-of-mouth success, characterized https://www.boombetonline.nl/ by an “unusual” growth pattern in its viewership. HBO Max also revealed the show is the No. 2 driver of first-time viewers on the platform since its release. The series also debuted at number two in Australia, and consistently ranks as the number one show each week. In addition to its critical reception, the episode achieved notable audience recognition. BJ Colangelo of /Film also praised the performances, specifically Williams, Storrie, and Sophie Nélisse, and remarked that the series and Storrie are deserving of Emmy recognitions. Whitney Evans of TV Fanatic praised the episode’s structure and pacing, as well as Storrie’s performance, highlighting his Russian accent work and screen presence.

• Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are hockey stars drawn together by rivalry and desire.
• The degree to which they must “keep it quiet” in their lives is reflected in the show’s formal patience about saying anything out loud.
• Although HBO Max later acquired the series, it became involved only after the first season had been completed, meaning the show was not developed as a U.S. co-production from the outset.
• Heated Rivalry is a Canadian sports romance television series created, written, and directed by Jacob Tierney for Crave.
• De Simone says he suggested the groin stretch that Hollander does in one episode and that Williams would later demonstrated on Jimmy Fallon’s talk show.

Live Sports available only on select plans. Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are hockey stars drawn together by rivalry and desire. A hockey player’s high-stakes career collides with love when a chance meeting ig… Shane and Ilya keep their secret fling alive while their growing connection is t… Blood and sex are both effects viewers register with their own bodies, but so too is time. And they approach that topic with a radical, formal devotion to their characters.

Cast and characters

Certain Hulu titles are available only via the Hulu app. With Disney+, you get new releases, classics, series, and Originals from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Access content from each service separately. The Disney+ app is available on mobile devices, web browsers, game consoles, set-top boxes, and smart TVs.

The Narrative Genius of Heated Rivalry

It is set to adapt The Long Game (2022), the sixth book of the Game Changers series, which serves as a sequel to Heated Rivalry. The agreement also includes expanded distribution deals, with rights for season two secured across multiple international markets via Warner Bros. In June 2025, it was officially announced at the Bell Media Upfront that the series would be streamed on Crave. Tierney initially had doubts about whether the story could be adapted while retaining the books’ sexually explicit content.

Discover the all-new Disney+ Perks

Although HBO Max later acquired the series, it became involved only after the first season had been completed, meaning the show was not developed as a U.S. co-production from the outset. Despite a minimal marketing campaign and a low-cost licensing fee of approximately $600,000 per episode, it experienced a rapid surge in popularity following its late-November premiere. According to data shared by Crave’s social media accounts, the show exhibited unusually high “stickiness”, with a rewatch rate where approximately one-third (33%) of the total audience watched the entire season more than once. According to JustWatch, Heated Rivalry ranked fourth on its television streaming chart during the week of December 7, 2025, while Whip Media, based on data from its TV Time viewership tracking platform of more than 25 million users, reported the series placed sixth during the weeks of December 7 and 14. Following the episode’s reception, the series itself also entered IMDb Top 250 TV shows chart.
The series debuted on Crave with a two-episode premiere on November 28, 2025, followed by weekly episodes, with the finale airing on December 26. According to Billboard, the songs’ appearance in the series resulted in increased official on-demand streaming activity. He also told The Hollywood Reporter that, although he would direct all episodes of the second season, it is a possibility that “other writers will come in to help him out”.

In the terms of film theorist Linda Williams, they are both series within the realm of “body genres”—dramas built around showing the body in moments of distress and/or elation. The Pitt has nearly a dozen series regulars in the main cast, another dozen recurring characters, and many dozens more who filter in and out of the E.R. This is, I might guess, what good hockey is like. Though, for what it’s worth, the moment when that happens, when these two plotlines converge, is one of the most electrifying sequences I’ve seen on TV in the past couple of months. This episode is counterprogramming to the Ilya-Shane romance. In this stand-alone episode, we watch Scott come to terms with his own sexuality, begin secretly dating a barista named Kip, and see that relationship run up against the wall of Scott’s inability to come out.

There aren’t any free streaming options for Heated Rivalry right now. Currently available on 2 streaming services. Additional terms apply. Select games available and blackouts may apply.