What is ‘Heated Rivalry’ about? Where to watch?

Shortly after its release, it entered IMDb's rankings of highest-rated television episodes, attaining a rare perfect 10 out of 10 rating. Vogue Adria and InsideHook highlighted the Empty Netters podcast, hosted by former ice hockey players, for its enthusiastic coverage of the series which they cited as an example of "non-toxic masculinity" within the sport. The series is also streaming on Sky-owned Neon in New Zealand and Movistar Plus+ in Spain. However, in late September, Tierney and the executives decided to push the release forward to take advantage of increased audience interest in new series during the holiday season. HBO Max's acquisition of the series, which was spearheaded by the company's content chairman and CEO Casey Bloys and the SVP content planning and programming Jason Butler, was attributed in part to online social media buzz generated by the Game Changers fanbase who campaigned for global distribution. Miley Cyrus also expressed interest in contributing music for the second season, as did rapper Bbno$.better source needed He eventually disposed of those songs when he received footage from the episodes, and re-wrote the music to the images over about seven weeks. The former serves as the series' theme song, while the latter accompanies the scene in the episode "Olympians" depicting Shane and Ilya's first instance of anal intercourse. The episode also features Storrie delivering a four-page monologue in Russian; after a particularly strong take, Tierney asked Storrie's dialect coach, Kate Yablunovsky, how much of it could be used, to which she replied, "All of it. He humbles me". Download limits apply to certain content categories on HBO Max. The Pitt trains its focus on this one place and this one time (per season), but it cares about everyone who passes through. While the narrative eye returns to our titular heated rivalry, and things begin to loosen up with their own communication, it eventually becomes clear that the Scott Hunter episode is mostly there to set up later plot developments between Ilya and Shane. One of the most jarring features of the show, which becomes apparent quickly into the first episode, is its skimming-for-the-good-parts storytelling style. You can use the Hulu hub on the Disney+ homepage to jump right into streaming some of your favorite Hulu Originals, series, and more. The Hulu + Live TV plans include 95+ live TV channels and additional on-demand content from your favorite sports, entertainment, and news channels you can watch at home or on-the-go. Access to ESPN content in the Disney+ app Tierney is also behind "Letterkenney," the hugely popular hockey-adjacent TV series. The Canadian sports and romance series was produced on a limited budget for a Canadian streaming service. Download limits apply to certain content categories.

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.
“Heated Rivalry” was originally created for the Canadian streaming service Crave.
The first day of shooting included Shane and Ilya's Las Vegas hotel room encounter, while the hockey rink scenes were completed over a stretch of just over a week of filming near the end of the shoot.
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Tierney said it was essential to him that he found two actors who had the "physicality of hockey players" who were also comfortable with nudity and intimacy.
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.
There is a momentary break in this dynamic in the third episode, when we return to an earlier moment at the Sochi Olympics and follow Scott Hunter (François Arnaud), a fellow hockey player who’d mostly only appeared at All-Star games and award ceremonies to this point.

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Once you click on this new option, you will be able to select from a list of available languages to switch the language of your Reddit interface. Starting today, Android, iOS, and Desktop users will be able to access the first phase of our product translation in German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. When hockey rivals Shane and Ilya meet each other as rookies, sparks fly. “Heated Rivalry” was originally created for the Canadian streaming service Crave. The story is told, largely, through the performance of Shane and Ilya’s physical chemistry, as well as the loaded moments when that chemistry disappears, freezes up, or transforms into something else. 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. Time-jumping and globe-trotting to show us every single time they hook up over the course of about a decade, the show’s immediate devotion to their affair starts to bleed out into the viewer’s perception and anticipation of it. In the first 11 minutes of the show’s pilot, for instance, there are four separate time jumps—“One Week Later,” “Six Months Later,” “Six Months Later,” “Six Months Later.” While the pace slows a bit after that opening hopscotch, the time jump remains the show’s signature structuring device. There are intra-team dynamics, friends and former lovers, complex family situations, international political imbroglios, and social lives outside of the succession of hotel rooms in which these lovers meet. 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. 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.

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Although their on-ice rivalry is amplified by media coverage and public perception, the two develop a private, initially casual sexual relationship that continues intermittently over several years as they pursue their hockey careers.
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 series became a significant word-of-mouth success, characterized by an "unusual" growth pattern in its viewership.
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.
The thing that hockey fans tell you if you tell them you don’t like hockey is that you can’t watch it on TV.
There aren't any free streaming options for Heated Rivalry right now.
The Pitt trains its focus on this one place and this one time (per season), but it cares about everyone who passes through.

The six-episode series tells the story of the forbidden queer love affair of two professional hockey players, and it does so by documenting each of its lovers’ dalliances at length and in languorous detail. It was arguably one of the greatest places and times to be alive as a hockey fan in the United States. By January 21, 2026, episodes were averaging 8 million viewers and the show hit a series high for weekly viewership the week prior. Alongside the announcement of its second season renewal, Deadline Hollywood reported that the series had become Crave's most-watched original series to date, with viewership increasing by nearly 400% in its initial seven-day streaming window following its debut on November 28.

What is 'Heated Rivalry'? Where and how to watch

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.

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Streams is a new feature that carefully curates content from within the Disney+ app or provides access to live linear streams, such as ABC News, to give you a continuous streaming experience. “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. All six episodes of the romance series’ first season are available to stream on HBO Max. Canadian actor, director and screenwriter, Jacob Tierney wrote and directed all six episodes of the series' first season. In its brisk, bustling six episodes, the outlines of a wider world beyond Shane and Ilya are blurry. Between the week of its debut and the week of its season finale, on December 27, viewership grew tenfold—from 30 million to 324 million streaming minutes logged—with a growing and notable majority of viewers being women. This November, though, a little Canadian series called Heated Rivalry figured out how to make hockey work on television. 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. After only two episodes had aired, Harper's Bazaar listed it among the best queer television series of all time. Classical music also makes a number of appearances in the series, including Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata which feature during the episodes "Olympians" and "I'll Believe in Anything", respectively. Additional episodes of the series will premiere each week through Dec. 26, 2025, when the finale airs. The TV series follows two rival hockey players, Canadian Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), as they navigate their professional lives and mix business with pleasure. US judge threatens ICE chief with contempt, orders court appearance Select the language and return to the app. In the app-specific settings screen, https://www.boombetonline.nl/ there will be a section for “Preferred Language”. Clicking on the language setting will link you to the app-specific language setting that’s part of your OS.

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The renewal follows strong viewer interest and streaming performance during the first season's rollout. On December 12, 2025, it was announced that the series has been renewed for a second season by Crave, with HBO Max returning as a key distribution partner. Based on the Game Changers novel series by Rachel Reid, it follows two rival professional hockey players, Canadian Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), whose on-ice animosity conceals a passionate, secret romance. 🔥🔥A place to share Interesting content that is extraordinary and fascinating!