How Heated Rivalry’s recipe of hockey and queer romance made it a steamy success
Writer and director of HBO’s Heated Rivalry Jacob Tierney talks about the ‘pure queer’ joy of reading the storyline and casting the leads
Heated Rivalry is scoring big with hockey romance fans. Since its debut, the steamy television adaptation of Rachel Reid’s 2019 novel has dominated social media feeds and inspired a growing fan base devoted to the queer romance at its centre.
The story traces Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov as they sustain a decade-long secret relationship, mixing slow-building yearning with explicit sexual scenes. Jacob Tierney, who developed, wrote and directed the series, was drawn to the project for its “pure queer joy”.
Audiences have met that joy with a passionate response, propelling Heated Rivalry to the No 1 series on HBO Max as the first season ended last week. Along the way, it has generated new interest in the Game Changers book series that it is based on and drawn attention to sports romance fiction, especially stories with queer storylines.
Originally developed for the Canadian streaming service Crave, the show scored a distribution deal with HBO and has already been renewed for a second season.
“Unashamedly, when pitching, it was just like, this is a Harlequin romance. This has a happy ending,” Tierney says. “This is about two boys in love and a lot of sex.”
Hockey romance books have grown in popularity within the broader sports romance genre, fuelled by readers drawn to the intensity of sport as much as the relationships at its centre. Mackenzie Walton, who edited the Heated Rivalry novel, says the genre’s staying power comes from how deeply the stories immerse readers in the sport.