If you haven’t heard of “Heated Rivalry” over the past few weeks, either you’re completely off of social media or have blocked any and all LGBTQ+ content. You’re also not scrolling to the top 10 programs on HBO Max, where the Crave Canadian production has regularly vied for No. 1 or No. 2 with the final episodes of “It: Welcome to Derry.” The gay hockey drama has somehow become a surprise end-of-year hit. Really.
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The show is so popular that Crave and HBO renewed it for a second season after just three weeks (with negotiations starting before then). In Canada alone, the show has become a cultural lightning rod, increasing viewership on the Crave streamer by 400%. HBO picked up the series seemingly on a lark after an online fan campaign harassed streamers following the trailer drop earlier this fall. Now, the WBD division has U.S., Latin America, Asia, and European rights outside of the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Turkey (the show actually just wrapped up a bidding war in the U.K. with Sky winning). Reports also indicate that next to “Welcome to Derry,” “Heated Rivalry” was the second highest driver to new subscriptions for Max since its launch, and the first two episodes were as big viewership-wise as the debut of “The Pitt.” And to clarify, HBO secured the rights to the first season on November 19. It was a throw it against the wall and see if it sticks pick-up. And, oh, boy, did it stick. This sort of success rarely, if ever, happens anymore.
Oh, and, once again, did we mention it’s a drama about two closeted pro hockey players who secretly fall for each other?
In a content world where originality is now a talking point, this adaptation of Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” novels has turned its castmembers Hudson Williams, Connor Sorrie, and François Arnaud into social media phenomneons. Granted, Arnaud’s credits include long stints on “The Borgias,” “Blindspot,” and “Yellowjackets,” but Williams and Sorrie have basically been plucked from semi-obscurity. It also doesn’t hurt that Crave-HBO got them to New York and LA for as many interviews and YouTube videos as possible over the past month. Even the “new” Vanity Fair jumped on the train. And when Deux Moi is now covering their exploits, it’s obvious this gay romance has crossed over big time (clicks, likes, and views, baby).
And, yes, even the ladies on The View are watching.
Originally pitched as a limited series, creator Jacob Tierney has an enviable task ahead. “Heated” has completed most of the story of Shane (Williams) and Ilya (Storrie) from the novels. How their relationship continues, or if it becomes secondary to other stories from the books, is something Tierney and Reid will have to work out. Something tells us the fandom and Crave/HBO Max will find a way to assist.
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Moreover, after initially being casually dismissed by way too many as “skinemax” after its sexy first two episodes – as Shane and Ilya initially found each other – the series demonstrated it was much, much more than a Starz-esque melodrama. In particular, the Austin-born Storrie has delivered a nuanced, star-marking performance as a Russian hockey player balancing his closeted life with family pressures back in the homeland. He deserves a legit Emmy campaign for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. And he only gets better and better as the season progresses.
Arnaud has also been superb in what might qualify as a Guest Actor in a Drama Series role (we’re unclear on the rules when an “ongoing” series drops just six episodes). We will assume that HBO was not able to submit the program for year-end guild consideration in time. That being said, you’d assume Casey Bloys and HBO would want to make sure it was submitted for domestic Emmy consideration as they battle Netflix for Emmy supremacy one last (?) time, but nothing is confirmed. Oh, yeah, there is one huge potential sticking point: financing.
As pointed out succinctly by TV critic Myles McNutt,* to qualify for an American Emmy Award, a series must have some U.S.-based financing before “the start of production and with a purpose to be shown on U.S. television.” That was not the case with “Heated Rivalry,” which was completely Canadian-financed and picked up by HBO right before it debuted on Crave. Now, that doesn’t mean HBO won’t appeal that rule. The one thing “Rivalry” has going for it is that it debuted on HBO Max at the exact same time it premiered on Crave. The streamer could attempt to make the argument that it was therefore acquired-financed, with the intent to air in the U.S. (that would be a very loose interpretation of the rule). Moreover, this year’s formal Emmy rules won’t be released for a few weeks. HBO or committee members may have already be engaged with the Television Academy to tweak or clarify rules to allow “Rivalry” to compete.
Maybe.
Whatever the case, in theory, season two would qualify under the current role because HBO acquired rights (co-financed) before production began. If the U.S. Emmys are not in play, then the International Emmy Awards would be as well as Canada’s version of the Emmys, the Canadian Screen Awards. That organization has rewarded familiar shows to viewers south of the border in the past, such as “Orphan Black,” “Anne with an E,” “Schitt’s Creek,” and “Letterkenny.”
So, if you are scanning the 2026 Primetime Emmy Award nominations list in July, wondering why “Heated Rivalry” got snubbed, well, it likely didn’t. But then again, maybe HBO and the Television Academy will find a way. I mean, who thought a series about two professional hockey players who fall in love would be no. 1 on HBO Max on Christmas Day?
*Katy Rich at The Ankler first published McNutt’s disclosure earlier this week.
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
