When it was originally on: 2025-present

Original network: Crave

Where you can stream it now: HBO

Had I seen it before: Yes, I have seen the series in its entirety.

What IMDb says: Two rival hockey stars at the top of their game face an unexpected challenge when they develop feelings for each other, complicating their careers and the sport’s expectations.

Why I picked it: It’s one of the most recent tv sensations, and relatively few shows in the streaming era capture the zeitgeist the way this one did. And damn, it was a gay hockey romance that took the world by storm like that? How far we’ve come.

What I liked: The show does a great job of developing Shane and Ilya as individuals and as a relationship. We get enough interactions between the two to see their off-the-charts chemistry, but little enough for it to feel like a tease for what’s coming later.

One of my favorite scenes is the one where they’re shooting some kind of commercial and our two leads have to repeatedly skate towards each other and gaze intensely into each others eyes. It’s an organic way to force these two together and break the ice (pun intended).

This pilot lets us feel the attraction, but neither character is entirely defined by it. We also learn about the kinds of relationships they have with their families, how they interact with the media, and in Ilya’s case, that he has some kind of undefined sexual relationship with a woman as well.

I also think the show does a fabulous job of making these two feel meaningfully different, yet both are just oozing raw masculinity. All too often tv feels the need to make one partner in a same-sex relationship more femme or masc than the other one, and Heated Rivalry doesn’t really fall into that trap.

I also think the sex scenes offer amazing exposition. No, not just in the dirty way (but yes, also in the dirty way). Most shows would either a) cut away from the sex once its established sex is going to happen or b) show us gratuitous sex that doesn’t give us any new story or character information. With Heated Rivalry, we actually watch the characters negotiate what they’re going to do each other in a way that gives us insight into the relationship and the power dynamics within it. It’s a great way of letting us stay in the hot, steamy moments that are part of the show’s appeal in the first place without it feeling like it’s just soft core porn with little else to offer. Other shows, take notes!

What I didn’t like: It’s actually hard to come up with much of anything. I wish they didn’t rely quite this heavily on sportscaster voiceover for basic exposition information, but I wouldn’t say that was a major disruption to the viewing experience either.

I also think I would’ve liked a little more insight into Ilya’s hockey teammates to balance out the time we see of Shane spending time with his, but that’s negligible. Ultimately, the right call for a romance pilot is to focus on the two leads. If you nail that, little else matters.

Do I want to watch Ep. 2?: Yes