The infamous Heated Rivalry Google Drive edit to Megan Thee Stallion’s Big Ole Freak plagued every group chat in December 2025, leaving a lasting impression on the show’s reputation amongst unfamiliar audiences. The explicit sex scenes portrayed in the edit are the same ones that have made the show famous, inevitably leading the title to become associated with sexy and provocative entertainment. I couldn’t wrap my head around how a low-budget show starring two unknown actors took the spot of one of the most highly rated episodes on IMDb, with its Episode 5, titled “I’ll Believe in Anything” tied with Breaking Bad’s “Ozymandias.” Like an innocent civilian caught within the blast radius of the explosion of Heated Rivalry watch-parties and look-alike events, I promptly opened HBO Max. Entering with low hopes for a fetishized gay romance engineered for a largely heterosexual audience, my expectations were shattered by the undeniable chemistry between the leads as they portrayed their characters’ emotional highs and lows.
Jacob Tierney’s 2025 show Heated Rivalry is a six-episode adaptation of Rachel Reid’s book of the same title, the second novel of her series Game Changers. Between sensual cinematography and heartwarming lines, the show follows two closeted athletes, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who are pitted against each other for marketing in the hockey industry. Outside the news anchor’s spotlight, the two hockey stars shared a developing romance. Unlike many contemporary queer media works, Heated Rivalry depicts masculinity and homosexuality as two non-mutually exclusive traits. By portraying gay men in traditionally masculine sports, the show creates a setting where its characters cannot express their emotions, leading to tension as well as complexity as the characters struggle to contend with the intersections between their work and personal lives. Challenging stereotypes, Heated Rivalry leaves us wondering, “How many closeted LGBTQ+ men are there in the sports industry?” In the show’s iconic club scene, the fluorescent magenta lights and the deaf ringing from the remix of “All the Things She Said,” only serves to amplify the tension between the characters. My favorite scene unfolded with Shane texting Ilya, “We didn’t even kiss,” after hooking up. Melancholic and tragic, the scene marks the heartbreak of a blurred, confusing transition between casual hook ups and romance. While we watch Shane’s slow crescendoing crush on Ilya unfold, we are left wondering if his feelings are reciprocated.
Heated Rivalry confronts us with the longing of unspoken confessions during Shane and Ilya’s mutual deliberate silence, as much as the sting of insults thrown around in locker-room talk. This scene puts us into Shane and Ilya’s perspective, while Tierney breaks down the complexities of coming out, toxic masculinity, and internalized homophobia among queer people who don’t fit the stereotype. The emotional lows in the show are like none other either, flaying my heart open, leaving it raw and bleeding with stinging unrequited love watching the two realize their own emotions, only to drift apart like two ships in the night until the next hockey season. However, the magnitude of the highs are just as dramatic, too. The season sprinkles slice-of-life scenes with the two hopelessly starstrucked lovers exchanging texts while separated by an ocean.
There are few shows that rival Heated Rivalry’s ability to capture the queer experience and skillfully express a plethora of emotions. Heated Rivalry’s promising success will hopefully inspire more media that deals with the serious subject matter. The show calls attention to the delicate topics of internalized homophobia and masculinity in an artful way, strumming along our heartstrings to keep us interested while conveying how difficult it is for men in the sports industry to come out.
