‘Heated Rivalry’ Is a Gourmet Cheeseburger and Fries

Heated Rivalry, the Canadian hit streaming on HBO Max, is a buzzy new show about hockey players in love. Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams, hot) is a sweet rising hockey prodigy playing for the Montreal Metros and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie, also hot) is Shane’s Russian rival with a penchant for smack-talk. Obviously, they’re immediately into each other. Then there’s Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud, hot as well), a veteran Metro player with a deep, immediate infatuation with Kip (Robbie G.K., hot too), a sweetiepie who makes great smoothies. Two attractive couples are like getting a gourmet cheeseburger with a side of fries. It’s well-made, sexy entertainment with lots to love, even though the recipe could use some work.

Based on the “Game Changers” book series by Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry traces the ups and downs of these two couples as they intersect. The first three episodes are structured with vignettes that flit from moment to moment across the years to establish the core dynamics. This gives the show’s pacing an urgency that’s both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, there’s not much time to spend on tedious will-they-won’t-they or much waffling about their sexuality at all. The actors sell palpable attraction and chemistry so consistently and intensely that I was along for their infatuated ride. On the other hand, there’s not much time to establish emotional interiority or character development either. That’s not a problem in the short-term plot when it’s all secret sexy shenanigans, but this comes back to bite the show later.

After the couples and their issues are established, and Heated Rivalry starts detonating drama bombs, the lack of knowledge about the characters starts to show. The actors cover this weakness through sheer charm and chemistry, but there’s no getting around how little we understand about these characters so far. When it comes to goals or any feelings beyond those they have for each other, viewers are largely in the dark. Heated Rivalry is tremendously entertaining, but the lack of emotional groundwork makes a lot of the drama feel undercooked. Most of the drama stems from the under-explained assumption that both couples must remain secret at all costs. Kip seems to at least be out to his friends, but it feels taken for granted that Shane, Ilya, and Scott must remain closeted. It’s a perfectly fine tension to apply to fictional couples, but Heated Rivalry doesn’t really explain why it’s happening.

After one whirlwind night of passion, Scott delivers a monologue explaining to Kip how intense his attraction to him was from the moment they met. He wants Kip to be there when he comes back from practice and from games. He wants to escape the world when he’s with Kip. Arnaud delivers it all while looking at Kip like this:

It’s great, stirring stuff! I, too, would melt if a guy made eyes at me like that. But there’s a section of the monologue where Scott alludes to possibly coming out sometime in the future, after he’s retired. He says he can’t jeopardize the team or his career by coming out sooner. It’s never entirely illuminated why that is.

There are plenty of reasons a hockey player would feel reluctant to come out of the closet. The static ideals of masculine gender roles that are baked into professional sports aren’t exactly welcoming to queer identities. There could be homophobic teammates who would react poorly and bring the team down. There could be fans and corporate sponsors who are disdainful or hostile to supporting a queer player. There’s also the fear of rejection and how their identity will change their lives for the worse, which could keep these characters closeted. These are all strong possibilities that could give the need for secrecy a source and a texture, but Heated Rivalry doesn’t really go into it. There’s a fleeting mention of Russia’s poor treatment of queer people, but it’s not enough. It ultimately makes the drama feel perfunctory and underwritten.

Overall, Heated Rivalry is a great time. It’s sexy, it’s fun, and the actors conjure such electric sexual tension that it leaps off the screen. It’s a delicious gourmet cheeseburger and fries. Sure, the calories are a little empty, but it’s still a tasty treat.