I’m Grateful For The Department of Canadian Heritage (And Why Everyone Else Should Be Too): Heated Rivalry, Why Canadians Are Getting Crave, and What Happens When You Fund the Arts
This is for my friend — I would genuinely love it if you showed this to your colleagues.
Yes, this is the gay hockey romance show you might’ve heard about, yes it really is that amazing, and yes, I know several people who got Crave just for this show. I have a feeling that this phenomenon might be even more widespread – just a hunch that new subscribers especially might be interested in one title in particular.
When I first started drafting this newsletter post, my initial enthusiasm had been just dampened by claims that one of the co-hosts of the Empty Netters podcast, whose Heated Rivalry episodes I’d thoroughly enjoyed, had allegedly trashed the show in private despite their effusive public comments.[1] While I was unsure of why that disparity existed, or how accurate the reporting was, the mere possibility sucked. Since then, said co-host has responded to the comments, and stated that his comments were made before actually watching the show and during the first few minutes of the first episode, and his praise for the show on the podcast has been genuine.[2],[3]
I had hoped/thought it was perhaps the case, but his private texts and comments still contain language and opinions a lot of people are unhappy about. I had found some comments in the first few podcast episodes a bit uncomfortable and weird, but I genuinely enjoyed their review and discussion of the show, and had recommended it to friends and colleagues alike. I’m not sure what the narrative is here – is the co-host a victim of online vitriol for private thoughts on a show he hadn’t watched yet, a double-faced performative public figure, or both – or whether to even recommend their Heated Rivalry episodes; I suppose it will be up to everyone individually to decide. Regardless, I think it demonstrates how talking about and celebrating this show is more important than ever.
What I love most about Heated Rivalry and the whole phenomenon around it is how fun and awesome and genuinely well-deserved it is – and how it’s genuinely Canadian. The viral sensation that has led the two main actors to present an award the Golden Globes and be torchbearers at the Winter Olympics is based on a book series written by a Canadian (born and raised in Nova Scotia) and mostly set in Canada. It features a Canadian actor as one of the leads, was produced by a Canadian network, and financed with Canadian funding (more than $3 million from the Canadian Media Fund, which was founded by and is supported by Canadian Heritage).[5] Had any one of these elements not been present, it would not have succeeded even half as much.
It’s quite evident that the smaller budget but wider creative freedom, and producing this for Crave in Canada vs HBO in the United States, was key in the freedom to make this as sexy and queer and heartfelt as needed. It’s also quite evident that without the vital funding from Canadian Heritage, the show might not have existed at all – or might have had an even tighter budget, thus restricting what it would’ve been able to achieve. Funding the arts – funding Canadian arts – is so vital and important, and I’m so glad we got to see it literally pay off. Success stories are always heartwarming, and this one even more so.
What to say about Heated Rivalry that hasn’t been said before? For those of you who perhaps aren’t on the same corners of the internet, don’t have colleagues at work recommending it, haven’t heard it being talked about on the radio and on the news, or don’t know much about what it actually is, Heated Rivalry is a gay hockey romance show based on the second book of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series. It follows Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov throughout the first eight years of their hockey careers, as rivals on the ice and something more behind closed doors.
Season 1 of the show (the only season currently out, though season two has already been announced) is very much about the struggles of being gay and a hockey player, in terms of the culture, public perception, and especially for the Russian in the room, legal and criminal repercussions. It’s about denial, fear, self-doubt – and also how love is the only thing stronger than fear. I wasn’t necessarily expecting that to be the main focus of the show. Heated Rivalry is about all of these things, however, and it is so raw and heartbreaking – and ultimately hopeful and triumphant.
Yes, there is explicit and remarkably tasteful sex – a lot of it – and even a bit of hockey. There’s navigating parental relationships and expectations, amazing friendships, fun banter, and tuna melts that turn into heartbreak. All of that and so much more. The core of this amazing story, though, is really about finding one’s way to the cottage. To love and acceptance and happiness.
The show is funny, dramatic, hot, and unexpected from episode to episode. Surprisingly, despite the heart-wrenching angst and my high stress levels on whether their relationship would be discovered, it was a lot more chill than I’d expected. In a way, almost nothing truly bad happened – the other shoe never dropped. People weren’t needlessly cruel (apart from certain characters who don’t deserve our awesome main leads), there was communication and growth, and plenty of heartfelt moments to balance out the tension. Which, for the record, I vastly prefer. I’m actually so excited to rewatch the show, because I’ll know what happens and can simply enjoy the ride. I’m so glad this show is getting such love and support and recognition – which somehow keeps growing every time I look away!
I love how in this current environment where it feels like things are getting worse, even in terms of media representation, and attitudes reverting are back, that we have such a defiant, joyful, queer story existing – and blowing up in a major way. I love how literally almost everyone at work, as well as my friends, has watched it, is watching it, plans to watch it, or at least has heard about it. I also love how I got into it at just the right time – it blowing up in real time as I watched it.
I cannot stop recommending the show to friends and family, and I had such a Heated Rivalry hangover (after finishing the last three episodes in one day) that I bought and read the book the next day. While the book series follows a different pairing for each book, Book 6 – The Long Game – is a direct sequel to Heated Rivalry, and the author even has a book 3 for Shane and Ilya coming out in September! Needless to say, I binged The Long Game the following weekend, pre-ordered Unrivaled, and am seriously contemplating a rewatch quite soon despite usually preferring a break in between, even if it’s something I love.
Finally, on a more personal note, Heated Rivalry has forever altered my relationship with the word cottage. As someone who grew up reading science fiction and fantasy, when I see the word cottage, especially in a book, I always imagine a cute cottage in the woods – a witch’s cottage, a cute hobbit-hole, a “fantasy cottagecore aesthetic.” The word I read and interpret has always been separate from the IRL Canadian word. For context, I watched Episode 1 in early December, and only got around to the rest when all the episodes had aired, in early to mid January. Which means I saw a lot of references to “the cottage” online: the Episode 6 title, the actual place in the story, and the metaphorical space representing a turning point in their relationship.
It took until the episode where Shane does the interview at his cottage for me to realize that when Heated Rivalry talks about cottages, they mean the Canadian “I’m going to the cottage this weekend” kind. While ultimately they’re the same thing, the two have always had very separate connotations in my mind. When friends or colleagues or extended family go to the cottage, it’s not the same thing as a cottage in a book. Thanks to Shane and Ilya (and the amazing actors who have brought them to life), Jacob Tierney (producer), and Rachel Reid (author), I will forever think of them and Heated Rivalry when I read the word “cottage.” And I’m certainly not mad about it. 😊
All this to say, watch Heated Rivalry!!! Which was pitched to me by my colleague as Yuri on Ice but with hockey, and whom the first friend I raved about it to told me another friend of his had already recommended it. It can be fun to be “part of the moment,” when a book or a movie or a show or a cultural experience goes viral – so join us! There’s still a few days before the Opening Ceremonies of the 2026 Winter Olympics, where Hudson Williams (playing Shane Hollander) and Connor Storrie (playing Ilya Rozanov) will be torchbearers!
[2] https://www.thecut.com/article/empty-netters-heated-rivalry-texting-drama-explained.html
[3] https://awfulannouncing.com/hockey/empty-netter-dan-chris-powers-heated-rivalry-text-messages.html
[4] Canadian ‘Heated Rivalry’ stars in Ottawa, attending event with PM Carney - CTV News https://apple.news/ACwbR-KXsT3qvlVwanQ5uHg
