Smash hit Heated Rivalry offers ‘reprieve’ for LGBTQ+ community, creates conversation among hockey fans
In all my years of sports media, nothing has hit the way Crave’s series Heated Rivalry has.
To say it has scored in unprecedented ways would be an understatement. Last week, my friend and colleague, Dr. Amira Rose Davis and I were chatting and she said “I can not believe you haven’t watched it yet!” Admittedly, I was behind on this riveting series.
According to Amira, it’s the perfect “Canadian hockey story” and automatically she thought of me. She and Dr. Jessica Luther even did a special segment on the show for our podcast.
But my interest is not only around this compelling series — shot, produced and created in Canada with Canadian talent — that is based on a book series by Haligonian Rachel Reid. Heated Rivalry follows the love story of two gay hockey professional players, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, on fictional NHL teams who hide their affair because of, well, hockey. I am fixated on the discussions in the media around it, and the progress.
The Canadian streaming sensation Heated Rivalry — which centres on a gay romance between two professional hockey players — has been a big hit with viewers, who have ranked it among the highest-rated episodes of all time on IMDB.
Jacob Tierny, who wrote and directed Heated Rivalry, is no stranger to Canadian media.
The successful and openly gay actor and producer wrote and starred in Letterkenny, the incredibly popular Canadian series. Reid was honoured with reading the starting lineup in the dressing room for the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire. The PWHL has many openly gay players, but Heated Rivalry is not about the women or non-binary players. It is about men’s hockey, and the culture around men’s hockey.
Despite the reaction to the series, men’s hockey remains as plain and unprogressive as usual. It is not a bastion of inclusion and diversity.
Over two years ago, the NHL banned Pride Tape then unbanned it. It was handled so poorly that even players decided to act against the policy that was meant to regulate theme nights. It reminds us that although there may be communities and players who care about the cause, the boardrooms and decision makers are not rooted in justice in sport, but rather swayed by reputation and powerful opinion.
Sure there are movements and organizations that seek to change this, but on the whole, men’s hockey is not a delicious space of uniqueness.
At the moment, there are no out players in the NHL. Is it because hockey may not be an environment where sport feels safe for those who refuse to conform? Can you really be your true self when there is no actual example of someone in professional men’s hockey being successful after coming out?
According to reports, the NHL is the only pro league that has not yet had a former or active player come out.
Meanwhile, Heated Rivalry has become Crave TV’s most-watched original series ever. It has also become quite a fodder for discussion in traditional hockey spaces. The popular hockey podcast Empty Netters, hosted by two white, straight, male and former junior players, have not only done reaction videos to every episode, it has delved into plots, characters and deeper meaning within the show.
Last month, the Montreal Canadiens showed the trailer during a game. And the Boston Bruins even made reference to it in a social media caption after a charged game against the Habs.
One might consider this a win-win situation. Gay hockey plots in mainstream media?!
Heated Rivalry star Robbie Graham-Kuntz on going viral, fan love and why this Canadian show is hitting different.
But could it be argued that those jumping on the Heated Rivalry bandwagon may not be as culture-altering as we have hoped? There are certainly new fans coming from the show interested in hockey, which is the backdrop of the show.
I spoke with Harrison Browne, the first professional trans hockey player — now actor and author — about the show and the intentionality of the fandom.
Browne, who has a role in the series, admits that he didn’t expect the show to be the global pop culture phenomenon it has become.
“The resurgence of [positive] attention to trans people in sports has been exciting,” he told me during a phone call. “The amount of love has been on par with [or more] than I got when I came out.”
Exposing audiences to untraditional stories
He says it has been a “cool shift” to see himself in a queer hockey story in a way that he can be recognized but also be helpful to others in the wider community. Tierny selected him for the role because he is a great actor not because he’s great at hockey.
Browne says that exposing new fans to a story they may not see in a traditional hockey space has benefits. And he admitted that his following on social media has doubled and gotten him a lot of attention, hopefully leading to more opportunities.
But I can’t help but feel like hockey players and individuals with power ought to do more.
Heated Rivalry’s feud between two hockey players, one Canadian and the other Russian, was inspired by the longstanding rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, according to the book’s author, Rachel Reid. In February 2010, the two hockey legends faced off at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The men’s Canadian Olympic hockey team pulled off a 7-3 victory against Russia, and would go on to beat the U.S. in the final after an overtime goal from Crosby.
When I asked Browne whether he thinks hockey players like Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby should say something about the series, he replied with so much candour and wisdom.
“NHL players may not have anything to say,” he thinks.
His point is well-taken. Why are we holding them accountable to a tv show? They really need to speak up on serious issues in real life — not in a fictional world. The fact that they may not be could be categorized as “wilful ignorance,” Browne says, particularly when it feels like the whole world is talking about this show.
Work to be done
One can’t help but remember how certain teams and organizations handled the Pride Night debacle, or when Stanley Cup-winning teams went to the White House and visited with a president who is flagrantly anti anyone who isn’t pro MAGA.
There is a lot of work to do in the hockey space particularly in an environment where DEI efforts are tanking. But there is an important takeaway from Heated Rivalry and that is the world needs joy.
“Perhaps this is a reprieve for us,” Browne says, “for something that is non-apocalyptic.”
It can also create new conversations in the fan base. Series star Hudson Williams said in a recent interview that closeted players are reaching out to Reid.
It could potentially broaden the concept of what a traditional hockey player is. It can redefine what needs to be celebrated in sports, and it can also just be a salacious story of love and intimacy — all of which are true and possible.
There is always a need for invigorating storytelling in sports, and offering a new lens from which to look at hockey. It will not stop me from demanding better from leaders in the space, even as I binge the show.
