Every year or so, we get something like Heated Rivalry — a niche story written by a woman for women, catches the eye of a gay writer or director, and before you know it, a TV show or movie is made.
Rachel Reid writes the source material, and the show was adapted for Crave by Shoresy and Letterkenny creator/writer Jacob Tierney.
The series has gained popularity online and is now available to stream on HBO Max in the US and several other territories. The first two episodes were released on Friday, November 28, and it’s just what someone would expect.
Online reactions would lead you to believe that a masterpiece is being made.
Heated Rivalry is not great television — it’s barely watchable. The first two episodes are a dizzying experience that leaves you wondering: what the hell is going on?
Heated Rivalry Fails to Capture the Source Material’s Charm
I have not read the books, and I’m not planning to, but I’ve seen enough book-to-screen adaptations that fall flat.
Books and television are different media whose impacts on consumers vary greatly.
Books succeed in selling the reader on the story by using descriptive language that jumps off the page, while television relies on showing.
Heated Rivalry fails to show and tells too much.
The storylines feel secondary to its primary goal: raunchiness. The characters are one-dimensional, and that dimension is drawn using a pencil.
Seriously, I expected more from it, given that, for one, we have a gay show running for more than thirty minutes per episode.
Photo: Crave (Screenshot)But half of that time is spent showing time jumps, and the other half is spent on sex scenes whose dynamics are questionable at best.
The script attempts to capture the relationship’s timeline, as the books do, but fails spectacularly.
The first case of telling rather than showing is the constant time-jump cards. By the first episode, the viewer is lost, not knowing when something is supposed to be happening.
But if you’re lost, Heated Rivalry will spell out everything for you.
No Depth Whatsoever
Characters, like people, are more than their present circumstances. They have a past, future dreams, other relationships, quirks, and shortcomings. A good script will capture many of these effortlessly.
But since Heated Rivalry needs to spare time for the cards and sex scenes, everything else happens in conversation.
One of the main characters, Hollander, is of Asian descent. Being raised in Canada comes with unique life experiences that shape how he navigates the world.
It’s not every day that an Asian player becomes a hockey star. That much is clear to many viewers, and I expected this to be incorporated in his story.
Imagine my surprise when he sits down with his parents, and it literally becomes a conversation. We know it’s a big deal that Shane is a hockey star. Don’t tell us; show us!
This is just one example in a long line of them that make Heated Rivalry feel underbaked and shallow.
Many others show up in the supposed “love story” between the main characters.
The Big Energy Disconnect
Photo: Sabrina Lantos © 2025Heated Rivalry is about two young men from vastly different worlds brought together by strong desires.
They are both focused on, although one could argue that Hollander is the main character. Still, we get glimpses of Rozanov’s personality, but as the story develops, it becomes clear that there is a gaping difference in these characters, and it’s affecting the show’s style.
Hollander is stoic and serious, while Rozanov is carefree and funny.
This clash of personalities fails to help the show establish itself as a pure drama or heavy drama with some comedic undertones.
I’ve been riding with Tierney for a long time, ever since Letterkenny, and his comedy talents are unmatched, but Heated Rivalry is not a good representative of that.
It relies too much on Rozanov’s deadpan humor, which usually finds Hollander on the other end.
This creates tonal whiplash that undermines the show’s supposed central love story.
This is similar to what happened in Red, White & Royal Blue, where Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) was loud and annoying while Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) was moody and annoying.
No Love Up In this Bitch
I’m a sucker for a good gay love story. All those tropes? Give them to me. But sometimes things don’t work, and Hollanov is not working in the first two episodes.
I don’t think there’s a right way to begin a relationship, because some start purely physical and evolve into something more.
Others begin with intense romantic feelings before they level out and become serious.
Hollanov’s relationship is in the former, where they start with intense physical attraction. And who can blame them? They look like gods.
But then, after hooking up for … I lost count … this becomes the definition of their relationship. It’s base desires that can only carry a relationship for so long.
Photo: Sabrina Lantos © 2025However, Hollander has deeper feelings and tries to communicate them, without success, because Rozanov never seems to have taken anything seriously in his life.
This mismatch in feelings makes it seem like this is a classic abusive relationship. Not physically, but emotionally. Hollander has to keep managing his expectations for the fear of setting off Rozanov and missing out on a good fuck.
I’m sorry, but if I were in that situation, I’d feel used and cut ties as soon as that feeling hits me.
When the race dynamics are factored in, it becomes even worse for the show, and the advertised romance fizzles out.
Yes, let us have the Asian man submit to the white man who treats him like a means to an end. It’s messed up at best.
But even the worst stories have a moral lesson, or in Heated Rivalry‘s case, an upside.
Give Me More of Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams
Some actors do not need to sharpen their skills; they need exposure. Heated Rivalry is the exposure its stars required.
Storrie, a Texas native, is amazing as Ilya Rozanov. He knocks it out of the park and makes the show entertaining to watch.
Russian accent? Check. Hockey butt? Check. Russian intensity and humor? Check.
His transformation to the character is one of the most remarkable performances of the year, rivaled only by my favorite: Angus O’Brien from Boots.
Hudson hits the emotional highs of his character so well that he could lead in his own HBO miniseries alongside Mark Ruffalo.
Together, they create something amazing that if its own weight didn’t pull it down would remain imprinted in our minds.
These actors are possibly the only upside to this show that we should call it what it is: smut for straight women — not that there’s much wrong about this. Women have always been the biggest consumers of romance stories or spicy gay media.
Still, Heated Rivalry could be contributing to an imbalance in queer television and movies where they are made by straight people, for straight people.
It remains to be seen how this story shakes out, but so far, it isn’t engaging.
Verdict
Heated Rivalry wants to be prestige queer drama, but ends up smut dressed as TV. It’s spice without sugar, hockey without heart, and proof that not every book‑to‑screen adaptation deserves the hype.
Rating: 4/10
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