The leads of Heated Rivalry pressing their foreheads together
By
Brennan Klein
Published 29 minutes ago
Brennan Klein (he/him) is a senior news writer at Screen Rant, host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, and contributor at Alternate Ending and Horror Press. He has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror movies) for over a decade at platforms including Blumhouse, Fangoria, Dread Central, The Backlot, and Arrow in the Head.
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Heated Rivalry has landed on a major streaming chart. The steamy Canadian series, which follows the burgeoning romance between hockey rivals Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), is based on the Rachel Reid novel of the same name.
On November 19, it was announced that the Heated Rivalry show was acquired by HBO Max for U.S. and Australian distribution. The series, which is available on Crave in Canada, Movistar Plus+ in Spain, and Sky in New Zealand, debuted just nine days later, on November 28.
Despite this swift turnaround meaning that the show could only have a minimal advertising rollout, FlixPatrol's proprietary streaming viewership measurements show that Heated Rivalry is No. 2 on the Top 10 chart of HBO Max's most-watched series in the United States for November 29.
Heated Rivalry has only fallen behind the ongoing It prequel series Welcome to Derry, surging past other popular HBO series including the platform's new record-breaking comedies The Chair Company (No. 4) and I Love LA (No. 7).
Heated Rivalry also debuted at No. 2 in Australia behind Welcome to Derry at No. 1, even though no other shows are in the same position on both the U.S. and Australian Top 10 charts.
So far, the show's viewership is living up to the expectations set by social media, which saw a surge of hot-and-bothered reactions to Heated Rivalry on November 28.
It ultimately remains to be seen if it becomes a substantial hit for HBO Max, as only the first two episodes of the six-episode season have aired. However, if it maintains a place in the Top 10 throughout the coming month as it continues to air, concluding on December 26, Heated Rivalry could be well-positioned to earn a possible second season or spinoff.
There is already plenty of material available for a potential expansion of the show's universe, as the LGBTQ+ romance novel is just one of six books in Rachel Reid's Game Changers series, which includes romance stories about other hockey players and a direct sequel to Shane and Ilya's story titled The Long Game.
It is entirely possible that Heated Rivalry could continue to thrive. While it still hasn't received an official Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, audience members have so far given it a glowing 88% on the platform's Popcornmeter. Despite the fact that it didn't get a huge rollout, the show could very well attract more viewers if its word of mouth stays this strong.
Heated Rivalry
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Drama Romance Sports Release Date November 28, 2025 Network Crave Directors Jacob TierneyCast
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Connor Storrie
Ilya Rozanov
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Hudson Williams
Shane Hollander
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François Arnaud
Scott Hunter
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Robbie Graham-Kuntz
Kip Grady
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Heated Rivalry
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