A bright blue light shines on a man in 'It: Welcome to Derry'
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By
Giovana Gelhoren
Published 56 minutes ago
Giovana Gelhoren is a High-Trending Topics Writer at Collider, where she covers all the most-talked about stars, movies and TV shows. She’s a proud Latina, hailing all the way from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She’s known among her friends as an encyclopedia of celebrities and will watch just about every type of media (especially if said friends are around to watch it with her). She's also interviewed many celebrities during her career, some favorites including Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brenda Song, Jordin Sparks, and many more.
Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapSince its release on October 26, 2025, the prequel series It: Welcome to Derry has become a true phenomenon on HBO Max. Making history as the platform's third-best premiere of all time, behind only House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, the series has been an all-around streaming hit. But, as IT: Welcome to Derry hangs tight to the #1 streaming title, another series is putting up some tough competition. On November 28, 2025, Heated Rivalry, which is based on the 2019 novel by Rachel Reid and is currently #3 in the US, premiered its first two episodes, and it's a steamy gay romance that's already earned an impressive 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
What Is 'Heated Rivalry' About?
Heated Rivalry follows two promising hockey players: Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), a by-the-book Asian-Canadian player who's just signed with the Montreal Metros as their captain, and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), the new overly cocky captain of the Boston Raiders. Given that the two teams are frequent rivals, Shane and Ilya are in each other's orbits quite often, but the two hold a cordial yet still antagonistic relationship at first. Soon, an attraction develops between the two men, forcing Shane and Ilya to navigate their complicated feelings for each other in an overly competitive world where any misstep might derail everything they've been working towards.
In addition to their electric connection, and their icy rivalry on the ice, the series has two coming-of-age and self-discovery stories at its heart. Directed by Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny), the series shows how both men, from different countries, family dynamics, and opposite personalities protect themselves and put walls up to hide their fears and insecurities. Of course, as their connection blossoms, they confide in each other to slowly break down their walls and open up. In addition to Williams and Storrie, the series also features Christina Chang, Sophie Nélisse, Callan Potter, Nadine Bhabha, and Dylan Walsh. The series also incorporates characters from the first installment of Reid's Game Changers series, which follows the romance between hockey captain Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and bartender Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.).
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Spicy New Hockey Drama With 95% RT Scores Big on Streaming After 2-Episode Premiere
New episodes stream on Fridays.
Posts By Denis Kimathi 9 hours ago'Heated Rivalry' Is Already a Hit With Fans
Image via Crave/HBO Max
While Heated Rivalry has yet to secure a Rotten Tomatoes rating from critics, it's already a fan-favorite. With a 95% score on the site, viewers can't stop praising the show as a "fun, sexy, sizzling" adaptation, especially coming from readers of the original novel. From the dialogue to the chemistry between the main actors, it seems viewers loved every part of the series, and only have one criticism so far: that the sex scenes between Shane and Ilya should be longer. According to Collider's very own David Caballero, the series works because it hits the sweet spot between intense, steamy moments, and tender, heartfelt ones. Plus, the romance between the leading men never feels exploitative or fetichized, and is honest, patient and careful instead. "Tierney allows Williams and Storrie's natural chemistry to do all the heavy lifting, creating a dynamic that thus injects genuine eroticism into their sexual encounters," the review reads.
With only two episodes out so far, it seems Heated Rivalry has all the ingredients to potentially knock IT: Welcome to Derry from its #1 spot. The third episode of the series will be premiering on December 5, with subsequent episodes dropping every Friday after. The finale, titled "The Cottage," will be airing on December 26, 2025. While it might be too early to tell if HBO Max has another streaming hit on their hands, it's safe to say Heated Rivalry is quickly becoming another beloved fan favorite.
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Heated Rivalry
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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Heated Rivalry
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IT: Welcome to Derry
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