HBO hit "Heated Rivalry" This queer ice hockey romance is causing a sensation - and will soon be starting in Switzerland
Two men, a secret - and 14 sex scenes: The HBO series "Heated Rivalry" shows queer intimacy in professional sport like never before. The series hits a nerve.
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- The HBO series "Heated Rivalry" tells the story of the secret love affair between two rival ice hockey players and contains numerous explicit sex scenes that caused a stir in the media.
- The series addresses homosexuality in male-dominated professional sport and triggers a discussion about queer visibility in the ice hockey world.
- Despite occasional criticism of its handling of queer issues, the series has been a great success and will be available to stream in Switzerland from February 6.
For nine minutes, the HBO series "Heated Rivalry" shows Shane and Ilya sleeping together for the first time. The production by Canadian streaming service Crave was launched in North America at the end of November and has since been celebrated on social media and in the press.
"Heated Rivalry" is based on the book series "Game Changers" by author Rachel Reid. The novel is considered "smut" - the name given to books that contain predominantly explicit sex scenes.
Here's a little taste of what that sounds like: "He kissed Rozanov back, hard and wild and wanting more. Rozanov pushed him against a wall. He grabbed Shane's hand and pressed it against his crotch. And oh, Shane had his hand on Ilya Rozanov's penis."
And that brings us to the actual content of the series: it follows the two ice hockey players Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) over several years. They are actually arch-rivals in competing teams. But at some point they start sleeping together and fall in love - but they have to keep their relationship a secret.
The series sticks closely to the original book. In other words, there are more than just hints. The two are repeatedly seen naked and having sex. There are a total of 14 sex scenes in six episodes.
The series plays with the taboo of open homosexuality in men's sport. Ice hockey in particular, which is considered tough and macho, is still characterized by a traditional image of masculinity. This was also an inspiration for author Rachel Reid: she is a lifelong ice hockey fan and says she had "a lot of problems with the ice hockey culture" - the book was a way for her to put these feelings on paper.
In the strongest and most important professional league in ice hockey, the North American NHL, there are currently no openly gay players. The few professionals who have publicly come out as queer include Luke Prokop - he was the first player under NHL contract to come out in 2021, but plays in a partner league rather than the NHL - and Danish goalie Jon Lee-Olsen. Swedish player Lars Peter Karlsson was stabbed to death by a neo-Nazi in 1995 because of his homosexuality. He was 29 years old.
Actors suddenly became famous through the series
Criticism of the NHL for not being an open environment for queer people was further fueled in 2023, when the league abolished special Pride jerseys during the warm-up phase after individual players refused to wear them - damage to its image that the league is still trying to limit today.
"Heated Rivalry" could help. Amateur player Jesse Kortuem recently explained that the series had led him to come out publicly as gay. Sports official Gary Bettman, who heads the NHL, said the series had contributed to the success of this NHL season. "Heated Rivalry" star Hudson Williams also reported that several professional athletes had contacted him since the series was published who were not out - including ice hockey players.
Of course, the question is also big: are the two actors themselves part of the queer community? Williams and Storrie leave this open. "We want to keep our private lives private," the two say repeatedly in interviews. The two actors became famous just as quickly as the series became a hit: Previously, they only played minor roles; until shortly before filming, they were both still waitressing to make ends meet.
This was followed by appearances at the Golden Globes, on late-night shows and podcasts - as well as catwalk dates and magazine covers. According to media reports, they will carry the Olympic torch before the Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina.
And their success is not only reflected in the red carpets, but also in the data. Shortly after its launch, "Heated Rivalry" landed in the top 10 of HBO Max in the USA - at times even in second place.
Incidentally, two thirds of viewers are female, according to data analysis company Luminate. This is partly due to the genre: Smut is predominantly read by women.
On the other hand, it's the explicit sex scenes between two men that go down well with many women, as director Jacob Tierney explains: "Women are constantly exposed to sexual violence in real life and in culture. Seeing things that ultimately portray the vulnerability of men can be very refreshing." If there is no woman involved in the sex, it gives some viewers a sense of security - there is no fear that the scene could turn into sexualized violence against women.
If two men have sex with each other, there are no misogynistic stereotypes and no power imbalance, so the theory goes. Author Reid adds an even simpler reasoning: if you like penises, two are better than one. "Men like lesbian porn," argues Reid. "So why shouldn't women like it too?"
But what precedes the physical intimacy and the many sex scenes in the series is the inability of the protagonists to communicate their feelings. The physical becomes the language that tells the story and drives the plot forward. Only towards the end do the sex scenes become less frequent, and Shane and Ilya manage to put their feelings into words, listen to each other and - spoiler alert - confess their love for each other.
Streamable in Switzerland from February
There is only marginal criticism of the series. Critics say that the series does not depict gay sex correctly. It also trivializes homophobic mechanisms in society, uncritically warms up toxic masculinity and almost celebrates gay self-hatred by romanticizing the secrecy of the athletes.
But the hype doesn't stop there. And in Switzerland, you'll soon be able to make up your own mind: from February 6, "Heated Rivalry" will be streamable on HBO Max in Switzerland.
A second season has also already been announced, as there is plenty of material: Rachel Reid's queer field hockey romance series comprises six books so far, two of which revolve around Shane and Ilya. The seventh is due to be published in September, as the author announced on Instagram in mid-January.
