'Millions of people are watching Heated Rivalry. It's the hottest TV show I've seen all year.'

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My name is Amy and I'm one of the millions of people currently obsessed with Heated Rivalry.

Short version: Streaming in Australia on HBO Max, people are calling this ridiculously horny new show a cross between Friday Night Lights (where my Riggins' girlies at?!) and Fellow Travelers.

But let's go back to the beginning…

Watch the Heated Rivalry trailer here, post continues below.

As an unapologetic fan of cheesy Netflix rom coms, Fourth Wing (and all romantasy books), plus ranch, Midwestern small town and ice hockey romance novels, it's not suprising that Heated Rivalry found me via my algorithms a few weeks back.

I inhaled Rachel Reid's contemporary queer romance novel of the same name once I realised it was a book-to-screen adaptation.

Heated Rivalry ticks all my boxes: Romance tropes like rivals-to-lovers, secret relationship, bad boys, a competition of some kind to create delicious high-stakes tension… and a hefty amount of five-chilli spicy scenes.

Thankfully, the Canadian TV series is living up to every expectation (so far). With very minimal marketing other than TikTok thirst edits and word of mouth (mostly from yours truly), it's already HBO Max Australia's #2 show, with an 8.6 IMDB rating.

Image: HarperCollins Australia.

The story is set in 2008 in North America's ice hockey world, following the NHL's (that's National Hockey League, for any ice hockey smut newbies) newest rookie rising stars and rivals.

We've got Canadian golden boy Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams); a humble quiet achiever who's a team player, always follows the rules and desperately wants to make his hockey-fanatical momager proud.

We've also got Russian-born Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie); he's a talented, cocky asshole who only cares about himself and how many goals he can score — or so he wants us to believe.

From patriotic battles at the Winter Olympics to NHL playoffs and Rising Star accolades, the ice hockey world pits these two prodigies against each other from the start.

You couldn't write a better sports rivalry, but what happens when these two on-ice competitors start a secret relationship?

Shane (left) and Ilya (right). Image: Crave and HBO Max.

As they discover, Montreal and Boston play each other quite a lot. So convenient!

Like the book (and similarly to queer romance drama Fellow Travelers), the TV show covers how Shane and Ilya's lives intersect over several years as their professional and personal relationships evolve.

Heated Rivalry is also a story about modern dating, complete with dizzying chemistry, hookups, miscommunication and wondering if someone's going to text you back.

It touches on the pressure to live up to expectations, wanting what you can't have, the price of money and fame, homophobia in male sport and the lack of 'openly' queer elite athletes in professional leagues.

But it's also the hottest thing I've ever watched. And really funny.

Heads up, Heated Rivalry delivers a lot of graphic sex. That's one of the most impressive elements of the show; how the show's creator, Jacob Tierney, and actors Williams and Storrie were able to replicate the charged intimate scenes from the book, in a way that felt sexy and authentic.

Image: Crave and HBO Max.

So far, the reaction online from viewers and fans of the book has been unanimously and enthusiasticly positive. As the show's creator and lead actors told the Hollywood Reporter, straight women are just as obsessed with this same-sex romance as the queer community.

A word of warning, though. Type 'heated rivalry' into your TikTok search bar at your own risk. (No complaints here).

Honestly, if you're not watching Heated Rivalry this weekend, what are you doing with your life?

You can watch Heated Rivarly in Australia on HBO Max, here's when every episode drops (same day as the US):

Episode 1 - November 28, 2025

Episode 2 - November 28, 2025

Episode 3 - December 5, 2025

Episode 4 - December 12, 2025

Episode 5 - December 19, 2025

Episode 6 - December 26, 2025

Feature image: Instagram @cassmorann