Heated Rivalry

Gay hockey players and queer art

Trevor Dunning

I don’t read smut, but this show was really good. At a Barnes and Noble’s with my friends nearly two years ago, I jokingly pointed at a book featuring two hockey players in ready position on the rink locking eyes with each other. One of my friends said “Don’t read that one, it’s kinda freaky.” So I didn’t.

A few months ago, Heated Rivalry came across my HBOMax account homepage and I thought it looked boring, but I’d heard about it through social media. I started it but turned it off after the first 20 minutes, because I thought it was kind of lame. But days later I put it on again, and that scene came on (you know what scene) and I was entranced by the push and pull relationship of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander. I began my weekly watch of each new episode the day it was released.

Heated Rivalry is a gay love story between two hockey players set across nearly a decade. Passion, romance, and lust, it’s the type of queer art Megami wanted to protect. The story takes place across six episodes, the pace varying with each. I could not get enough of this show. By the time it ended, I was recommending it to everyone.

While I may never read the smut that is Heated Rivalry the book, I highly recommend the show to anyone with the will to watch one closted gay man and one closeted bisexual make sweet passionate love to each other.