Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Heated Rivalry is a gay romance about two hockey players from opposing teams who fall in love.
Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) are professional hockey players for competing teams, the Montreal Metros and the Boston Raiders, respectively. The series follows them from their rookie year, to becoming team captains. With each game, both Shane and Ilya show their expertise. Soon a rivalry grows between them, which garners attention from the press. Soon the games in which they play against each other become highly anticipated, along with the drama that often ensues.
Meanwhile, Shane and Ilya often run into each other off the rink, mostly at events and the gym. As they exchange pleasantries, sexual desires rise up, which they try to ignore. But it doesn’t take long before Shane and Ilya act upon their impulses, meeting in private to satiate their desires in secret. As their forbidden hookups become more frequent, the two men must hide their budding romance and keep the outward appearance of being rivals. And that is when the drama unfolds.
Some Thoughts:
Heated Rivalry is a romance that centers around homophobia on both a social and political–Ilya lives in Russia, a country known for its anti-LGBT leaning–level. For a genre that tries not to get too dark, grappling with this subject is a bit of a feat. Luckily, writer/director Jacob Tierney does an excellent job of balancing the heavy topic with the sexy romance. He does this by never delving too deeply into the subject while keeping a realistic tone.
The acting, direction, and cinematography all work well. Of the cast, Storrie gives the best performance. His depiction of a cocky, closeted Russian athlete is believable. Ilya’s backstory has a lot for Storrie to work with, and he uses it to a give a nuanced performance that makes it easy to care about someone who is typically unlikeable.
Both Williams and Storrie perform well together, with each giving life to their characters. They have an undeniable chemistry that generates a sexual tension that is often palpable. They exude heat with their clothes on and off. And the sex scenes between them are as tasteful as they are realistic.
The story spans nine years (from 2008-2017) and never feels rushed or dull, thanks to good pacing and storytelling. It also allows Shane and Ilya’s relationship to gradually evolve from casual hookups to full-on romance without stretching credibility. I wish the same could be said for a secondary story involving Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.). To avoid spoilers, I won’t get into the particulars, but this is the only part of the series that I wish could have been given more time. It’s essential to the plot, so adding one more episode to flesh it out would have been great.
The Final Verdict:
Heated Rivalry is a fun and sexy romance that’s a win for any fan of the genre. The budding relationship gradually unfolds, keeping the viewer glued to the screen until the satisfying conclusion.