In an incredible story of choosing love over traditional masculinity, Heated Rivalry’s recent television series adaptation has gone viral for its depiction of a romance between two rivaling male hockey players. While the show is not perfect, it has been praised for its accuracy and brilliant performances from the two leads, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie.
The show follows the decade long love story between two of the biggest hockey stars in the league, the Russian Ilya Rozenov and the Canadian Shane Hollander. The media pushed these two as having an intense rivalry as the two most looked at rookies. Meeting by chance a few times, Ilya soon grew interested in Shane who he then makes a move on when they are training. They eventually start a not-quite-romantic relationship that involves fake identities as Jane and Lily, jealousy towards possible romantic partners, and unfulfilled lives.
Although Shane tries to express his frustration with their situationship, Ilya often shuts him down due to the pressure of his family in Russia. It isn’t until another hockey player, Scott Hunter, brings his civilian boyfriend to the rink and kisses him on live that the two are able to embrace their love for one another. The bravery of their fellow player inspires the two to finally come together and have that relationship that they have been on the cusp of for years.
Although the ending can be read as happy to some extent, Hudson Williams who plays Shane, begs to differ. “A lot of people have said that’s a very happy ending, but I’m like, […] this is not the happy ending because they’re still in the closet,” Williams stated. “It looks more like forgiveness than pride. That’s where they’re at. Forgiveness implies there’s something that was wrongfully done.”
One aspect of the show that I enjoyed was the reality of the situation. While many were supportive, the social climate at the time regarding homosexuality was not as positive as it is now. Shane and Ilya were realistically worried about public perception of their relationship, and it was shown that some of the people surrounding them were vehemently opposed to queerness. While it’s incredibly sad that it has to be portrayed that way, it’s still realistic and shows an accurate queer relationship in the time it took place in, as well as showing the general increase of support for gays post the 2015 legalization.
Openly gay hockey players on social media have talked about similar experiences with closeted players in the league and praised the portrayal. Though, since popularity spiked, the support of homosexuality in real life has stopped at the actors of the show, one of which is not gay himself. I have seen comments on TikToks of actual gay hockey player videos where people in the comments with Shane Hollander profile photos bash them for sharing their stories, calling them disgusting or telling them to keep quiet. While it is good that an LGBTQ+ show is mainstream, I just wish that there was as much support for the community as Heated Rivalry has.
I really enjoyed this show, but I could not stand the music choices. I know it was probably accurate, but I can’t seriously listen to a club version of “All the Things She Said”. I tried so hard to enjoy that scene, and I did enjoy the scene itself and the perspectives it showed, but the song was just incredibly hard to listen to. I kept on just hoping that at some point the real song would come back on. I found myself cringing from the music choices on many occasions, as I felt they hardly fit the scene and were only there to show what year that scene took place.
The casting on the other hand, is expertly done. With a small budget and awkward shooting at times, the acting can be a little bit over the top, but this issue exists more with side characters than the main cast. People online criticize Williams’ portrayal of Shane through his deadpan voice and often blank face, but these people have clearly not read the book. The author herself has said that Williams did an amazing job at playing Shane, especially in showing Shane’s undiagnosed autism. Connor Storrie, a Texan man, also does an incredible job at convincing the audience that he truly has a Russian accent. I always forget that this man has the same accent as me when I open up an interview of the two. Both of the actors perfectly represent how I imagined the two through their descriptions in the book, and I give kudos to the casting director.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I am excited for what this show could mean for more LGBTQ+ shows to be created. I would totally recommend Heated Rivalry, but make sure to look up a content warning before starting.
