Drop everything! A sneak peek from the upcoming gay hockey romance Heated Rivalry has arrived, and it’s full of romantic tension.
At the start of the two-minute clip, hockey stars Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) are sitting on the gym floor, seemingly recovering from a sweaty workout.
“What a f**king day, huh?” Ilya exhales, with Shane adding: “Yeah, totally.”
When Ilya asks Shane if it was “everything he dreamed of,” the latter cheekily replies: “Almost”
As their conversation progresses, the pair’s romantic and sexual tension builds with every look and word they exchange.
“Montreal is… It’s nice, yes?” Ilya breathlessly asks, prompting Shane to say, “Yeah, it’s awesome.”
After asking if Boston was nice as well, the Russian player exclaimed: “We will, uh… we will be seeing each other a lot.”
In response, a flustered Shane says, “Yeah, Boston and Montreal play against each other often,” before he not-so-subtly checks out Ilya’s sweaty physique.
However, their electric chemistry doesn’t stop there. The two lovebirds then go on to stare intently into each other’s eyes while slowly moving their legs closer together.
Ilya and Shane finally get some skin-to-skin contact after the former offers his water bottle, resulting in more sparks flying between the two.
Naturally, the steamy clip has been an absolute hit with the gays, girls and theys, who flocked to social media to express their excitement over the show and the chemistry between its two leads.
“Y’all have no idea how extremely sat I am going to be for this,” one person on X/Twitter wrote.
Another user added: “This is Heartstopper for people in their 20s”
A fan joked: “I feel like I’m intruding watching this….s2 you’re so secure.”
Based on Rachel Reid’s hit novel, Heated Rivalry follows Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, two elite professional hockey players and captains of their respective teams whose careers have been defined by their fierce on-ice rivalry.
Behind the scenes, however, the pair have a secret romantic connection — one full of clandestine encounters and complicated feelings.
The official synopsis adds: “What begins as a secret fling between confused teenagers at 17 evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle to navigate their feelings off it.”
“Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there’s room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile – and powerful – as real love.”
In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, the showrunner and stars of Heated Rivalry opened up about bringing the beloved gay romance book to life.
“I’m thrilled to be putting out a romance into the world that is not punishing and that is not full of dead, miserable gay characters,” creator Jacob Tierney exclaimed. “This is a gay story where no one dies of AIDS, and no one goes back to their wives.”
Williams echoed similar sentiments: “A lot of the queer representation in films and TV that I’ve seen a lot of times, there is a tragic element to it.
“This story does just drive towards the good. The show is so unabsashed. There’s no shame. The show is just proud to be what it is.”
While acknowledging the growing popularity of Heated Rivalry, Storrie explained: “I think a lot of queer women, a lot of non-binary people, really feel seen by these people that kind of live in the grey, that live in this underrepresented middle ground that you don’t really see in society.”
In addition to the show’s impact on LGBTQIA+ media representation, Tierney revealed that he adapted “nearly all” of the novel’s steamy sex scenes, which he described as being pertinent to the story.
“Because the way the story is laid out, it takes place over eight years, and these are people who learn about each other through f**king, so the sex didn’t feel gratuitous,” he explained to the news outlet.
“This how they communicate: They meet up three times a year and have sex until they hit a point where they’re like, ‘Oh God, we keep doing this. We must have feelings for each other.”
Fortunately, fans won’t have to wait much longer for Heated Rivalry. The show premieres on 28 November on Crave (Canada) and HBO Max (US and Australia).
Viewers in New Zealand will be able to start Shane and Ilya’s love story on 30 November via Sky.
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