A U.S. Platform Wanted to Delay the Romance in ‘Heated Rivalry’ Until Episode 5 — So the Creator Took It to Canada
If you’ve watched Heated Rivalry — or watched it five times, apparently — you know the chemistry between its two leads isn’t something you’d want dialed back. But that’s exactly what almost happened before the show landed at Crave.
During a Series Mania Forum panel on Global Audiovisual Alliances, TV executive Julie Roy revealed that the hockey romance series was originally being developed with a U.S.-based platform. The problem? Creator Jacob Tierney wasn’t getting the creative freedom he wanted, according to Variety.
“At first, it was supposed to be made with a U.S. platform. But he didn’t have the freedom he wanted,” Roy said, referring to Tierney.
The sticking point came down to the show’s romance — specifically, how quickly the series could go there. Roy described creative differences over content, explaining that the U.S. platform pushed to soften the relationship between the two leads.
“For example, [they wanted] to have the first explicit scene only in episode five to tone down the romance,” Roy said.
For a series built entirely around the tension and intimacy between two rival hockey players, pushing that element to the back half of a six-episode season would have fundamentally reshaped the story. Tierney chose a different path: he brought the project back to Canada.
Roy said Crave stepped up to support the show as originally envisioned.
“He decided to go back to Canada, and kudos to Crave who had the courage to welcome the full project. For me, that’s a great example of not being Hollywood and being authentic. Authenticity is something that really works,” Roy said.
Heated Rivalry premiered in November 2025 on Crave and HBO Max. It’s based on the Game Changers book series written by Rachel Reid and follows two hockey players — Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) — who play for rival teams in Montreal and Boston.
Their relationship starts as pure rivalry, shifts into a friends-with-benefits arrangement and eventually evolves into a full romantic relationship across the six-episode first season. It’s the kind of slow-burn progression that clearly resonated with viewers.
Roy’s comments about audience engagement backed that up in a big way.
“This example is also interesting in terms of audience engagement. A high number of people just watched this series for the fifth time! It’s insane,” she said.
Fans won’t have to wait forever for more. Season 2 has been confirmed and is expected to begin filming in the summer. It will be based on The Long Game, the next book in Reid’s series, with a premiere expected sometime in spring 2027.
The book’s synopsis hints at deeper emotional stakes ahead: “Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship… Ilya wants it all,” it reads. “It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love.”
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
