How to Watch ‘Heated Rivalry,’ the Gay Hockey Drama That’s Got the Internet’s Jockstraps In a Jumble
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A controversial TV series is heating up the ice — and television sets across North America — with the premiere of Heated Rivalry, a new show that follows two rival hockey players that end up falling in love.
Based on the book series “Game Changers,” from author Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry spawned countless TikTok fan edits and online think pieces even before the LGBTQ romance hit the screens. The show is a Canadian production that was originally only set to air in Canada on the streaming service Crave. But buzz over the juicy plotlines and poster-boy main characters Shane and Ilya (played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, respectively) led to the show being acquired by HBO Max in the U.S.
How to Watch Heated Rivalry Online
So, how can you watch Heated Rivalry? The gay hockey drama is an HBO Max exclusive, which means the only way to watch the sports romance is by streaming it online (it won’t be airing on TV — at least not yet).
OFFICIAL STREAMING HOME
HBO Max
An HBO Max subscription is currently discounted to just $2.99/month for Black Friday (regularly $10.99) and you can claim the deal on the HBO site or on Amazon, through its Prime Channels page. What we like: you can lock in the $2.99 price point for an entire year, representing a savings of 73% off each month.
Use your subscription to watch Heated Rivalry online, in addition to thousands of other TV shows, movies, documentaries and live sporting events on HBO Max. See more details about the latest HBO Max deal here.
BUNDLE DEAL
Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle
Another way to watch Heated Rivalry on HBO Max? Sign-up for the Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max bundle, which gets you access to all three streaming services for just $19.99/month total. That’s a savings of 43% versus paying for each streamer separately.
Use the bundle deal to stream Heated Rivalry online on HBO Max, and get access to all of the Disney+ and Hulu content on-demand.
How to Watch Heated Rivalry Online Free
HBO Max doesn’t currently offer a free trial but you can get HBO Max for free through DirecTV, one of our favorite streaming services online.
ALSO CONSIDER
DirecTV
The live TV streamer offers HBO Max as part of its “Genre Packs” options and you can get a five-day free trial to test drive one of the packages here. Use the free trial to watch Heated Rivalry streaming online for free.
Continue on with one of DirecTV’s many streaming packages or cancel before your free trial is up to avoid being charged. All of the options above let you watch Heated Rivalry online through your computer, tablet, smart TV or phone.
Heated Rivalry Airdate, Episodes
Heated Rivalry premieres with two episodes on Friday, November 28, with new episodes airing each week. There are six episodes in total, with the finale airing on Friday, December 26.
What Is Heated Rivalry About?
Adapted from Rachel Reid’s hit BookTok series, “Game Changers,” Heated Rivalry chronicles the story of hockey players Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), who are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey — and two of the league’s biggest on-ice rivals. But they soon begin to develop a relationship off the ice as well.
HBO Max
As a series description teases, “What begins as a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, the pair chase glory on the ice while struggling 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 is room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and as powerful as real love.”
Watch Heated Rivalry on HBO Max or stream it free through DirecTV here. And read the books that inspired the gay hockey series by picking them up on Amazon below.
Game Changer: A Spicy Gay Hockey Romance (Game Changers Book 1)
The original book
Heated Rivalry (Game Changers, 2)
The sequel-turned-TV show
In addition to Williams and Storrie, the new series also stars François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh, Sophie Nélisse and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova.
