This time of year can be pretty quiet for new TV, given that many people are preoccupied with holiday planning. No such thing over at HBO Max, which is now streaming the queer hockey romance, “Heated Rivalry.”
The show is adapted from Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers,” a series of books about, yes, hockey romances. It focuses on the story of rival hockey players and secret lovers Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), who first meet as youth hockey phenoms and then keep encountering each other once they turn pro as adults. They play on the fictional rival teams the Boston Raiders and the Montreal Metros. Any resemblance between the Raiders’ black jerseys and any real life Boston hockey team is surely coincidental.
The series has sparked some discourse about the show’s sex scenes, which are abundant and reasonably explicit. Having watched the first four episodes, I didn’t find them gratuitous (though the show is not shy about showing off the perfect physiques of its performers). But the scenes unquestionably serve as storytelling. Sex is the only way these two guys can express intimacy. One of the saddest moments on the show happens when Shane, the more repressed of the duo, tries to find the right words to text Ilya after they have some very unromantic sex, and types “we didn’t even kiss” before deleting it and not sending it.
I say “one of the saddest,” because the show is often quite sad. It opens in 2008 and has hopscotched through the years to the mid-teens, stopping for significant moments when the two encounter each other. Given that it’s still virtually unheard of for prominent queer male athletes to be out, the crushing weight of hiding their connection is an undercurrent in every interaction.
The Russian Ilya may hail from a more repressive culture, but he comes across as moreself-aware about his own sexuality, and he pursues his relationship with Shane with less internal struggle. Shane, on the other hand, has to grapple with the pressures of being a prominent Asian man in a very white sport, is dealing with a bit of a stage mom, and seems to have almost no ability to admit — even to himself — who he is or what he’s doing with Ilya. The two only call each other by their last names in bed, which allows them to cling to their sense of each other as casual acquaintances. After Ilya finally calls Shane by his first name during an intimate moment, Shane panics and leaves.
From left:François Arnaud as Scott Hunter and Robbie G.K. as Kip Grady in “Heated Rivalry.”sabrina lantos
By contrast, the third episode tells a standalone love story about Scott Hunter (François Arnaud), another pro player, and Kip (Robbie G.K.), who’s working in a smoothie shop and applying to grad school when he encounters Scott. They’re both a bit older when they meet, and Scott, though closeted because of his career, freely expresses affection and is capable of talking to Kip about his concerns. And Kip is a happily out gay man with a supportive family, which by episode three is something of a relief to see depicted, as is their general openness with each other.
TV shows have grappled with the agonies of coming out (or not) for a long time now. There are moments when “Heated Rivalry” seems almost like a throwback to those earlier shows, given its focus on the subject. But it’s reflecting a reality that doesn’t seem to have changed enough, sadly.
Lisa Weidenfeld can be reached at lisa.weidenfeld@globe.com. Follow her on X @LisaWeidenfeld and Instagram @lisaweidenfeld.
