Breaking the ice
Anais Loeppky, Staff Writer
When the steamy new romance, Heated Rivalry, premiered on Crave in late 2025, nobody anticipated just how quickly it would gain traction. The Canadian TV show took the world by storm, delivering a trepid love story.
Heated Rivalry is based on Canadian author Rachel Reid’s book series, Game Changers, and the story is brought to life by Canadian filmmaker Jacob Tierney, who created, wrote, and directed the hit series.
The show was released into a market where domestic series almost never achieve international reach. However, against all odds, Heated Rivalry became one of the most successful original launches in Crave’s history—an incredibly rare achievement for Canadian television, especially for a queer-focused story.
The series follows Major League Hockey (MLH) players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as they navigate a secret relationship over the course of their careers.
Hockey is a staple of Canadian identity, and Heated Rivalry adds a compelling queer story to the sport we know and love.
The combination of traditional hockey culture and romance has resonated deeply with audiences on a global scale, creating a show that people can’t stop talking about.
A record-setting launch for Canadian streaming
According to Bell Media, Heated Rivalry became the platform’s most-watched original series debut of all time, breaking viewership records during its first week. They report that streaming numbers continue to grow steadily following the premiere, prompting the swift renewal for a second season.
Shortly after its Canadian debut, Heated Rivalry was also licensed for distribution in multiple global markets, including in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
Canadian series have long had trouble breaking through into these international markets.
Bell Media, however, reports that Heated Rivalry set a record as Crave’s most-watched original series debut ever in its first seven days, with streams increasing nearly 400 per cent since premiere. The series thus defied long-standing expectations for the global reach of Canadian television.
Canadian talent
Behind the show’s success is a Canadian production model through and through.
Heated Rivalry was produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment, founded by Tierney and Brendan Brady, in partnership with Bell Media. They filmed across multiple locations in Ontario, including Muskoka and Guelph.
The series also features many talented Canadian actors. Shane Hollander is played by Hudson Williams, an actor from Kamloops, B.C. Williams has had smaller television appearances in the past, but this was his breakout role.
Canadian actor François Arnaud also appears as Scott Hunter, another hockey player in the series. He is from Montreal, QC, and has been acting on screen since 2007.
The production and team highlight Canada’s ability to create high-quality, scripted television without relocating to U.S. studios.
Heated Rivalry offers a shift in Canadian storytelling that prioritises inclusion, while still focusing on traditional Canadian stories, places, and creative teams.
The importance of Canada’s public arts funding
The success of Heated Rivalry illustrates the importance of Canada’s public arts funding in fostering creativity.
This funding is key in making shows like this possible, giving Canadian series the resources to compete in an increasing global streaming market.
One of the most significant contributors to Canadian television production is the Canada Media Fund (CMF).
The CMF receives contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. Ultimately, the CMF invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually in Canadian television, ensuring Canadian stories are created and promoted at home and abroad.
Canadian productions further benefit from federal tax incentives, such as the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC), which provides a refundable credit of up to 25 per cent of eligible Canadian labour costs. Incentives like this are in place to encourage companies to continue producing television in Canada, making series like Heated Rivalry financially possible without relocating production or creative leadership elsewhere.
Projects like Heated Rivalry also frequently receive support from organisations such as the Bell Fund, which focus on Canadian television and digital media projects.
The Bell Fund and CPTC create opportunities for Canadian ownership and creative control in the entertainment industry, with incentives and funding helping to reduce the financial risk for Canadian producers.
Heated Rivalry is a prime example of how essential these funding systems are to future growth and global visibility of Canadian programming.
Ilya Rozanov (left) and Shane Hollander (right) from Heated Rivalry. Photo by
Sabrina Lantos/Bell Media
Representation in television
Heated Rivalry’s portrayal of a queer relationship in traditionally hypermasculine sports, such as hockey, cannot be understated.
Coverage in outlets such as Teen Vogue framed the series as a meaningful step forward for LGBTQ2S+ representation in sports narratives.
Hockey culture has long been associated with “locker-room culture” and a history of silence around queer identity, making Heated Rivalry’s portrayal particularly impactful.
Heated Rivalry does not depict the queer relationship in a way that frames it as a tragedy or scandal. Instead, the series creates a relationship of warmth and passion, bringing queer intimacy into a mainstream narrative that is rarely afforded to LGBTQ2S+ stories.
The scale of the audience further increases the impact this show has already had. By bringing queer storytelling into a sports narrative, the series attracts an audience who might not regularly seek out queer-centred programming.
Shows like Heated Rivalry help normalise queer relationships within one of the most traditionally exclusionary spaces in popular culture.
The future of Canadian television
Heated Rivalry is a unique, Canadian series that has achieved immediate domestic and international success on a huge scale. They have also done so without sacrificing their strong Canadian identity.
The show is a perfect example of how public funding and creativity can position Canadian programming as both culturally specific and globally relevant.
Heated Rivalry proves that continued funding and support of Canadian art is a viable strategy for international success, as well as supporting marginalised groups and stories.
