Heated Rivalry Review: A Perfect Adaptation, A Great Show

Two types of people will probably be watching Heated Rivalry, the adaptation of a queer romance book by Rachel Reid. There are fans of the book who are eager to see their favorite characters come to life, and then fans of queer love stories in general, no matter the type. Whichever one you are, you’ll find something to enjoy in this show. But the experience might be very different for the two subsets of fans.

Heated Rivalry is a Crave adaptation, but the show is being distributed in the US by HBO Max, and as soon as the show starts, it’s easy to see why HBO thought this would fit their brand. Yes, this is explicit. In that regard, it’s very faithful to the book. It’s also a little broody, as the themes of the show more or less require. Plus, sports! However, the undercurrent of the show isn’t pain or suffering; it’s self-discovery.

but does it work?

In that regard, Heated Rivalry succeeds wildly, even if some queer viewers might feel that this is something they have seen before. Coming out stories are way more common than stories about queer joy, and there is a strong push for more of the second type of narratives. Heated Rivalry’s source material always stood in the middle of those two ideas. Yes, this is a tale about two men in the closet, at least for now. But it is also a story about self-discovery and finding love in places you might not expect.

That is brought to the forefront in such a loving and nuanced way by Jacob Tierney’s clear hand and transformed into the kind of story we can’t help but be hooked on by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. Make no mistake, there are supporting characters here, but this is Shane and Ilya’s story. The show has no qualms in focusing on them to a degree that leaves the rest of the characters feeling a little like chess pieces that are only there to advance the plot.

For book fans, that will not be an issue. We already know what we need to know about everyone else. For anyone coming in cold, however, there might be a disconnect in how you feel about the two main characters and how you feel about everyone else. Just as there will surely be a little bit of confusion about the multiple time jumps, particularly at the beginning. If you don’t know how hockey seasons work and/or what the schedule of the multiple tournaments might be, either enter this with an open mind or Google it beforehand.

does it affect the show?

These are minor gripes about the show in general, and not about the love story in particular. In fact, when it comes to Shane and Ilya—and Williams and Storrie—every second feels at the same time as if it had been pulled from the pages of the book, and as if they had somehow written this story for these two actors. It’s hard to take something that works really well and make it your own. But Williams and Storrie don’t just do that; they add to how great Shane and Ilya already were as characters by giving them real, tangible form. You loved them before? Chances are you’ll love them even more after that.

Even the sex scenes, and there are plenty of them, work in this regard. This is an explicit show, yes, but it is not a gratuitous one. As in the book, these characters connect through sex. But there’s a story being told there, one that comes through with the proper amount of softness and intimacy.  And yet Heated Rivalry doesn’t shy away from the type of depiction of sex on-screen we rarely get for queer couples. This is a show made from a queer gaze, and you can absolutely tell.

Perhaps that is why the tender moments hit as hard. Men, in particular, and queer men are not excluded from this narrative, have a harder time staying in those quiet, intimate moments. And entertainment has made great strides towards that, but there’s no denying a lot of the portrayals of queer stories involving men we have seen—the Brokeback Mountains of the world—are angrier and harsher. Heated Rivalry isn’t that, and it’s not trying to be.

It also isn’t Heartstopper, though. Or even Red, White and Royal Blue. The comparisons exist because we just don’t have enough queer stories being told to escape them. We’ve lived in the subtext for far too long. This takes us out of it. Boy, does it.

Heated Rivalry is a nuanced, at times messy, but very real love story between two men who have to figure out who they are and who they want to be as much as they have to figure out what they feel and how to love each other out loud. It’s a good story to tell, and it’s being told with care, respect, and a lot of chemistry. You don’t need to be a fan of the books to enjoy this one, though personally, I’d say it’s still a very good idea to give them a try—before or after you watch.

Are you excited for Heated Rivalry? Share with us in the comments below!

Heated Rivalry will premiere with two episodes at midnight on November 28 on HBO Max.