Katie the Book Reporter

Like everyone on my TikTok algorithm over the last week+, 99% of my thoughts have been consumed by “the gay hockey show,” Heated Rivalry. And I’m embracing it. 

I blazed through the book by Rachel Reid and its direct sequel, The Long Game, in preparation for the show’s premiere on Nov. 28, and while I’m confident I would have loved Shane, Ilya and their love story regardless, my obsession has undoubtedly been heightened by the rabid public reception of the show. 

My FYP has been flooded with fan edits, reaction videos from Heated Rivalry watchers after multiple episode viewings (I’ve watched the first two episodes three times myself!) and people trying in vain to find physical copies of the books after discovering the story through the TV show – and I eat up almost every video. 

But TikTok wasn’t enough, and I moved on to devouring interviews with showrunner/writer/director Jacob Tierney and the show’s leads, Connor Storrie (Ilya) and Hudson Williams (Shane); checking out fan chat spaces; and making my own videos chatting about the show on my BookTok account, @katiethebookreporter.

It’s fun to feel swept up in something joyful and exciting and while undoubtedly sexy, also tender and wholesome. 

It’s joy-inducing to share something you love with others and have that enthusiasm reflected back to you, even if it’s just strangers on the internet – honestly, almost especially when it’s strangers on the internet or out in the world. It’s fun to feel so connected to other people that you may otherwise never have interacted with because you both love the same TV show. Because you’re both gripped by that unsent “We never even kissed” text or, this week, the heartache-inducing moment when Scott covers up Kip’s blue banana socks at the Olympics. 

It’s an incredibly human experience. 

I’m working on getting more people in my personal circle tuned into the show. I’ve crowned myself the Heated Rivalry Paul Revere of my extended friend network, slowly but surely, through increasingly pleading/demanding voice notes, spreading news of the show and roping them into watching and reading Reid’s source material. 

Three episodes of the show have been released to date, and the remaining three episodes of the season will drop weekly on Fridays at 12:01 a.m. ET, with the final episode dropping on Dec. 26. Jacob Tierney told pop culture commentator Evan Ross Katz in an interview for his newsletter Shut Up Evan that the season didn’t drop all at once because the editing isn’t finished yet. 

“The show has had a weird journey due to a lot of enthusiasm. It was initially going to air in February [and it got bumped up]. As a result, the show is still not done. We’re still finishing the show, which is why it didn’t all drop at once,” Tierney said in Katz’s newsletter. 

Personally I’m glad the season is being serialized rather than dropping all at once. 

I think a weekly drop is the stronger schedule for Heated Rivalry because it draws out fan excitement, lets the show milk the most out of every moment online and allows word of mouth to spread so more viewers can come to the show by the time the finale rolls around – hopefully all but ensuring a season 2 gets greenlit (fingers crossed, because I want to see The Long Game on the screen!). 

It’s also more fun for us fans, giving us more time to chat about each week’s installments, share our favorite moments and theories, and pick up details we missed between episode drops. 

The fervent response from fans is also good news for author Rachel Reid, whose books are selling out on Amazon and at book retailers across the country. Heated Rivalry is book two in Reid’s Game Changers series, which is an MM hockey romance series featuring five couples. Shane and Ilya receive a direct sequel in the final book of the series, The Long Game. 

I’ll close on a pitch to Tierney and the team behind Heated Rivalry – have you considered any American promo events for the show in the new year? Detroit is a hockey city, and it’s not too far from Toronto! Just sayin.