What to know
- Heated Rivalry and Off Campus are two new Canadian hockey dramas that tackle complex relationships, consent, and identity in very different ways.
- Heated Rivalry is known for its queer romance and groundbreaking representation, while Off Campus explores sexual trauma, healing, and college life with a focus on consent.
- Despite their similarities, each series brings unique storylines and perspectives to the ice, sparking conversations about masculinity, coming out, and what it means to belong.
When Heated Rivalry first hit our screens, it quickly went from another Canadian hockey drama to a Queer cultural moment, capturing the attention of fans, hockey players, and even Prime Minister Mark Carney. Now, with Amazon Prime’s Off Campus skating into the spotlight, viewers are drawing comparisons.
Following the success of Heated Rivalry, there’s another hot hockey series taking over our timelines: Off Campus. Both set in Canada, both focused on hockey, and both following the stories of young adults coming to terms with their identities, many people are questioning if Off Campus is another spin on a hockey romance or Heated Rivalry 2.0.
The Canadian series Heated Rivalry is based on Canadian author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series, following two rival professional hockey players in a secret Queer relationship.
Due to its standout feature as a Queer story with a happy ending, authentic themes, and Queer intimacy, the show quickly rose through the ranks to become Crave’s number one series.
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- ‘North of North’, ‘Heated Rivalry’ and ‘40 Acres’ lead the Canadian Screen Award nominations
- Sex, hockey, and romance: Why everyone is obsessed with Crave’s ‘Heated Rivalry’
Just a few months after the show first hit our screens, another Canadian series became available to stream: Off Campus.
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Set in a college campus, this series explores a love story between a music student and the university’s star hockey player.
The show has sparked positive conversation online about how consent and trauma were portrayed.
@lisbethssportsjournal I’m obsessed with this show y’all #fyp #offcampusseries #garrettgraham #deandilaurentis #johnlogan ♬ Go Go Juice – Sabrina Carpenter
Many people online are questioning if Off Campus is the heterosexual version of Heated Rivalry, but others are defending the series, saying they both highlight different themes.
@undiagnosedanthony I mean it #offcampus #heatedrivalry ♬ original sound – undiagnosedanthony
Queer matters
In Heated Rivalry, professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are wrapped up in a secret romance, defined by both the heteronormative nature of hockey, and cultural expectations of Rozanov as a Russian man.
While becoming more popular, stories centred on Queer romance are far from mainstream, and when they are, they rarely make the charts the way Heated Rivalry has.
The show also challenged sports stigmas, as there were zero openly Gay players in the National Hockey League (NHL) before the series premiered. However, following its success, professional athletes such as Jessie Kortuem have come out to lead actor Hudson Williams.
Read More
- ‘Heated Rivalry’s’ Hudson Williams reveals professional athletes have been coming out to him via email
- ‘Heated Rivalry’s’ Hudson Williams shares viral moment with Prime Minister Mark Carney
- ‘Heated Rivalry’ fleece jacket to be sold as official merch after viral petition
- Did you know Toronto has a queer hockey league? Meet the Toronto Gay Hockey Association
Off Campus, however, followed a hetero storyline. The only Queer representation in the series comes from Non-Binary friend Jules Logan and the “Gay best friend,” Dex.
Sexual consent
Off Campus has a specific focus on consent, with the main character, Hannah Wells, experiencing sexual trauma. The show represented Wells’ trauma during a sex dream with her crush, where she couldn’t orgasm and stressed she might be “broken.”
Later, she tried to practice sex with another character, Garrett Graham, someone who made her comfortable. Despite mentally wanting to sleep with him, she was prevented from doing this by her trauma.
The scene leads to both characters masturbating in front of each other, allowing Wells to be vulnerable in front of a man while maintaining control and autonomy.
In this way, the scene’s a bit similar to one in Heated Rivalry, where Ilya had Shane masturbate in front of him. But the reason why they performed these acts was very different.
In Heated Rivalry, the characters always ensured verbal consent was present too, with Rozanov asking, “Is okay?” before and during their intimate moments.
Father-son relationships
In another similarity between the two series, both feature a main character struggling with a difficult relationship with their father.
For Rozanov in Heated Rivalry, his father is cold and demanding, and defines his love for his son by Ilya’s hockey performance.
But in Off Campus, Graham and his mother were abused by his father from childhood through adulthood, fostering resentment between the two men. This storyline comes to a head when Graham sees the person who assaulted Wells and becomes violent, leading to the realization that he was becoming like his abusive dad.
So while the main characters both have issues with their fathers, they’re not for the same reason.
With the first season of Off Campus available on Prime and Heated Rivalry streaming on Crave, fans should keep their eyes open for a release date as both series are renewed for a second season.
