What to know
- Heated Rivalry, Crave’s new Canadian series, is gaining attention for its explicit sex scenes and unapologetic portrayal of a secret romance between two rival NHL players.
- Experts say the show’s sex positivity and honest depiction of queer intimacy help it connect with both queer audiences and the mainstream.
- Creators and fans argue the intimacy isn’t gratuitous, but essential to telling authentic queer love stories often sanitized on TV.
- Already renewed for a second season, the series signals a strong appetite for bold, character-driven queer romance on Canadian screens.
People are buzzing over Crave’s new series Heated Rivalry. It’s risky, steamy scenes are turning heads, and experts say that’s exactly why audiences can’t get enough.
The new Canadian series is based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series and follows two rival professional hockey players whose secret relationship unfolds over several years.
The show has quickly become Crave’s number one series and a hot topic across social media and queer media alike. Viewers are responding not only to its romantic portrayal of closeted athletes, but also to its explicit, extended sex scenes.
ted witzel, artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto, tells Now Toronto the series is gaining attention because it’s simply “f**king hot.”
“Bringing that kind of sex positivity into the mainstream, especially the portrayal of queer, gay male sex, is kind of amazing,” witzel says. “To see such a mainstream show take such a non-judgmental lens is rare.”
witzel adds that Heated Rivalry portrays gay sex and intimacy in a way that feels honest rather than shameful.
“There’s no shame or crisis around bottoming in the show,” he says. “The real crisis between them is that they’re in love, and they’re closeted.”
While some viewers unfamiliar with the source material may be shocked by the show’s sex scenes, witzel says the prominence of sex is essential when telling queer stories.
“That’s a non-negligible part of queer culture and queer experience,” he says. “Sex is at the centre of who we are. It’s how we identify ourselves. We’ve built culture around our sexual habits.”
According to witzel, sanitizing sex from queer storytelling does more harm than good.
“I feel deeply unseen by queer content that tends to sanitize sex,” he says. “The way we f**k is different. The way we desire each other is different.”
Shelly Zevlever, manager of Toronto romance novel bookstore Hopeless Romantic, agrees that the show’s sex scenes are a major draw, but says its character development is just as important.
“They feel like fully fleshed-out individuals with their own personalities,” Zevlever says. “Of course there’s lots of spice, but it doesn’t feel gratuitous. It’s deeply tied to the romance.”
She adds that the series successfully keeps the romance front and centre, something that often gets lost when sports enter the mix.
“Yes, it’s a hockey story,” she says, “but first and foremost, it’s a romance about two people falling in love. It doesn’t shy away from that, and I think they do a really good job of depicting it.”
Despite the first season still airing, Heated Rivalry has already been greenlit for a second season, promising more characters, more stories, and yes, more sex. For witzel, the timing couldn’t be better.
“I think we’re about to see much straighter, much whiter, and much more boring TV in the coming years,” he says. “More than anything, I hope this demonstrates that there is a serious market for queer content of all stripes.”
