Heated Rivalry: All About Gay Hockey Romance With Episode Rating Of 10 On IMDb

On social media, viewers around the world are tuning into the biggest romance show of the year from Canada. Heated Rivalry, based on the book series from author Rachel Reid, has taken over HBO Max and

is rated 10/10 for its fifth episode on IMDb. The gay hockey romance has made overnight stars of its leads, Hudson Williams and Connor Storie, and their fellow cast members. The LGBTQ show has already been renewed for a second season. So, here is all the info you need about the Crave series Heated Rivalry that viewers are hooked on to online, week after week.

What is Heated Rivalry?

Produced for Crave, the steamy hockey romance show has six episodes, with the first season finale coming on December 26. Written and directed by Jacob Tierney, the series adapts the book Heated Rivalry, focused on Canadian player Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian player Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). The Canadian TV show was picked up by HBO Max for US distribution. The series, which releases its episodes every week, was renewed for a second season earlier this month.

Where to watch Heated Rivalry?

Internationally, fans can watch Heated Rivalry on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the US. It will premiere on Sky in the UK and Ireland on January 10, 2026. Unfortunately, the series is not available to watch in India as yet.

Story of Heated Rivalry

Montreal Metros captain Shane Hollander and Boston Raiders captain Ilya Rozanov, who play on rival teams. While the media and regular public believe them to be rivals in real life too, in private, Shane and Ilya begin a casual relationship with hookups that develops into something much more serious over time. The story of Heated Rivalry takes place over 10 years and spans the two players from age 18 to 28.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKO26odltss

Cast of Heated Rivalry Besides leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the show features François Arnaud as New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter, Robbie GK as barista Kip, Callan Potter as Hayden Pike, Shane's teammate, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana, Ilya's friend, Sophie Nélisse as Rose Landry, Christina Chang as Yuna Hollander, and Dylan Walsh as David Hollander. Prior to this, 24-year-old Hudson appeared on an episode of the CBS show Tracker, while Connor has acted in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) and the miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things. Both actors had small parts before blowing up big with the success of Heated Rivalry. Perfect IMDb rating The fifth episode of Heated Rivalry, titled I’ll Believe in Anything, is tied for a perfect 10/10 with Breaking Bad’s 2013 episode titled Ozymandias, which was directed by Rian Johnson. This makes Heated Rivalry Episode 5 the top-rated episode of 2025 as well as the second-highest-rated TV episode of all time!