As in the best sports dramas, a plucky underdog has come from left field to dominate the cultural zeitgeist. That would be Heated Rivalry, a gay ice hockey TV show made for Canadian streamer Crave, which has been picked up by HBO and become a drama juggernaut. Now it’s about to start streaming on Sky for the delectation of the British gays, girls, and gay girls.
It’s a wild rags-to-riches story for a show shot in just 37 days with a two-camera set-up on a shoestring budget. Former child actor-turned-director Jacob Tierney started reading fellow Canadian author Rachel Reid’s now-bestselling Game Changers series of smutty queer sports romance novels during the pandemic, and decided to adapt them.
