“It’s the raunchiest hit of the year, but Heated Rivalry could have had a flaccid first season if Hollywood executives had their way. ”, — write: www.dailymail.co.uk
- READ MORE: HBO’s Heated Rivalry divides viewers with raunchy scenes
By JACQUES PETERSON, US SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
Published: 00:54 GMT, 20 December 2025 | Updated: 05:10 GMT, 20 December 2025
The Canadian series, which is based on a viral BookTok hit, follows two rival hockey players who fall into a secret, steamy romance that spans across several years.
The show is loaded with gay sex scenes, which creator Jacob Tierney says were almost cut at the behest of some execs.
Speaking to Slate, Tierney said that one network bigwig suggested that the male leads, played by Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, hold off on consummating their romance until the second season.
‘I was like, “What are you f***ing talking about?!” These books are porn. You think that the audience is here despite that? They’re here for this. This is what they want,’ Tierney recalled.
The writer-director said he was glad he ‘trusted his gut’ and went with the sexier style in the end.
‘I wanted to make premium smut,’ he joked.
Since the November 28 premiere, Heated Rivalry has been one of HBO Max’s most-watched shows and a trending topic on social media.
Given that it stars two little known actors and originally aired on the Canadian streaming service Crave, the show’s success is largely down to word-of-mouth.
‘This is a lot freakier than I thought it would be #heatedrivalry,’ commented one viewer.
‘I’m invested in Heated Rivalry… I’m a sucker for a good romance,’ commented another one.
‘Heated Rivalry is I think the hottest BL series I’ve ever watch, like seriously? Those bed scenes are insane ughh,’ added a third.
Tierney recently admitted to Rolling Stone that he was first discovered the books, which were penned by romance novelist Rachel Reid, he was stunned by how ‘smutty’ they were.
Despite countless fans salivating over the series, others have called it ‘shallow’ and slammed the show’s overly sexual scenes.
‘That heated rivalry show is absolutely terrible and is clearly just a cash grab off of dumb horny gays,’ wrote one.
‘Heated Rivalry is one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen and it’s crazy that there are actual fans of it already,’ wrote another.
The show has earned mixed reviews from critics, with many agreeing that it’s more focused on its steamy sex scenes than anything else.