"Even before it dropped on HBO Max last month, this new drama series about two horny gay rival ice hockey players shagging each other off the rink while fighting for sporting supremacy on it was generating its own steam. Perhaps it was creator Jacob Tierney's terse response to questions of his leading actors' sexualities while on a recent promotional tour."
"Actually, it's probably just all the hot gay sex. Because Heated Rivalry does get heated. One minute aloof Russian player Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) is making eyes at meek local champion Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), the next they're wanking in the shower together. Then getting blowjobs in classy hotel suites. Pretty soon, the boys are going at it hammer and tongs broken at regular intervals by months-long ellipses, waiting for the hockey circuit to bring them back into each others' arms."
"This is also convenient for sexual tension, which would otherwise have to be developed through character and dialogue. So much heat. If only they had somewhere they could cool down. Actually, for a show ostensibly about ice hockey a sport that lends itself to rousing storytelling, as Inside Out 2 beautifully demonstrated there's curiously little of it on display here."
Heated Rivalry follows two rival gay ice hockey players whose sexual relationship drives the series. The show adapts Rachel Reid's concupiscent novels and leans into a hate-to-love romance dynamic. Frequent explicit encounters appear across months-long ellipses tied to the hockey circuit, with on-ice action receiving minimal focus. Creator Jacob Tierney responded tersely to questions about the actors' sexualities during promotion. The series foregrounds eroticism and stylized physicality over character development and sporting drama. Lead performers display highly sculpted physiques and perform numerous intimate scenes, producing lavishly sweaty sequences but limited exploration of homoeroticism in sport.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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