""Heated Rivalry" has captured hearts-and Instagram feeds-everywhere. The six-episode series on HBO Max mainly follows two hot, hot hockey stars, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, as they fight with each other on the ice and have sex with each other everywhere else. It's great-and Naomi Fry agrees. "Part of the pleasure for viewers," as Fry writes in her column, "is the show's plainspoken articulation of desire, when the love that dare not speak its name finally does.""
"What is it about "Heated Rivalry" that has everyone so heated? First, it's a perfect encapsulation of a story of two people who are attracted to each other trying to resist being attracted to each other-in this case, because of the obstacle of their closetedness-who then persevere and have sex anyway. And that rhythm of will they or won't they is repeated every episode-getting together, can't be together, getting together, can't be together."
"Right-the second thing that makes "Heated Rivalry" so successful is the extreme freshness and handsomeness of the two leads, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play Ilya and Shane. Much has been made of how hot they are, what gods. But they are also near-total unknowns. They seem to have sprung fully formed from anonymity, and there's a sense of having discovered them. It's very rare to see that these days, and there's an excitement to it that lends itself to this sudden fan frenzy."
The series follows two hot, closeted professional hockey players, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, who fight on the ice and have sex everywhere else. Episodes iterate a will-they-or-won't-they rhythm: attraction resisted because of closetedness, moments of joining, separation, and repeated reconciliations. Each episode delivers conflict and resolution, producing a simple, elegant structure that feels satisfying to viewers. The leads, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, appear fresh and near-unknown, creating excitement and a sudden fan frenzy around their onscreen chemistry. The show foregrounds plainspoken articulation of desire and the looming question of whether physical connection can become love.
Read at The New Yorker
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