Two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey are bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling between two fresh faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle to navigate their feelings for each other. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, they must decide if there’s room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile – and powerful – as real love.
Rated 3.7 / 5 from 3 logs on Katalog
I enjoyed this far more than I expected to; it was short and sweet. A bit cringey at times, especially when it comes to some supporting actors, but the chemistry between the leads was great, and in later episodes, it takes on a far more sentimental note than the first two episodes set. All in all, a cute watch.
Watched the first episode because I have hbo max atm but not sure if I will continue. Bit too cringe for my taste. I hate fake russian accents (although he is not bad at it)
I meaaaaannn… ok… Ripped caucasian guys getting it on. Hot, sweaty, steamy.. Sure. Profound, layered, complex? Nah.. Definitely not as much as people are making it out to be. There has been a bit of an influx of sexually charged gay (male) TV shows and movies like this one, Fellow Travelers etc. and one thing I don’t fully understand is why the girls are going crazy? Is it like a sexual fantasy in the same way lesbians are to straight men? Or a fantasy of having/being something they could never have/be? A fantasy either way. It’s nice to finally have media showing gay relationships in a positive light and all, but always soo sexual and always within certain parameters (model faces with six packs; even the guy who is NOT a professional sportsman somehow looks like he’s at the gym 7 days a week) Some scenes are softcore porn. It doesn’t make me horny, it doesn’t add anything to the story, it BORES ME. I’m always just like yeah.. ok… I would also like to say no one actually moans their partner’s name during intercourse? Let alone their last name? It’s kind of hilarious actually. Imagine a guy moaning Stjepovic, oh Stjepovic. Like, what? I’d bust out laughing and ask the guy if he’s ok. So when I see people losing their minds over how hot the show is or sobbing because of some cheesy love scene I’m just left confused?? To each their own I guess. Worth mentioning that Connor Storrie’s Russian is very impressive and he legit convinced everyone he’s Russian when he is actually American, from Texas. If anything, this show reminded me how nicely TV shows such as Young Royals and Heartstopper portray the purity and innocence of being a teenager in love - a feeling so many adult gay men didn’t get to have, so even if they maybe have worse acting or dialogues or whatever, they are touching in a way Heated Rivalry will never be.
Well, I did it. I watched the gay hockey show. Jesus Christ, it’s a lot. Obviously, the first thing to get out of the way: it’s raunchy. It’s as explicit as they could get and still put it on air. TikTok keeps banning fan edits, flagging it as porn, so—yeah. I guess what I’m trying to say is: you don’t actually need to show the pegs and holes for something to read as explicit, you know? But alright—is it just a sex show? It’s not. It’s a queer romance set in a very idealized version of the NHL. It’s also based on a book series, and the two main characters are more or less obviously modeled on Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And it’s also—this was the main selling point for me—made by Jacob Tierney, of Letterkenny/Shoresy fame. Nobody else could have made this. Only Jacob Tierney—an out gay man, a bit of a hockey freak, and a genuine creative—could have made us buy into the premise. Because let me tell you: it’s a hard sell. The NHL is not, in any way, a nice place. Let me just list the few SA cases that fall within the period the show covers, that I remember from the top of my head: - in 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks—the sexual assault of Kyle Beach and the cover-up; - in 2012, the Nashville Predators—the assault of Mike Ribeiro’s nanny; - in 2015, the Chicago Blackhawks again—the rape allegation against Patrick Kane; - in 2016, the Buffalo Sabres—allegations against Evander Kane; - in 2017, the Vancouver Canucks—allegations against Jake Virtanen; - in 2018, the Hockey Canada / World Juniors case—a group assault. And it hasn’t gotten better since. It’s probably gotten worse. I like hockey. I like it despite its homophobia, despite its horrific history of violence towards women and girls. But Jacob made a world where I believed that two rival hockey captains could fall in love and get a happy ending. He made me believe it could have happened. That Ovi could have fallen in love with Sid, and that their biggest obstacle would be the usual romance hangups, not the vast, immeasurable weight of institutionalized bigotry. That they would have lived happily ever after. Down with the sad dead gay media. In the year of our lord 2026, let us move past the tragedy, the disownings, the dead husbands and doomed flings with easily spooked bi curious straight boys. Let them have their happy endings, their hot long distance romances. Let us eat cake.
