10-01-2026FAST COMPANY MAGAZINE

Heated Rivalry was an overnight hit. Its creators and network worked overtime to make that happen

An oral history of how the show’s producers, encouraged by Crave and Bell Media leadership, took the story from the page to screen in 18 months.

Once it became an instant hit, Heated Rivalry’s success may have seemed preordained. Based on a popular series of romance novels by Rachel Reid about romances between interconnected male hockey players, the show debuted in November 2025 and has become Canadian streamer Crave’s best-performing original show, driving more sign-ups than anything else in 2025 to the streamer (owned by Canadian media conglomerate Bell Media). It was........

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