If you’ve read an entertainment magazine or watched a talk show in recent weeks, you've probably encountered the buzz about an HBO Max series called "Heated Rivalry." What’s all the fuss about?

"Heated Rivalry" is a television adaptation of Rachel Reid’s bestselling hockey romance novel, a slow-burn queer love story of two hockey stars, Canadian Shane Hollander and his Russian rival, Ilya Rozanov. And it’s got everybody talking. While many seem surprised by the show's popularity, perhaps they shouldn’t be: Romance is the second-most-popular genre of fiction according to the nonprofit Romance Writers of America, and while the stereotype is that only women are interested in reading romance novels or their television adaptations, the organization estimates that about 18 percent of romance novel readers are men. What has been refreshing about the response to "Heated Rivalry" is that all kinds of people are loving it, women and men, queer and straight—unapologetically.

What makes romance such an appealing genre?

Consuming media that centers romance, whether novels or television series, is a way to explore relationships and our own emotions, without any risk of disappointment or rejection. Just as our brains release oxytocin when we are emotionally close to someone else, the same chemical response can occur when we read about or watch fictional characters bonding. In fact, engagement in fiction fosters empathy and helps us understand other people’s emotions better (Oatley, 2016). People who prefer the romance genre have been found to have higher levels of interpersonal sensitivity, perhaps because they spend a lot of time vicariously experiencing fictional characters’ perceptions, emotions, and relationships and so better understand their own and their loved ones. (Fong et al., 2013)

It also feels good. Seeing two people allowing themselves to be vulnerable, express their genuine feelings, and be intimate lets us feel emotionally engaged ourselves.

"Heated Rivalry" is also a complex and compelling story. The more fans feel an attachment to the fictional characters, the more they identify with their emotional struggles and successes. Shane and Ilya are fully fleshed-out human beings struggling with issues of

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