Heated Rivalry, the HBO TV adaptation of the second book in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, rounded out 2025 as a surprise, word-of-mouth success. It captures the relationship between Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie), two professional male hockey players, over the course of almost a decade. Along the way the pair negotiate their feelings for each other against the backdrop of internal conflict, homophobia and a manufactured public-facing rivalry.

Heated Rivalry’s unexpected success has helped it to become discussed in mainstream media, including US talk shows and sports podcasts, and has earned it a much-anticipated release in the UK (via Sky and Now TV).

Heated Rivalry is not the first gay male love story to see critical success on TV in recent years. Though other successes (including the Netflix Originals Heartstopper and Young Royals) have been less explicit and tended to be aimed at younger audiences. What is particularly unique about Heated Rivalry’s story, however, is its setting within the popular but hyper-masculine space of a men’s professional sporting league.

My PhD research focuses on the experience of football fandom in the face of oppressive and difficult conditions. The project is a passion of mine, and I adore the chance I get to speak with supporters from all backgrounds. However, despite loving football (soccer) to my bones, I – like many other queer sports fans – often feel that the experiences of sports fandom can be unrepresentative of my own community.

No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might........

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