Anyone who has been on Tiktok in the past few weeks has hardly been able to ignore the ice hockey series Heated Rivalry. Clips of sweaty bodies, long looks and explicit sex scenes are circulating millions of times. These are accompanied by comments such as “they healed and ruined my life at the same time”.
The two main actors, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, were largely unknown until now. But since their joint appearance at the Golden Globe Awards, where they presented an award together, they have been in the international spotlight – or at least continue to be in the focus of gays, girls and non-binary people.
Heated Rivalry started on the streaming service HBO Max at the beginning of November 2025, and the series will also be available in Germany from February 6th. It tells the story of the two ice hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), who face each other as bitter rivals on the ice, but who have had a secret love and sexual relationship for years away from the arena. There is a lot of skin and explicit scenes to be seen. But their provocation is not just physical.
Because the relationship between the two is taboo on several levels. Professional sports, especially To this day, ice hockey remains a largely heteronormative environment in which no active players have come out. Two years ago, the NHL banned all pride symbols from jerseys. In addition, Rozanov’s Russian origins are discussed. The repression against queer people in Russia has increased massively in recent years. By coming out, he could put himself in danger in his home country. Heated Rivalry stages a love story that is marked as “forbidden” in sports, politics and society – and at the same time creates a form of queer representation that has so far only slowly become established on mainstream television.
Passionate spectators
It is hardly surprising that the series resonates particularly within queer communities. What is striking, however, is how strong the hype goes beyond this. Heterosexual women in particular are among the most passionate viewers.
This phenomenon is not entirely new. Series like Heartstopper and Young Royals have already reached a broad female audience. Heated Rivalry joins this development – but in a much more explicit form. While previous successful series rely primarily on tender looks and cautious approaches, Heated Rivalry combines emotional closeness with openly portrayed sexuality.
A possible explanation can also be found beyond the world of series. In recent years, there have been increasing reports of women specifically choosing gay sex when consuming pornographic content. The platform PinkNews Pornhub published figures in June 2025, according to which 47 percent of gay pornography users are women.
The sexologist Lucy Neville In a survey of over 500 women, I came to the conclusion that many of them find the visual focus on male bodies to be a central attraction – a need that heterosexual pornography often ignores. Gay pornography breaks the classic “male gaze,” writes journalist Sophie Perry.
…, soft core: An intimate scene between the two main actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie
Photo:
Sabrina Lantos/ap
Power and projection surface
Male Gaze describes a visual logic in which the camera and narrative are geared towards the gaze of heterosexual men. Women usually appear as passive objects of desire. Heated Rivalry reverses this perspective: The series shows male bodies not as areas of power, but as projection surfaces of vulnerability, desire and emotional dependence: In the second episode, both main characters meet in the toilet after an awards ceremony. Shane is visibly taken aback by Ilya’s indifferent attitude towards him and accuses him of having Ilya ghosting him for months. With scenes like these, the series hits the nerve of an audience that feels increasingly alienated from classic depictions of love and sex.
However, to explain the success solely with the principle “Sex sells” falls short – even if these two words of all things are immortalized as a friendship tattoo on the bodies of the main actors.
When asked why Heated Rivalry is so well received, especially by women, the actors themselves offer explanations. In an interview with the media portal them, Connor Storrie talks about a conversation with the series’ costume designer. She explained to him that this type of story, this form of love and staged sex are less about the act itself than about “prolonged foreplay” and “longing”. “That’s why we like romance. It’s about the moments in between, the desire, that pursuit of vulnerability and connection,” says Storrie.
Storrie adds that many women may be drawn to gay romances precisely because they are tired of the same old depictions of heterosexual masculinity in classic romances. Stories about gay men show a form of masculinity that appears accessible and vulnerable.
Heterofatalism
This reading can be linked to a discourse that is currently… is negotiated under the term heterofatalism. On social media, women talk about how having a boyfriend is “embarrassing” or half-jokingly say they wish they weren’t heterosexual.
The way sexuality is dealt with in Heated Rivalry could also contribute to identification. In the series, Shane Hollander, played by Hudson Williams, initially has no sexual experience with another man. Director Jacob Tierney therefore insisted that the characters in the first episodes explicitly obtain consent before having sex. “Consensus was extremely important to me – and moreover, caring,” Tierney said in an interview with the Teen Vogue. The series thus sets a counterpoint to many common depictions of sexuality, in which communication tends to be left out.
But the success of Heated Rivalry is not only met with approval. The series is based on the novels of the same name by Canadian author Rachel Reid. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk, journalist Esther Schelander refers to the so-called Own Voices discussion. This emphasizes that queer love stories should also be told by queer authors, otherwise queer perspectives could be left out.
Schelander refers, for example, to an article by the author Nathan Burgoine, who criticizes the lack of “looking over the shoulder” in queer romances. Shortly before a kiss, queer people would look over their shoulders to check whether they are being watched. If you leave out the look over your shoulder in series or films, you also ignore the real reality of life – the fear of being seen.
Despite justified criticism, one thing is certain: Heated Rivalry has triggered a dynamic that many other productions are likely to follow. The appearance of the main actors themselves may also have contributed to the success. With a strikingly open, humorous and partly unfiltered press tour, Storrie and Williams achieved an enormous reach. Williams’ performances in particular attracted attention. Fans repeatedly speculated whether he had even received traditional media training. A clip released later made it clear: Yes, he did.