Along with basically everyone else , I watched the original series Heated Rivalry, released on the Canadian network Crave and HBO Max in the US, over winter break, three times to be exact. Yes, it’s raunchy, and the bed takes up a large part of the setting, but it is really a love story- the one that we need in the social and political times we are living in today. Heated Rivalry– apart from sex- touches on so many different topics that are crucial for the world to talk about and understand. As the world has turned increasingly more conservative and even downright hateful to groups like the LGBTQ+ community and minorities with recent ICE raids and violence to-in the show Shane Hollander and his actor, Hudson Williams, are half-Asian and the show has become a safe space for them to feel comfortable with their race and sexuality.
A significant scene in the show is when a separate couple, Scott and Kip, come out publicly by kissing on the ice after winning the championship game. Everyone is shocked by this, and it solidifies Shane and Ilya’s decision to stay together as a couple, because they planned to break up the night Shane got injured. A month after the show was released, many closeted NHL players-most notably Jesse Kortuem, who now plays for the Cutting Edges Hockey Club of Vancouver- have reached out to Williams thanking him for giving them the bravery to accept themselves and come out. But, the NHL has quietly not supported the show and even banned Trans players in the heat of the show. Kortuem told Out Magazine “it didn’t feel safe to come out when he was younger, and he held the weight of his secret for much of his life.” The NHL is also historically a homophobic organization. Pride nights and other tactics have tried to mask this issue, but it is still rampant, especially among players. Heated Rivalry is, however, one small step forward. There have also been two professional women’s hockey players who have recently come out as lesbian. The players, Anna Kjellbin of the Toronto Sceptres, and Ronja Savolainen of the Ottawa Charge, have recently engaged and are set to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy. They will play for their home countries of Sweden and Finland, respectively.