My Top 5 Favourite Things About Heated Rivalry

So I admit (yet again) that I am late to this party. But I am a Millennial and so 2000-and-late as we know. 

Heated Rivalry is a new(ish) Canadian sports romance written and directed by Jacob Tierney for HBO Max. The TV show is based on the book series: Game Changers by Rachel Reid. Heated Rivalry follows two professional hockey players, Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), who play for rival teams. The media pits the two against each other in public, but in private, they are navigating an intense sexual relationship. If this sounds like a fan fiction on screen, it’s because it is! In the best way. It’s extremely well written, directed, and acted. And you should take my word for it! Here are My Top 5 Favourite Things About Heated Rivalry:

5. Connor Storrie’s Accent

As you could probably work out from his character’s name, Ilya Rozanov, Storrie plays a Russian player. I, for one, was surprised to learn that not only not Russian (he’s from Colorado) but doesn’t even speak Russian fluently! 

To prepare for his role, Storrie kept up the accent throughout filming so it was more ‘natural’. Storrie claims that 80% of the show’s cast and crew had not heard his actual American accent until the wrap party. For the scenes filmed in Russia, the actors and background extras were Russian. An elderly Russian woman approached Storrie speaking rapidly in Russian, assuming Storrie spoke it!

Storrie has always had a gift for accents (as proven by his appearance on Saturday Night Live!). The actor shared that he had listened to a lot of Russian rap in order to nail the accent. Maybe in Season 2 we will be treated to a few bars from Ilya? 

Russian-speaking fans have commented on how his spoken Russian, amazingly, had very little American accent slipping through. His performance is particularly poignant in Episode 5: ‘I’ll Believe In Anything’ in which Ilya is on the phone to Shane after a tragic family event in Russia. Ilya is so upset that “English is too hard right now”, so Shane encourages Ilya to get everything off his chest in Russian, despite Shane, on the other end of the phone in Montreal, not understanding the language. Ilya gives a brutally honest speech about his feelings towards his family. The most heartbreaking aspect about this scene is that Ilya admits things that Shane would definitely want to hear regarding their relationship, but Shane (quite literally) can’t understand Ilya’s desperate words.

4. Shane Folding His Clothes

Heated Rivalry is all about the small details, hints at how the leading pair are feeling, since they initially seem so averse to actually talking! Many fans have commented on Shane’s predilection for folding his clothes immediately after taking them off. He does this even before sex scenes, whilst Ilya looks on with something between bewilderment and amusement. 

Shane, painstakingly folding his clothes, no matter the situation he’s in, shows many aspects of his personality. Shane loves order and rules, even in the face of Ilya’s chaotic energy (chaotic bisexual TM). Shane has also been confirmed as autistic coded. Many fans had already suspected neurodivergence. There are many hints throughout the show; Shane will only drink ginger ale, his social awkwardness, relying on his parents to take care of the business side of his career, which causes his parents to, somewhat, shelter him (particularly his mother), and cooking eight hamburgers for two people because the recipe said so. Despite all these hints, it’s the character’s general vibe, he holds himself quite awkwardly when not playing hockey, and doesn’t even realise Ilya is propositioning him until Ilya makes it particularly…um…obvious.

Writer Rachel Reid has confirmed in several interviews that Shane is neurodivergent. Hudson Williams (who plays Shane) told The Hollywood Reporter that he partially based his portrayal on his father, who is on the autistic spectrum.

3. The Dick Pic (we are all adults here)

Much of the show is taken up by Shane and Ilya texting each other. This usually devolves into sexting. Ilya sends Shane an NSFW picture. This is particularly hilarious as Shane is rooming with a fellow teammate who is absorbed in his own phone on the opposite twin bed.

Shane’s reaction is not only hilarious, but it also sparked a debate online about whether the picture was truly Ilya’s equipment. Or, perhaps, just a stock image Ilya found online to tease Shane with, who he deems ‘prudish’. Eagle-eyed viewers claimed the picture had no-foreskin (can’t confirm, I must admit I didn’t analyse it) which is not canonical to the book as Ilya is a Russian man. 

For those who are curious, the writer Rachel Reid confirmed on her Instagram Stories that the foreskin was pulled back…so presumably it was Ilya.

2. Shane’s Glasses

In episode 5, Ilya unexpectedly video calls Shane from Russia. And Shane is…shock, horror…wearing glasses. Ripping them off his face in embarrassment is unnecessary because Ilya is demonstrably turned on by his spectacle-wearing companion. The two begin to have phone sex (videophone sex? I’m so old) upon Ilya’s request. When Shane strips, Ilya quickly commands him to put his glasses back on!

It’s just a cute moment where something Shane doesn’t like about himself turns out to be something Ilya REALLY likes.

1. All The Things She Said

Heated Rivalry is full of many amazing scenes, but a particularly favourite is the nightclub scene in Montreal. Frustrated with his family drama and situationship with Shane, Ilya drags his team out to a nightclub so he can “get laid”. As Ilya enters the club (in an awful shirt, but he’s hot enough to pull it off, I suppose), the choice of song is so great that I actually shouted out the first time I saw it. The song being ‘All The Things She Said’, the Russian band t.A.T.u’s 2002 hit. The Millennials among us will remember the content of the music video and the band itself. 

In Da club (sorry), there is also Shane with his girlfriend, trying to enjoy his night until he spots Ilya with another woman. t.A.T.u stops abruptly and changes into Harrison’s remix of the song, which sounds incredible; trust me, I’ve had it on repeat (go listen to it, then come back and finish the article). The scene and episode end with Shane and Ilya mirroring each other, while Shane attempts to have enjoyable sex with his girlfriend, and Ilya ends up alone in the shower.

Heated Rivalry is an entertaining show, but it is having real-world effects. Ilya Rozanov has become a gay icon in his homeland of Russia. Despite Russia forbidding LGBTQA+ ‘propaganda’, many of Russia’s queer citizens have been illegally streaming the show and have found kinship with Ilya and his frustration and sadness, and not being able to be himself in his homeland.