Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
“Heated Rivalry” Hockey Romance Is Hitting Big Among Fans. Since its Thanksgiving weekend debut, the steamy television adaptation of Rachel Reed’s 2019 novel has dominated social media feeds and inspired a growing fan base devoted to the awkward romance at its center.
The story traces Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov as they maintain a decade-long secret relationship, mixing a slow build-up of longing with explicit sex scenes. Jacob Tierney, who developed, wrote and directed the series, said he was attracted to the project for its “pure bizarre joy”.
The audience has met that joy with an emotional response, propelling “Heated Rivalry” to the No. 1 series spot. hbo max As the first season heads towards its finale on Friday. Additionally, it has generated new interest in the “Game Changers” book series on which it is based and has drawn attention to sports romance fiction, especially those with queer storylines.
Originally developed for Canadian streaming service Crave, the show secured a distribution deal hbo And it has already been renewed for a second season.
Tierney said, “Without any shame, when the pitching happened it felt like it was a Harlequin romance. It had a happy ending.” “It’s about two guys in love and a lot of sex.”
A ‘game changer’ for hockey romance fans
Hockey The popularity of romance books in the broader sports romance genre has increased, helping readers be attracted to the intensity of the game as well as the relationships at its center. Mackenzie Walton, who edited the “Heated Rivalry” novels, said that the genre’s staying power comes from how deeply the stories immerse readers in the game.
Walton said, “It’s very common when I read hockey romances to get the sense that hockey is important at the center of the book, and I think readers really respond to that sense of authenticity.”
Reed’s six-novel “Game Changers” series has sold 650,000 copies since it was first published in 2018, according to book publisher Harlequin.
“anytime Hollywood “Romance fans notice and respect them, they notice and appreciate them,” Leah Koch, co-owner of romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice, wrote in an email. He said that producing a high-quality adaptation of a story that queer readers might not have expected to reach television indicates a growing recognition of both their cultural interests and their economic impact.
Content creator Josh Banfield is creating Instagram Videos about the show since its November premiere. She believes that part of the show’s popularity among queer fans is the slow-burn aspect of Shane and Ilya’s romance.
“To see their love and to see that they keep in touch with each other and still have this relationship is something cool,” Banfield said.
Finding the right Shane and Ilya for ‘Heated Rivalry’
Fans and creators of the book and TV show also credit the lead actors, Connor Story and Hudson Williams, for the show’s success. Tierney said he knew almost immediately that they were his Ilya and Shane.
Tierney said, “The show was going to live and die based on this casting.” “I think once they read their chemistry together, everyone was like, ‘Okay, okay, it’s done.'”
Rachel Reed, author of the books, said she was happy with the adaptation and who was chosen to play the characters she wrote.
Reed said, “If I had created perfect actors in a laboratory, I couldn’t have created better people to play these characters.”
It was also important to both Tierney and Reed that the role of Shane be played by someone of Asian descent, as the character is in the books, to maintain a sense of diversity in a genre that features mostly white characters.
Going beyond the typical ‘alpha-jock’ story
Hockey romances are still predominantly white and heterosexual. According to Koch, readers coming to Ripped Bodice locations are looking for quirky and diverse people like Shane in their stories.
Clients often look for quirky sports romances and romances that “go beyond the usual alpha-jock trope”, he wrote. But he doubts that the success of “Heated Rivalry” will lead to more mainstream books or shows with queer stories.
Koch wrote, “A successful title sometimes allows other authors greater access, but not always.” “But hey, maybe they’ll prove me wrong, and wouldn’t that be nice?”
Romance blogger Laura Doocy-Showers said that women are particularly responding to male-on-male romance in hockey books because of the fantasy aspect of seeing something different from their everyday lives. On why this works, he said it is due to hockey being a “masculine, aggressive game” in which there are no NHL players. “I think it’s opening people’s eyes to what can happen,” Doocy-Showers said.
That’s why Reed wrote her books in the first place: she wanted to tell a different story.
Reid said, “This series came not just from a love of hockey, but also from my own conflicted feelings about all the bad things about the culture surrounding the game, especially homophobia.”
The first book in Reed’s hockey series, “Game Changer”, is about Scott Hunter, the first fictional hockey player to appear publicly, and his juice-bar barista boyfriend Kip Grady. Part of this story was told in the third episode, “Heated Rivalry”, and featured as a climactic moment in the fifth episode.
On why fans are reacting so strongly to the show and the actors, Reed highlighted the acting.
“They’re getting really emotional or excited about a little cool part or a line delivery, and it has nothing to do with sex in the show,” he said, specifically pointing to Williams’ performance as the more awkward and less confident Shane. “Maybe the choices Hudson has made as an actor are blowing everyone’s minds, and I love seeing that.”