r/HeatedRivalryTVShow

Congratulations Jacob Tierney Brendan James Brady and Accent Aigu Entertainment; Crave| Bell Media; HBO MAX; Rachel Reid; Hudson Williams; Connor Storrie; Robbie GK; François Arnaud and the entire cast and crew of Heated Rivalry!

Hudson Williams briefly spoke in a video played at the Television Academy Honors ceremony in Los Angeles✨

“I don’t think there’s ever a wrong time to tell stories that involved marginalized [people] or groups that are prejudiced against.

It's a gift that a lot of actors don't get, which is quality storytelling, quality writing, directed by a great director, filled with a great cast and then its become this great gift for people who felt marginalized or unseen, or just want to experience joyous love"

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Jacob’s acceptance speech for Heated Rivalry at the Television Academy Honors, May 21, 2026

“You know when you option pornography… [audience laughs]

Uhhh this has been— I mean— I don't know why it's really hitting me tonight? I don't know if it's Padma Lakshmi talking about my show or just being here in this company? Uh it—

This show has been a surprise every step of the way, and I can safely say that the biggest surprise—and the one that I'll probably take with me the farthest and the longest and that means the most to me—is that I found a network at home in my country— Crave, a lot of my folks are here tonight—and they let me make a show.

And they did not note me to death, and they trusted me, and they let me make THIS show. And it's such a real pleasure to work with you guys. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for making this show with me.

Thank you to our friends at HBO for picking it up and showing it all over the world. Thank you to my two wonderful people in my life here—my agent and my lawyer.

[Joking] Like really, really? My agent, really? [audience laughs] You can say what you want about my agent, Matt Smith at CAA, but I've been to both of his weddings, and I've known him for decades.”

https://x.com/heatedrivalnews/status/2057402101450326332?s=20

https://www.threads.com/@cheerok/post/DYlrXf1FUQ2

Time to take my detour from classic Hollywood Hollanovs. In my other non-Hollanov-related life I actually review dance, so I'm a big ballet nerd. And in the 1960s, there was actually a ballet heated rivalry in the form of Rudolf Nureyev and Erik Bruhn.

Rudolf Nureyev was a ballet phenom from the USSR. He was considered such a generational talent that despite a late start in ballet, he was accepted into the Kirov Ballet as a soloist immediately. In 1961, he defected to the West by approaching authorities in Paris. While in the USSR, he had watched Erik Bruhn tapes for inspiration. Nureyev was temperamental, flamboyant, and (unusual for his time), openly gay. He was known for his wild sex orgies and many many hookups. His dancing style was explosive and androgynous. He was rude and demanding, known as much for his tantrums and tabloid headlines as his onstage career.

Erik Bruhn was the opposite. He danced for the Royal Danish Ballet and American Ballet Theater. He was reserved, introverted, a harsh perfectionist, and constantly with his tyrannical, domineering stage mother. He suffered from depression and alcoholism. He and Nureyev fell in love immediately. They were inseparable for several years.

Both of them had highly acclaimed partnerships with ballerinas: Nureyev with Margot Fonteyn, Erik Bruhn with Carla Fracci. They were praised by the public for their chemistry with these ladies. Offstage, their relationships with their female partners was more besties than anything else.

It was a volatile romance. Nureyev was promiscuous, Bruhn was not. They were often jealous of each others' professional success, and fans pitted them against each other. Fans of Bruhn loved his clean lines, impeccable technique, and elegant stage presence. Fans of Nureyev loved his flashy style, charisma, and allergy to following traditional ballet rules. To get a sense of Bruhn's style, this video is a good sampler. To get a sense of Nureyev's style, this video is a good sampler.

By 1966, their romance had fizzled. Not because of any secrecy (they weren't secret), but because they were just incompatible long-term. But they remained close friends and apparently never got over each other. In 1986 Bruhn died of lung cancer (or AIDS? that was a rumor and in 1986 cancer was often used as a euphemism). Nureyev was by his side. In 1993, Nureyev died of AIDS.

Read the Long Game #iykyk

The NHL and its commissioner, Gary Bettman, know they have "work to do in preparation" for a "plot point" in Heated Rivalry's second season:

"[NHL senior executive vice president, Kim] Davis said that while the NHL has been actively involved with the LGBTQ+ community — for example, hosting the NHL Unites Pride Cup — the league must do a “better job” of talking about its actions.

Heated Rivalry has attracted new audiences to the sport, and the NHL has “such an opportunity to lean into those ‘fans in waiting’ that are now so interested in hockey,” Davis said.

“We need to create stickiness with those new fans,” she said. Davis said the league needs to demonstrate through actions, not just words, that it is creating a welcoming environment for the LGBTQ+ community.

Asked about Heated Rivalry season 2, which is expected to premiere in April 2027 on Crave and HBO Max, she said it will involve a league commissioner character.

However, Gary Bettman, the NHL’s actual commissioner, has “shared with the co-producers that what they say about him [in the show] is not at all the way he would react” to a plot point, said Davis.

“We have work to do in preparation for that,” she said."

https://www.prweek.com/article/1958761/nhls-kim-davis-talks-heated-rivalry-leading-woman-color

Watched the show a bunch of times recently and I really wonder what Ilya and Shane’s conversation on that drive back would’ve been.

I haven’t read the books so I don’t know if there’s any details about that but I’d love to know if there are and also just what other loons think!!

My take- Shane saying how relieved and light he feels and how much he appreciates Ilya being there with him. Ilya making some straight faced jokes and just banter with little cutesy glances and free roaming hands! 🥰

New mash up drawing I made. Comment if you like it and what mash up I should do next.

I’ve been fan editing for the last 15 years now on and off. Every once in a while a couple pops up that forces me to make a video (or two) to commemorate their love story. Hope yall enjoy!

Song by: Tony Tacheny “In the Abbey”

I live in Toronto and decided to take a solo HR pilgrimage to Hamilton yesterday! Possibly the most fun I’ve had in a long time, and it was lovely meeting fellow loons - one of them handed me a Sharpie, so I was able to leave my own quote in the Pink Tunnel!

Locations visited:
#1 The Pink Tunnel in Shamrock Park: I took photos of every single HR reference on there (grouped to the best of my ability), so now I have 178 photos - worth it! I’ve also done a terrible job of hiding myself so if any irl friends recognize these from my IG stories - heyyyyyyy 👋🏽 pretend you didn’t see me here
Song(s) I listened to: Moonlight Sonata, Two Souls

#2 Le Tambour Tavern: I had lunch here, and sat at the exact booth as the scene pictured! They had two HR-themed cocktails, Russians Don’t Blush and Episode 4. I had both, they were delicious and I was def tipsy afterwards. They also had themed wine options (Rose and Roselana). Finally, the side door had a sticker of the Vegas rooftop scene from Ep 1 🥹
Song(s) I listened to: Prendre soin du beau

#3 Relay Coffee: They had some really cute decor here! A Skip tote bag, Ilya quotes on hearts stuck to the wall, and HR-font brand merch. I obviously took 5738953885 photos of everything 😄 the menu had a Shane Hollander hot chocolate (which I would’ve gotten if it wasn’t 32C/90F outside) and an Extra Banana latte, which is what I got and it was yummy!
Song(s) I listened to: I’ll Believe in Anything

#4 Dundurn Castle: The castle was closed for tours, but the grounds were open. I got to walk around the exterior, so I was able to retrace both Ilya’s and Shane’s running paths. I also sat on a park bench in front of the castle and re-read TLG for an hour in the sun ❤️
Song(s) I listened to: mangetout, My Moon My Man

#5 Ciao Bella: Sadly the restaurant hadn’t yet opened when I got there, and it was my last stop before heading home and I was exhausted. I did manage to get a photo from the outside though, but I’d like to go back and actually eat there next time!
Song(s) I listened to: Bad Things (since it was the end of the pilgrimage)

Missed places:
- I went to McMaster U, but I wasn’t able to find the exact first meeting spot (*lighter clicks*)
- Mansion (All The Things She Said) is only open 10 pm onwards on weekends, and yesterday was Monday
- I walked past FirstOntario Concert Hall (MLH Awards), but couldn’t enter the building without a ticket to a show (which I absolutely wasn’t planning/dressed for anyway)

Ok so yesterday I talked about Tab Hunter and Anthony Perkins. Well, today it's a 1930s/40s Hollanov: Cary Grant and Randolph Scott.

Both of them were movie stars in the 1930s studio Hollywood, which meant everything about their lives was manicured and curated. Cary Grant's real name was Archie Leach, and he had one of the most horrific childhoods ever. His father sent his mother to a mental institution and told Archie she had died. When Archie was 15 his father sold him to the circus. Archie Leach became a talented vaudeville performer (which helped him when he later did so much physical comedy in his movies).

Anyway, back to Grant and Scott. These two actually had their own cottage that they nicknamed "Bachelor Hall." They had publicity photos taken of them at home. They were about as out as you could be in the 1930s.

They lived together for about 12 years. Then Scott married a woman, and Marlene Dietrich said that the studios said "new contract or Scott" and Grant chose the contract. They remained close for the rest of their lives. Grant married 5 different times.

Grant actually spoke about Scott later in life. He said, "Have you ever heard of gravity collapse? Some people call it love at first sight. This was the first time I’d felt it for anyone.” According to Grant, Scott was the one who ended it. "It was dreadful having to let go of him in my heart.” This actually makes me like Cary Grant even more as a person. He was classy. He didn't try to say Randolph Scott was "just a friend" or anything like that. He said "Our souls did touch."

If you look at these photos, my god the heart eyes.

Edit: just found out that they passed away within months of each other and later in life took vacations together. They also had dinner together when they were older and would hold hands. Aww.

I thank you all for indulging in my other obsession which is classic Hollywood lore.

Ok reuploading bc gifs can take a long time and a few got lost in my last post. Here is a post with gifs of all the times Connor used his eyebrows to act. I'm so obsessed with how actors use their eyebrows to act. From OG's of eyebrow acting like Vivien Leigh, Anthony Perkins and Jack Nicholson to modern eyebrow actors like Emilia Clarke and Nicholas Hoult and the Levy father and son.

Connor does so much eyebrow acting. Sometimes it's subtle (the eyebrow furrow and set jaw in gif 2 show he's big mad), sometimes it's over the top (like his "bitch please?" expression when Shane tells him to stay in the car). What's your favorite?

So, it has been discussed before - the HBO version is (or was) darker. It seems it was corrected for the American HBO back in December (Jacob Tierney adressed it here). But when HBO started rolling it out in Europe in January/february it was still an issue (alongside the bad subtitles), and I guess we kinda just got used to it.
From time to time I would see pictures comparing the Crave vs. HBO version, and it was clear that the darker scenes were really dark for us euro-loons.

So when it started spreading on Threads the other day, that it was fixed - you just had to update the app. So I had to go research and reheat 👀 And let me tell you, IT’S FIXED!!!!

I can suddenly see Shane’s freckles in scenes I didn’t see them before. I can see the facial expressions and micro moments on their faces in every single scene. Oh boy, have we been missing out 😭

So yeah, Euro-loons, go update your app and reheat!

Pictures found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/heatedrivalry/comments/1p94gji/it\_seems\_hbo\_max\_version\_has\_darker\_lighting/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=mweb3x&utm\_name=mweb3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button

Originally made by @buckIeydiaz on X/twitter

Went with some loon friends to Hamilton this past Sunday to check out some of the filming locations from the show. In one day, I was able to go to Russia, NYC, Montreal and Saskatchewan ;)

Started off with the pink tunnel of course (which is actually called that on Google!)

Then we grabbed lunch at Relay aka Straw+Berry. They have a few HR-themed items, including a coffee blend named “As Seen On TV” which is inspired by the show. And they sell the City Seltzer that Shane films an ad for!

From there, we went to Tambour. We didn’t go inside because we’d just eaten so we just took pics from the outside where Shane and Rose have their little goodbye conversation.

We then drove out to Dundurn Castle for a little jog in Russia and Montreal (both running paths are there)… I’m kidding we don’t jog! But it was lovely walking the grounds

ETA: there’s a Admiral Inn right across the street which I’ve never seen mentioned, but I thought was hilarious considering Scott Hunter’s team name

After that, we headed to McMaster University to see the Saskatchewan doors. None of us smoke so we didn’t have a lighter which feels like a missed opportunity. We did roll up a receipt to make it look like a cigarette in our pics lol

We ended the day in Dundas at the Winchester Arms (aka The Kingfisher). I had a cottage pie for the bit and because I was wearing my I’m coming to the cottage t-shirt (it was delicious)! We took photos in Kip & Elena’s booth, at the bar “thank you Kyle” and through the window like poor Scott Hunter

It was a fantastic day! I’m still missing some places I wanna visit. Namely Ciao Bella (the restaurant where Shane eats with his parents), the concert hall where they filmed the MLH Awards and the Mansion for the iconic club scene. I also wanna go downtown Toronto to Lavelle where they filmed the Tampa Bay bar scene, but there’s always next time!

(ETA to add about Lavelle)