Heated Rivalry proves hot is hot, romance is romance and sex is sexy

1 month ago 4

Opinion

January 15, 2026 — 10.30am

Nearly 20 per cent of my first day back in the office was spent trying to remember my password. For the other 80 per cent, I was caught up in conversations with colleagues about the gay hockey TV series Heated Rivalry.

The graphic lust and love story of two players from opposing teams crossing more than hockey sticks has, in six episodes streaming on HBO Max, become the kind of viral hit that took The White Lotus two seasons and greater star power to achieve.

After a lifetime making do with the chaste Will & Grace and indie shows such as Looking and Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me on television, here is a gay male love story with the promise of a Hollywood happy ending, no Grace required.

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams from ‘Heated Rivalry’ presenting at the Golden Globes awards.

In Heated Rivalry, the threat of violence, like in Brokeback Mountain, and the looming spectre of AIDS found in Fellow Travelers is replaced by an unapologetic love story, a banging soundtrack and enthusiastic physicality.

It’s understandable that most of my gay male friends are invested in this rare, sweat-soaked romance from Canada, but my straight female colleagues are demonstrating levels of obsession usually reserved for Taylor Swift songs.

One female colleague has adopted the fitness routine of Connor Storrie, who plays Russian hockey star Ilya Rozanov, with a flawless accent. Storrie’s curvaceous buttocks are revealed regularly in highly choreographed love-making scenes that keep the bare minimum private.

She tells me that it’s all about elevated goblet squats.

Outside of work (don’t worry, HR), another colleague said she whooped at the screen when the couple found new ways to consummate their love. I even learnt terms for physical engagement from her that escaped decades of personal research.

These women are not alone. At the Golden Globes, Storrie and his co-star Hudson Williams (who plays Shane Hollander), who are keeping their real-life sexuality private, were swamped by Hollywood leading ladies such as Parker Posey and Ayo Edebiri.

Straight men have entered the discussion, offering positive support for the series on social media, alongside more explicit admiration from US late-night TV hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, but they are drowned out by the cheers of women.

Part of the explanation for this cultural crossover might be that Heated Rivalry is based on a series of books by female author Rachel Reid, who specialises in gay hockey romance stories. The world of gay male romance literature is dominated by women, as highlighted in the 2020 documentary What Women Want: Gay Romance.

Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) sizzle on screen in Heated Rivalry.

Women aren’t just writing these stories, they are consuming them. In Japan, the term fujoshi refers to female fans of stories about gay male love. Female interest in male relationships goes further, with X-rated streaming site Pornhub reporting last year that 47 per cent of viewers of gay male pornography are women.

Heated Rivalry has brought female fans of gay male love out of the closet and into the office kitchen.

It feels liberating to discuss the beauty of these actors and their story, along with the series’ cringeworthy moments (it was reportedly made for $12 million), beside the water cooler.

Having spent years waiting for the inevitable boos or snickers at displays of homosexual desire in cinemas or accepting that gay characters would be relegated to sassy best friend roles in mainstream productions, the acceptance of Heated Rivalry is overwhelming.

With gay marriage legal in Australia since 2017, many people mistakenly feel that this level of acceptance is widespread. If I walk through supposedly queer-friendly neighbourhoods at night holding my husband’s hand, I will inevitably hear a slur shouted from a passing vehicle or be threatened with violence.

A 2024 study from researchers at Western Sydney University, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology, found that 77 per cent of young LGBT+ people had experienced discrimination in the workplace.

Australian soccer player Joshua Cavallo, who came out in 2021, on Tuesday posted to his social media that “it’s hard to swallow when I realised my own club was homophobic”. His club, Adelaide United, denied sidelining Cavallo because of his sexuality.

Homophobia still exists, which is why the mainstream popularity of Heated Rivalry is as surprising to me as those 7,817,247 Australians who accepted that love is love in 2017, allowing gay people to marry. This is the allyship I didn’t know I needed.

The popularity of Heated Rivalry may carve out a space where everyone can agree that hot is hot, romance is romance and sex is sexy, no matter what bits are being bobbed. The playing field at work, not just when it comes to promotion, but enriching conversations in the kitchen, is being levelled.

With imagination, you can walk in anyone’s shoes, roll in anyone’s sheets or achieve a 25-year-old former gymnast’s round buttocks with just elevated goblet squats.

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.