'Heated Rivalry' has "done such an incredible job creating a love story and in the gay world that we don't usually get," said hockey's first openly gay pro player, Brock McGillis. The show's stars even appeared at the Golden Globes.
Heated Rivalry, hockey's hottest new television show, wasn't nominated for an award at the 83rd Golden Globes, but the show certainly created a buzz among Hollywood's finest.
Not only was the show discussed during comedian Nikki Glaser's opening monologue, but stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie appeared on stage together to present the Golden Globe for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role on television.
The show, which features two rival men's hockey players whose aptly named "heated rivalry" on the ice conceals their off-ice romance, was Canadian streaming platform Crave's most-streamed show over the holiday season.
Heated Rivalry "has surged into a global breakout, topping the platform's chart week after week, evolving from a highly anticipated launch into a full-blown global phenomenon that continues to fuel fan-obsession, and drive non-stop conversation both with viewers and press," said Bell Media, which owns Crave.
While the show itself, based on the novel by Rachel Reid, has enamored and entertained fans globally, the story and show's impact has gone beyond streaming numbers, renewals and awards.
For Brock McGillis, hockey's first openly gay former professional player, the show's significance is massive.
McGillis has continued to travel across Canada on his Shift Makers Tour. He's spoken to hundreds of youth, junior and professional teams, athletes and organizations to open dialogue and create change in the culture of hockey, including the longstanding issues of homophobia and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people that exist in the sport.
"It's incredibly significant," McGillis said of Heated Rivalry. "It could have such a massive impact on fan culture, on fostering new fans in our sport, on creating a space where people can exist in the sport."
McGillis pointed to the growing portion of NHL and PWHL fans who are women and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
He said he's also a fan of the show and Rachel Reid's books, noting they continue to create a conversation about inclusion and work to normalize LGBTQ+ relationships in hockey.
"I hope it opens conversations with media, in particular sports media, about creating more things that are targeting queer people, women and marginalized communities, because there's a market and an appetite, and if we do it, we will grow hockey in exponential ways," McGillis said.
In women's hockey, the celebration of LGBTQ+ athletes is already normalized.
The PWHL itself is filled with several prominent couples. Some are teammates, such as Montreal Victoire and Team Canada stars Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey, who tied the knot in September 2024. Others in the league remain rivals. In fact, over the years, multiple members of Team Canada and Team USA, such as Hockey Hall of Famer Caroline Ouellette and four-time Olympic medallist Julie Chu, have married and started families.
In this way, McGillis feels Heated Rivalry is a departure from many shows and movies about the LGBTQ+ community, as it isn't looking at issues or centered on trauma. Instead, the show is placing the loving relationship between characters Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander front and center.
"They've done such an incredible job creating a love story and in the gay world that we don't usually get and showing queer people through a different light," McGillis said. "Traditionally when we get shows, it's either the comedic sidekick, or when we get love stories, it's about trauma, it's gay bashing, it's HIV…this is just beautiful love…that's pretty pretty cool because we never get that."
It's a point echoed by former professional hockey player Harrison Browne, who was pro hockey's first openly transgender athlete and played a minor role in the first season of Heated Rivalry.
"Seeing the response to this show and seeing the acceptance of gay hockey players in this world has been so joyful," Browne told The Hockey News. "We haven't had much trans or LGBTQ+ joy lately, given what’s happening in society, but this experience has been wonderful."
At The Golden Globes
Host Nikki Glaser joked that Heated Rivalry is making topics that are usually not discussed in America, relevant. She led the audience to believe her monologue moment was pointing to the LGBTQ+ community, but then switched to state that it's hockey itself that has not been relevant in the USA.
The show's real moment, however, came when Williams and Storrie came on stage to present.
"It's a little nerve-wracking here, being at our first Golden Globes," Storrie said, opening their bit prior to presenting.
"Just take a deep breath and picture everyone in the audience… you know," Williams responded, referencing the age-old aphorism of picturing an audience naked while on stage.
"I don't really know if that works since everyone's seen us… you know," Storrie replied.
With the popularity of the show, including taking center stage at one of Hollywood's biggest events, hockey has found new audiences through one of television's hottest shows of 2025-26, Heated Rivalry.
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