‘Heated Rivalry’ Scores UK and Irish Release on Sky

**Heated Rivalry** has finally found a home in the U.K. and Ireland. The popular gay hockey romance series is set to premiere on Sky and its streaming service Now in January, Sky and Bell Media announced Wednesday.

The series is currently airing on the streamer Crave in Canada. In the United States, **Heated Rivalry** is available on HBO Max, while fans in New Zealand can watch the show on Sky.

Created for television by *Letterkenny* alum Jacob Tierney, the series is adapted from Rachel Reid’s novel of the same name. It centers around a fictional hockey universe, focusing on two rival professional hockey players: Canadian-born Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) of the fictitious Montreal Metros, and Russian-born Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) of the fictitious Boston Raiders. The story follows their years-long secret relationship as they navigate the challenges of love and sport.

Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady serve as showrunners for the series, which is produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media’s Crave. The show is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus. Lucy Criddle, Director of Acquisitions and Strategic Projects, and Alexander Wright, Acquisitions Manager, handled the acquisition for Sky.

**Heated Rivalry** is based on the second book in a series of gay hockey romance novels by Rachel Reid, all set within the same universe.

A synopsis from the show’s producers reads:

*“Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling between two confused teenagers at 17 evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery.*

*Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle to navigate their feelings off of it. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there’s room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and powerful as real love.”*

With its compelling mix of sports drama and romance, **Heated Rivalry** promises to capture the hearts of viewers around the world. Stay tuned for its U.K. and Ireland debut this January on Sky and Now.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/heated-rivalry-sky-uk-ireland-stream-1236453680/