10 Shows Like Heated Rivalry to Watch if You Like Heated Rivalry

If your hearts are melting because of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, you're not alone. We're just as obsessed as you are with HBO Max's Heated Rivalry, the queer hockey romantic drama adapted from Rachel Reid's popular Game Changer novels. Since Heated Rivalry debuted Nov. 28 with little fanfare, it has become TV's buzziest show, surged to the top of the streaming charts (it reached No. 1 in the U.S. after four episodes), and made names out of breakout stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. Plus, it's impossible to go a day without seeing fan-made Hollanov memes and edits, passionate reactions to spicy scenes (like Shane's back arch), or detailed Reddit threads breaking down the minutiae of every small moment.

Translated from book to screen by creator Jacob Tierney, Heated Rivalry follows two closeted rival pro hockey players, Montreal Metro's Shane Hollander (Williams) and Boston Raiders' Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), who meet during their rookie year and secretly begin an intense, years-long love affair that puts the capital Y in yearning. As Shane and Ilya's careers take off, their secret trysts turn into something more, creating palpable tension as they navigate their sexuality, love, and identity amid the pressure of hockey stardom. With only a few more episodes left in the current season, we understand if you're already dreading the long wait until we get to reunite with Hollanov in Season 2. If you're looking for more queer romances or sports dramas to tide yourself over until Heated Rivalry returns, check out our list of recommended shows.

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Shoresy

Heated Rivalry isn't creator Jacob Tierney's first crack at bringing hockey to the small screen. While hockey is merely the backdrop for Shane and Ilya's love story, you'll get a much better understanding of what being a hockey player is actually like with Shoresy, which depicts the sport's culture — like locker room shenanigans, old-school hockey play, and team camaraderie — extremely accurately. A spin-off of the popular Canadian cult comedy Letterkenny, the charming and crass Shoresy follows the titular character (creator Jared Keeso, who also worked with Tierney on Letterkenny), who moves to an Ontario town to play for a semi-professional senior Canadian hockey team, the Sudbury Bulldogs. Tierney plays inept Quebec hockey broadcaster Benoit "Benny" Brodeur and also directs and executive produces several of the episodes.

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Red, White & Royal Blue

Secret gay romances aren't reserved exclusively for the ice rink. In Red, White & Royal Blue, Prime Video's film adaptation of Casey McQuiston's bestselling 2019 novel, Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the U.S. president, and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), third in line to the British throne, develop an under-wraps enemies-to-lovers affair that spans multiple countries, and leads to secret meetings and hurtful misunderstandings. The trials and tribulations that Alex and Henry endure resemble the challenges that befall Shane and Ilya in Heated Rivalry. The love scenes between Alex and Henry are steamy as they both explore their true selves, but not quite as hot as Heated Rivalry. With a second movie starting production in 2026, now's the time to get on the #FirstPrince train. 

Boots

Instead of the hockey rink, Boots takes place in 1990 when a closeted teenager, Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), impulsively follows his best friend, Ray McAffey (Liam Oh), and joins the U.S. Marine Corps with the hopes of escaping a troubled family life and turning over a new leaf. Inspired by Greg Cope White's memoir The Pink Marine, the series is poignant because Cameron enlists at a time when the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy forbids openly gay troops from joining the Armed Forces. As Cameron experiences the highs and lows of boot camp (and finds an unlikely ally in a superior hiding a similar secret), Boots captivatingly captures the pressures of being true to yourself when the odds are against you.

Overcompensating 

Heated Rivalry's third episode is about Scott Hunter's (François Arnaud) romance with smoothie maker Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.), offering a different flavor of what queer love can look like. It's Elena (Nadine Bhabha), Kip's best friend, who the barista leans on in moments of weakness and uncertainty as Scott grapples with homophobia within his sport and his own internal turmoil. If you wanted to spend a little more time with Kip and Elena's friendship, then the raunchy and sweet college comedy Overcompensating is the perfect show for you. Creator and star Benito Skinner plays closeted gay football star and valedictorian Benny, who becomes BFFs with Carmen (Wally Baram) at the start of their freshman year in college, and the pair navigate relationships and get real about their true selves.

In from the Side 

We're breaking the rules by including In from the Side, a tiny British romantic sports movie that centers on two rugby players (played by Alexander Lincoln and Alexander King) who belong to a gay London-based rugby club and drunkenly hook up with each other one evening. The consequences of their secret affair spells disaster as they're both in committed relationships, though unhappily, and their growing feelings for each other puts the future of their cash-strapped rugby club in major jeopardy. A lot of weighty themes are explored in the 134-minute film, from forbidden love, masculinity, and emotional vulnerability. And like Heated Rivalry, In from the Side doesn't shy away from acknowledging the inner turmoil that players face — the pressure to conform to a traditional sports culture while battling complex questions of identity and queerness. 

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Heartstopper 

If Heated Rivalry is a show full of angst and yearning, Heartstopper is the cozy cup of tea you have afterward. Netflix's beloved coming-of-age series, which will wrap up its story with the anticipated 2026 movie Heartstopper Forever, is endearingly heartwarming in its portrayal of Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), a gay teenage boy who falls in love with his classmate, popular jock Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). The series, an adaptation of Alice Oseman's YA graphic novels, has an overwhelmingly hopeful undercurrent that celebrates the joys of first loves while authentically addressing real struggles like bullying and mental illness, adding depth and care to the queer teenage experience.

Young Royals 

Can't get enough of the high-stakes forbidden romance in Heated Rivalry? Then Netflix's Swedish teen drama, Young Royals, should be next on your streaming list. The critically acclaimed series starts when Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (Edvin Ryding) meets scholarship student Simon Eriksson (Omar Rudberg) at a prestigious boarding school known for educating a long line of nobility and royalty. Similar to Shane and Ilya in Heated Rivalry, Wilhelm is under constant public scrutiny — one wrong move or decision and his life may well be over. As he and Simon begin dancing around each other romantically, Young Royals explores homophobia, class inequality, and the debilitating constraints of monarchy — and Wilhelm's constant battle between personal freedom and love or duty and tradition. 

Spinning Out

Hungry for a show that isn't afraid to show the dark side of competitive sport? Spinning Out is all about the sacrifices of elite athletes and the intensity by which they operate — something Heated Rivalry definitely hints at. This short-lived Netflix drama tells the story of Kat Baker (Kaya Scodelario), a singles ice skater who transitions to pairs competition after suffering a serious injury; it's a move that's meant to restart her skating career. Paired with bad-boy skater Justin Davis (Evan Roderick), they leave their blood, sweat, and tears on and off the ice as they train their way to achieving their dream of reaching the Olympics. But things begin to devolve when Kat's mental health deteriorates amid the mounting pressure, and things go from bad to worse. 

Queer as Folk 

No list would be complete without the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ drama Queer as Folk. Based on the British series by Russell T. Davies, the U.S. version originally aired from 2000 to 2005 on Showtime, spanning five seasons and 83 episodes. One of the first American shows to put queer characters front and center, Queer as Folk follows a close-knit group of friends — five gay men (Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Hal Sparks, Peter Paige, and Scott Lowell) and a lesbian couple (Thea Gill and Michelle Clunie) — living in Pittsburgh as they go through the ups and downs of life, love, work, and friendship. At the time, Queer as Folk was a pioneer in bringing queer representation into the mainstream with its compassionate depiction of sex, politics, marriage, and coming out. Though Heated Rivalry does not directly reference Queer as Folk, we'd be remiss not to acknowledge the significance of the 2000s series for paving the way.

Revenged Love

There's a point in Heated Rivalry where Shane and Ilya mask their growing attraction through flings with Rose, a famous actress who dates Shane, and Svetlana, Ilya's friend with benefits. Their faux romances only amplify the intensity of their hidden affair, though. But what if a fake relationship turned out to be real love? In Revenged Love, the Taiwanese BL (short for "boys love") based on a web novel, working-class businessman Wu Suo Wei (Zi Yu) — tired of being belittled by his wealthy ex-girlfriend — vows to reinvent himself and start his own business. But when he learns that his ex is now dating arrogant heir Chi Cheng (Tian Xu Ning), Wu Suo Wei begins seducing Chi Cheng and unexpectedly begins to fall for him. Asian BLs have long celebrated queer storytelling with their innovative, provocative, and original concepts, and Revenged Love is the latest to offer an intriguing twist to the genre.