Dear Lola

Dear Lola,

It is an honor and a privilege to start this journey with hockey butts—

I mean hockey hotties—

I mean the wildly successful hockey romance Crave Canada original TV show, Heated Rivalry.

If you haven’t heard of it, I feel sorry for you. You’re probably on the wrong side of the internet. Fix your algorithm, babe!!

This is my uncredentialed, feral fan perspective breakdown of the show and why I think it’s sooo successful.

It is the year of our Lord 2025, and it’s extremely rare for a book-to-TV adaptation to work this well. And yet—thanks to Jacob, creator of Heated Rivalry—this show has somehow done the Lord’s work. It stays remarkably true to the characters and the essence of the book, which honestly feels like a miracle.

Appeal

Heated Rivalry gives us intense displays of masculinity without misogyny—and that’s huge.

When it’s two men falling in love, the pressure of power dynamics and self-comparison disappears. There’s no threat of objectification, no one needs to be degraded or belittled, and there isn’t a “woman who needs saving,” like in so much hetero media.

They’re both extremely successful and powerful individually. They’re strong and masculine, yet gentle and intimate with each other—and I think that’s exactly why women love this so much.

We want men to be masculine and nurturing, vulnerable, and emotionally honest. Instead, we usually get toxic masculinity 🙃

But here? The fiction is fictioning, and we are all eating it up.

Cinematography

You can tell this show was made with intentional love and fierce passion.

Every frame is choreographed with care—the pacing, the music, the transitions—it’s all chef fucking kiss. The attention to detail is so obvious that, as a reader and longtime fan, I’m absolutely feral for it.

This is not a show you can half-watch while scrolling on your phone, and I love that for us. It’s filmed so beautifully that I forget the chaos of real life while watching. Being fully immersed in Shane and Ilya’s on-screen chemistry feels refreshing in a way TV rarely allows anymore.

Timeline

It takes them nine years to build the confidence and courage to be vulnerable with each other—and that is so fucking real.

Love isn’t neat or easy like mainstream media pretends it is. That’s what sets this show apart and makes it deeply relatable, regardless of sexuality. Vulnerability doesn’t happen overnight, and this nine-year situationship perfectly captures the beauty (and frustration) of navigating complex emotions in high-pressure environments.

Emotional Complexity

Shane is emotionally sensitive, calculated, and anxious—someone who thrives on control.

Ilya is strong, aggressive, and straightforward, yet has had so much of his life shaped without his consent due to homophobic culture and deeply toxic family dynamics.

What makes this dynamic especially powerful is the storytelling:

You see Shane give Ilya the control he desperately needs.

And you see Shane willingly relinquish control—because he wants to be taken care of, to rest, to not always be the one holding everything together.

That mutual exchange? Devastating. Perfect. No notes.

Actors

CONNOR AND HUDSON WERE PERFECTLY CAST AND I AM SO GLAD WE ALL GET TO BE GIDDY TOGETHER.

Sorry for yelling—but the caps are necessary to fully convey my excitement.

Their careers are just getting started, and they’re already delivering some of the rawest, most authentic performances I’ve seen in a long time. It genuinely feels like watching the book come to life. They understood the assignment, they submitted it early, and they exceeded expectations. Truly—babes nailed it.

Sexual Chemistry

I would be lying if I didn’t admit to fully drooling while watching Shane and Ilya on screen.

Every kiss looks like the best kiss either of them has ever had, and wow does that add to the yearning. When you read about lust, longing, and sexual tension in a book, every reader imagines it differently—so the fact that Heated Rivalry managed to translate that visually is honestly miraculous.

And that’s why this is one of the best shows out right now. Period.