When Jacob Tierney's Heated Rivalry debuted last year, it triggered a cultural moment that rippled far beyond the hockey rink. The adaptation of Rachel Reid's romance novels became a worldwide phenomenon, turning its stars into household names and proving that mainstream audiences would embrace explicitly queer storytelling on their screens.

A Breakthrough Moment for Queer Television

Tierney, the 46-year-old creator best known for the Canadian sitcom Letterkenny, took a deliberate stance on depicting intimacy on screen. Rather than flinch from gay sexuality, he leaned into it. "We were very aware we're making a horny show," he told Entertainment Weekly. "Let it be horny. Enjoy!" That boldness paid off, breaking through a fragmented media landscape to capture audiences across the LGBTQ+ spectrum and beyond. The show's success also underscored Tierney's openness about his own life: he revealed in 2022 that he is HIV positive undetectable, earning widespread praise for his transparency about living with the virus.

A Flood of New Queer Sports Content

The appetite Heated Rivalry created shows no signs of slowing. A second season is already in development, and the momentum has sparked a wave of competing projects. Slo Pitch, a sapphic softball mockumentary premiering on Canada's Crave later in 2026, is being directly compared to Heated Rivalry for its steamy scenes. When asked if the show rivals its hockey counterpart, star Karen Knox was confident: "I would argue that they're as hot as the ones in Heated Rivalry."

Beyond television, the publishing world is capitalizing on the appetite for gay sports romance. Queer and nonbinary author Ari Baran is releasing Unsportsmanlike Conduct, the fifth book in their Penalty Box series of M/M hockey romances, set for March 2027. The book comes from the same publisher as Heated Rivalry and has earned an endorsement from Reid herself, who called it "a bold hockey romance that hits like a slap shot." Meanwhile, Connor Storrie, who became a breakout star from the show, has secured roles in multiple high-profile projects, including A24 films, further cementing the mainstream visibility of queer talent.

Why the Moment Matters

The cultural shift represents something larger than entertainment trends. For years, queer stories were either invisible or relegated to niche markets. Now, mainstream streamers, producers, and publishers are investing in LGBTQ+ narratives not as afterthoughts but as flagships. The success of Heated Rivalry proved that authentic, unapologetic queer storytelling, complete with explicit sexuality and nuanced characters, could capture mass audiences. That permission slip is reshaping what gets made, from the scripts greenlit to the books commissioned.

Sources: Queerty, Pride, them., Out

Cover image: Tima Miroshnichenko

gay-romance

How Heated Rivalry Sparked a New Wave of Gay Sports Romance