Hot New (Gay) Hockey Series on CRAVE

[TonyDown]

Former hockey player Jesse Kortuem will appear on The Drew Barrymore show tomorrow,

talking about the positive reflection of gay athletes offered by Heated Rivalry. 

A special moment happens on the show, already posted on the Internet. 

So if you'd rather be surprised, I won't reveal what happens with Drew.  You can search for it or just watch tomorrow.

Was nice to see her show adding more voices to what's good about Heated Rivalry.

 

On Andy Cohen's show,  Cohen asked Francois Arnaud a personal question.  Arnaud immediately shut it down. 

IMO the entertainment media needs to be a little more clever about all of their bullshit personal questions. 

 

 

[+ jeezopete]

47 minutes ago, TonyDown said:

On Andy Cohen's show,  Cohen asked Francois Arnaud a personal question.  Arnaud immediately shut it down. 

I watched that episode. I was really impressed with his response. 🤩

[samhexum]

I wound up watching reviews of all six episodes by two different hockey podcasts. After watching the one posted earlier in this thread, I watched their review of episode six and a few few days later decided to watch the rest so I googled hockey podcast heated rivalry and because I am either an idiot or Ilya's father (or both), it wasn't until I got up to the review of episode five and realized it was not the one I had previously watched that I realized I was watching different people.

Each one had two hosts and their producer/engineer and all six men are straight and all six love the show about as much as any of us, which was fascinating to watch.  All six love the "Skip" episode.

One of them is called what chaos! and one of the hosts there looks a bit like a young Matt Damon when he's not wearing his glasses and the other is called empty netters and it's two screenwriting brothers who are based in LA named Dan and Chris.  Their producer/engineer is Sean who is from Ireland and he made an interesting point. Ilya should easily be able to get citizenship on his own, which Sean knows about because he went through the process himself.  Ilya would be considered a skilled worker since almost no one else can do what he does and he brings a lot of money into the economy and since he's been living in Boston now for eight years… Sean said athletes should have one of the easiest paths to citizenship.  He also had the best line of the season when they reviewed episode four and Dan and Chris were talking about the end when Shane was banging Rose and Ilya was jerking off in the shower and they were obviously thinking about each other.  Sean said Well, they were both looking into the camera, so I choose to believe they were both thinking about me.

Dan looks kinda like Tim Daly in Wings so while watching Chicago Med tonight, I kept chuckling because Chris looks absolutely nothing like Steven Weber.

Edited January 22 by samhexum
for shits and giggles

[samhexum]

Empty netters live streamed the three of them watching episode six from their apartments.  Normally when they've done a live stream related to hockey about five minutes beforehand there were a few people in the "waiting room" waiting for the podcast to start, and it gradually increased as people trickled in. Five minutes before they started their live stream of episode six, there were 10,000 people in the waiting room. They are the podcast that Hudson Williams mentioned on the Tonight Show.   (watch it on 1.5X... you can totally understand, & it saves time)

Chris wore his glasses for the live stream. He said it was just in case Ilya asked him to put them on. I knew before I started watching that at some point Chris's Wi-Fi froze. It turned out to be just before Shane brought the sweater out to his mother so they had to stop right there and wait for him to get back.  You can jump forward a lot at that point. 

It is really a fascinating watch because I practically know the episode by heart. All you see is the three of them watching it and commenting. You don't actually see the show and oh my God they got so emotional. Chris and Sean each had to step out of frame at one point because they were so overcome and Dan looked like he was gonna cry when he heard about Ilya's mother.  

They are hilarious. When Shane was blowing Eli against the window in the cottage Chris said I want the cheeks against the glass shot.  When Ilya was in the lake he said I want lake sex; Dan said you keep making comments that show you have a horrible sex life… Water is a terrible lubricant. It turns everything into two sticky plastic bags.

So they're happily watching as the boys come up from the lake and I'm saying to myself oh if they only knew what's coming…

OH MY GOD! SOMEBODY'S THERE! WHO IS THAT?  NOOOOOOOO! DAD WHERE ARE YOU GOING? THERE'S 15 MINUTES LEFT IN THE SEASON. THEY CAN'T BLOW IT UP LIKE THAT.

Dan got so emotional watching it that when they did their review of the episode he said I just want you all to know I am drenched in sweat and he lifted up his arm and the pit stain went down to his ribs along his side and to his bicep on his sleeve.

 

 

Edited January 22 by samhexum
to maintain the incredibly high standards he has established here

[BSR]

Storrie and Williams have been selected as torchbearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics!  Wow, it wasn’t that long ago that these two were unknown actors waiting tables to pay the bills.

 

Edited January 22 by BSR
Typo - damn autocorrect!

[Luv2play]

3 hours ago, BSR said:

Storrie and Williams have been selected as torchbearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics!  Wow, it wasn’t that long ago that these two were unknown actors waiting tables to pay the bills.

 

And they can’t even skate. Lol

[+ Gar1eth]

2 hours ago, Luv2play said:

And they can’t even skate. Lol

I know from what Storrie said on Late Night that he's not a particularly good skater.  But I wonder about Hudson. He is from Canada. While obviously not every Canadian knows how to ice skate, it's a lot more probable that he has more experience than say Storrie who grew up in Texas and California. 
 

As for podcasts I watched a two straight guy podcast called Nick & Cory. Nick's family is from Belarus. And he speaks Russian.  So he gives critiques on the spoken Russian. If they weren't playing to their audience, they seemed to like it. Here's their 1st episode. 
 

I also ended up reading "Heated Rivalry's" sequel "The Long Game."  It was pretty good. There's also a third one coming out next September. 

Edited January 22 by Gar1eth

[MikeBiDude]

2 hours ago, Luv2play said:

And they can’t even skate. Lol

I binged-re-watched all 6 episodes last weekend with a friend who played a lot of hockey…he said the skating wasn’t very good.

[Luv2play]

I would be surprised if their skating was good. There is nothing in their backgrounds to suggest they could play hockey competently. I was forced to play hockey as a young boy in a private school for boys in Canada and hated it. Later in life I learned to enjoy skating as a recreational sport but no pressure to perform athletic feats on the rink. 

[+ jeezopete]

 

[samhexum]

Ticketing giant StubHub says it received a surge in interest for Saturday night’s game, six times higher than average. The show, “Heated Rivalry,” on Crave and HBO Max, primarily focuses on a romance between two male hockey players who play for rival Montreal- and Boston-based teams. StubHub says the surge is 35 percent higher than in a typical matchup between the two teams. Finally, 82 percent of those who have purchased tickets are first-time buyers, three times more than usual.

The growing interest hasn’t been limited to Canadiens and Bruins games. NHL single-game ticket sales on StubHub are up 82 percent compared to last season. The ticketing company also says it has seen a 40 percent increase in general interest for NHL tickets and a 75 percent surge in NHL ticket searches, as well as a 5 percent increase in first-time NHL ticket buyers since the show first aired on Nov. 28, 2025.

[BSR]

Both Storrie and Williams look like they enjoyed the honor of carrying the Olympic torch …

 

[samhexum]

On 1/5/2026 at 8:46 AM, samhexum said:

in the big scene in Ilya's room in episode five when Shane tells Ilya that he's gay and likes him too much, the dresser upon which the TV is perched is the exact same one my former roommate had had for years when I moved in with her in 1987.  Nice to see that they put the MHL All Stars up in luxury accommodations with modern furniture.

There's increasing talk of an Emmy nomination for best supporting furniture.

Edited January 27 by samhexum
and, trust me, you really don't want to know why

[+ Gar1eth]

13 hours ago, samhexum said:

There's increasing talk of an Emmy nomination for best supporting furniture.

Unfortunately as purely Canadian furniture, they aren't eligible for an Emmy. But surely a Canadian Screen Award is in the offing. 

[d.anders]

I'm reluctant to post this because I can't stand the gay podcaster, but here is Hudson talking about his and Connor's "cock sock."

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-OonVQkhp2Y

[+ jeezopete]

54 minutes ago, d.anders said:

I'm reluctant to post this because I can't stand the gay podcaster, but here is Hudson talking about his and Connor's "cock sock."

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-OonVQkhp2Y

Sounds like a really complicated process. I'm thinking Hudson and Connor need to do a YouTube step-by-step tutorial for us visual learners.  😍

[+ Gar1eth]

2 hours ago, d.anders said:

I'm reluctant to post this because I can't stand the gay podcaster, but here is Hudson talking about his and Connor's "cock sock."

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-OonVQkhp2Y

 

1 hour ago, jeezopete said:

Sounds like a really complicated process. I'm thinking Hudson and Connor need to do a YouTube step-by-step tutorial for us visual learners.  😍

Or in other words...

 

[TonyDown]

Fun video of Hudson and Connor.

[samhexum]

In one of my forays through my favorite scenes I noticed something cute that I hadn't noticed before and I wonder if it was an ad-lib.  As Shane is leading Ilya into his bedroom at the cottage, it's below the frame and you don't see it, but Ilya smacks Shane on the ass. You see his arm move and you hear it.

ILYA'S CANADIAN BROTHER SPEAKS:

 

 

SUPPOSEDLY THE INSPIRATION FOR SHANE:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6996379/2026/01/25/penguins-sidney-crosby-nhl-canucks/

Sidney Crosby’s impact, after all of these years, remains as strong as ever

Never underestimate the influence Crosby has on kids in hockey, especially in Canada. Been in the NHL for 21 years and they’re hanging over railings to get a glimpse of him in practice.

This isn’t common, especially when considering we are talking about a 38-year-old man. I don’t think children typically identify with or worship players that age. Sure, they understandably loved Crosby when he really was “Sid the Kid,” but he’s 18 months away from turning 40. One would assume kids who love hockey these days would more easily identify with and root for young stars such as Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard, because they are practically children themselves.

Yet there they were in Vancouver, just like they show up in every NHL city, particularly in Canada.

“He’s the guy,” Vancouver native Parker Wotherspoon said after practice, noticing all the of the kids clamoring for a view of Crosby. “He’s still the guy. He’s the best.”

 

 

Edited Saturday at 11:47 PM by samhexum
to maintain the incredibly high standards he has established here

[TonyDown]

I heard on our local PRIDE FM radio station we may get a bonus episode of Heated Rivalry prior to S2.

Checking the Internet today, there seems to be some truth to the story.  At least it has been picked up by entertainment news, such as this piece from Out.

https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/heated-rivalry-season-2-bonus-episode

 

Image from Out.

 

Didn't Dr. Who used to do a bonus Christmas episodes?   

That would be cool.  A Heated Rivalry Christmas.  💗

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 11:33 PM by TonyDown

[+ Lucky]

You can read the other books in the series to find out what happens to Shane and Ilya.

[samhexum]

https://www.tvline.com/1999652/snl-season-51-hosts-list-saturday-night-live/

SNL Taps Heated Rivalry Star Connor Storrie To Host February Episode

[+ jeezopete]

5 hours ago, Lucky said:

You can read the other books in the series to find out what happens to Shane and Ilya.

Just NO!   😮

I already wish I could watch the entire series again for the first time without knowing what's coming next.

[+ poolboy48220]

14 hours ago, TonyDown said:

Didn't Dr. Who used to do a bonus Christmas episodes?   

I think it's a common thing for many British series. Downton Abbey did them, I think All Creatures Great and Small does too. 

[+ Gar1eth]

16 hours ago, Lucky said:

You can read the other books in the series to find out what happens to Shane and Ilya.

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.

There is, however, a third book concerning them that's not coming out until next September. 
 

So

Heated Rivalry

The Long Game

Unrivaled (coming to a bookstore near you September 29th 2026)