Heated Rivalry is the show we didn’t know we needed in our lives. The queer ice hockey drama jumped out of nowhere to cheer up miserable January days and reel in a team of staunch midlife fans since its release on January 10.
That’s right, it’s definitely a series that spans the ages of its devotees, even if on paper, it looks like it’s for young adults. Heated Rivalry has created such a stir among midlife female fans that even writer and director Jacob Tierney has acknowledged us as some of the die-hard viewers.
Heated Rivalry timeline
2008: The action kicks off in December 2008, when Shane and Ilya first meet in Saskatchewan, ahead of the International Prospect Cup.
For those confused that soon after this scene, there’s a time jump, this is because there’s a lot to cover and their relationship really gets going when their paths next cross.
Episode 1 spans three years between December 2008 and May 2011, when the characters are 17-20 years old.
During this time, the guys have the pivotal ‘gym scene’ that solidifies their initial connection, followed closely by that shower scene.
2011: Episode 2 covers a whopping three years in Shane and Ilya’s lives. It’s summer 2011 when the episode begins, and summer 2014 when it concludes, and the guys are 20-23 during this time.
The pair have their first full sexual encounter in this time, after a big build-up and having previously experimented with pleasing each other in different ways.
By the time this episode comes to an end, Shane is grappling with what his feelings about what began as secret hook-ups really mean. In summer of 2014, the pair have their infamous Las Vegas argument.
(Image credit: Sabrina Lantos/Sky)
2013: Heated Rivalry episode 3 covers a much shorter period of time – the four months between late 2013 and February 2014.
This focusses on the secondary romance between Scott Hunter and Kip Grady, and the events building up to the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Four months before the 2014 Olympics, Scott first meets Kip in a smoothie shop. Like Shane and Ilya, they also enter into a largely secret relationship.
At the time of the of the Olympics in February 2014, Kip leaves Scott after having enough of living life in the closet.
2014: Returning to the time jumps, episode 4 covers events unfolding between summer 2014 – autumn 2016, with Shane and Ilya being 23-25-years-old.
Shane and Ilya’s relationship reaches a critical, although painful, turning point here, and there’s also the tender ‘tuna melt’ moment. After a night spent together. Still unable to come to terms with his feelings for Ilya, Shane panicsand begins a relationship with actress Rose Landry.
Ilya is devastated, after hoping their relationship would develop from hook-ups into something more permanent. Running into one another at a club, there’s plenty of longing looks across the room at each other.
2016: Episode 5 covers the much shorter period of autumn 2016 until June 2017. Our guys are back to sneaking around, and despite their feelings intensifying, neither will properly address this most complicated of relationships.
Ilya’s father dies, and calling Shane from Russia, he struggles to express his feelings and ultimately uses Russian to say how he feels about him.
Scott comes out publicly by kissing Kip on the ice after winning the championship, but is later seriously injured. He issues the sweet, fan-favourite phrase to Ilya, “Will you come to my cottage this summer?”
2017: During episode 6, it’s summer 2017, and Shane and Ilya are at the cottage. With no secrecy, they can finally relax and be themselves. They decide to spend the next two weeks being honest about their feelings for each other.
After one of the slowest-burning build-ups ever, Shane and Ilya finally get to say “I love you.”
(Image credit: Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max)
With the news recently dropping that the show has been renewed for season 2, it’s also been revealed that it will pick up two years after the events of season 1 and will continue to focus on Shane and Ilya’s relationship.
If you want to know when to expect it, Heated Rivalry writer Jacob Tierney has some news. “It will not be the same time next year, but it’ll be pretty soon after that,” he told EW.
He adds, “It’s not gonna be two years. It’s not even gonna be 18 months, I don’t think. So we’re gonna go as fast as we can, while ensuring that we’re doing as good a job as we possibly can.”
“I haven’t started writing yet. I’m going to. We are aware. We want to get the season out as soon as we can, as well, while also making sure that we give people a good second season,” he says.
All episodes of Heated Rivalry are currently available to view on NOW.
