When it comes to sizzling romance, 2025 certainly brought a must-watch. Heated Rivalry, the Canadian hockey series that focuses on a gay romance, didn’t just arrive on Crave. It also arrived on HBO Max, and it immediately gained a following.
That’s not surprising. One, the series is based on a book, and two, it’s beautifully created. On top of that, there’s everything else we’d expect from any type of saucy romance, meaning it just doesn’t disappoint in the category.
Heated Rivalry has been renewed for a second season
With all this in mind, it wasn’t surprising that after just four episodes, Heated Rivalry was renewed for a second season. This wasn’t just by Crave in Canada, either. HBO Max also renewed the hit show for a second season, making it clear that it was backing this romance.
While many shows see a dip in the ratings after the first couple of episodes, Heated Rivalry didn’t. It saw a 400% jump in the ratings after the first episode, according to IGN, so of course the networks were going to renew is.
The downside is that season 1 only has six episodes, with the finale slated to air on Friday, Dec. 26. However, the second season is rumored to be longer. How much longer isn’t clear, but most streaming shows are around eight to 10 episodes, so we’ll probably see this one match that.
Heated Rivalry gets a UK home
While HBO Max has brought the series to the U.S. and Australia, among a few other locations, it’s not available everywhere in the world. That means some countries need to make their own deals, and not all will have wanted to do that until seeing how successful the series could be.
So, with the second season now confirmed, the UK has finally confirmed a home. Heated Rivalry will head to Sky, according to Deadline, bringing the series to both the UK and Ireland. There’s even a date, with the series debuting on Saturday, Jan. 10.
There was a bidding war for the series in the United Kingdom, with multiple networks interested in it. Of course, they would be with how much of a cultural phenomenon this has become! Sky does make a lot of sense, as the Comcast-backed network tends to have more of the adult-themed material, which Heated Rivalry is.
It’s sure to pick up the second season as well, although that hasn’t been confirmed with this latest news.
Heated Rivalry airs on Fridays on HBO Max (and Crave in Canada).
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