It’s been a big start to the year for the stars of Heated Rivalry, who are turning up everywhere from late-night TV and awards shows to Hollywood parties and premieres.
The Canadian series about a fledgling, steamy hockey romance has become a pop cultural obsession, leaving stars Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. in high demand.
The degree to which audiences, critics and Hollywood insiders alike can’t get enough of Heated Rivalry is “beyond the scope of anything” anyone working on it could have imagined, Ontario-born G.K. told CBC News.
A U.S. media blitz kicked off this past week with Storrie co-presenting the Actor Award nominations on Wednesday, while Williams made his debut on The Tonight Show later that evening. Both will appear as presenters at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony on Sunday.
But even though the duo, who play rivals-turned-lovers Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) might be handing out a golden statuette this weekend, you won’t see them or their show in competition for any of this year’s major awards.
That’s because the show is too Canadian for some of the biggest American TV awards — including television’s marquee event, the Primetime Emmys.
That’s to the dismay of fans, particularly those hoping to see a show with such strong queer representation be honoured. But industry watchers believe it has already won something more valuable: its stunning success around the globe.
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With the Canadian hockey romance series Heated Rivalry firing up fans here at home and around the world, some say it’s proof of not only the quality of Canadian content but how much it resonates.
No gold for Team Canada this season
Heated Rivalry’s six-episode first season streams on Bell Media-owned Crave in Canada and on HBO Max in U.S.
But the show was produced and financed solely by Canadian companies, including Bell Media.
Both the Golden Globes and the Primetime Emmys have requirements for foreign productions.
In the case of the latter ceremony, titles must have been co-produced “both financially and creatively” by U.S. and foreign partners before filming has begun, a spokesperson for the Television Academy, which puts on the Emmys, told CBC News in a statement.
And that was not the case with Heated Rivalry, which HBO Max acquired in November; production of the series happened in the spring.
Heated Rivalry has broken down barriers not just for 2SLGBTQ+ stories in mainstream television and streaming, but also for distinctly Canadian stories, industry experts say. (Bell Media/Canadian Press)
The Television Academy does revise rules regularly, but changes announced Friday for this year’s competition won’t make a difference.
And this could be a repeat issue for the forthcoming second season of the series.
Heated Rivalry can, however, be considered for the International Emmys, which are entirely separate and not televised. In fact, the ceremony only streamed live for the first time in November.
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As for the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards, it’s a bit of a different story.
There is nothing in the eligibility criteria stating that a production has to be at least partly U.S.-funded — only that the competing actors must be a member in good standing with the SAG-AFTRA actor’s guild.
According to oddsmaker website Gold Derby, the show’s performers weren’t submitted on the ballot.
But Heated Rivalry did earn one nomination this week — its very first — for outstanding new TV series at the GLAAD Media Awards, which celebrates LGBTQ+ entertainment and journalism.
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G.K. says he’s proud of the the fact that the series is “99 per cent Canadian actors and crew.”
Not to mention, it’s based on the Game Changers book series, by Nova Scotia-based author Rachel Reid.
Eyes on the North
Over the years, several distinctly Canadian shows that have met the eligibility requirements to be nominated for major U.S. television awards shows.
The final season of CBC’s Schitt’s Creek swept the 2020 Emmys, winning all seven of the big awards — all four acting categories, as well as best writing, directing and comedy series — an unprecedented feat for a comedy or drama series.
Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany won the Emmy for best actress in a drama for the Canadian series Orphan Black (from Bell Media) in 2016 and was nominated twice more for the same role in subsequent years.
In 1990s, the beloved Canadian series Road To Avonlea, which also ran on CBC in Canada and Disney Channel in the U.S., was nominated for 17 Emmys over its seven seasons and won four.
The final season of CBC’s Schitt’s Creek swept the 2020 Emmys. (The Canadian Press)
But even without the official accolades, Heated Rivalry is winning something many Canadian productions haven’t: a huge international audience.
The show was Crave’s most-watched original series ever and it’s one of HBO Max’s top five scripted series debut’s this year. It’s also debuting in the U.K. this weekend.
“I hope that this is just another notch on the belt or something on the resume for Canadian filmmakers to be taken seriously,” G.K. said.
Others in the industry are also eager to see how this phenomenon may boost interest in Canadian productions internationally, but especially in the more dominant American market.
The show has become the “Holy Grail” for a series created and produced in this country, says Canadian entertainment industry expert Teri Hart, who believes it could “open the floodgates” for Canadian content.
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Rod Butler of the Canadian Media Fund says now is the perfect time for bigger investments in “uniquely Canadian stories.”
“Given the past year south of the border, I think Canadians telling stories in their own distinctive voice that still resonates on the world stage.”
Hart says Heated Rivalry‘s ascension demonstrates that Canadian content is “incredibly exportable, not just as a means to “fill the coffers” of streaming companies but to “entice people and excite people in the way that Heated Rivalry has.”
