The biggest thing to happen to hockey this year has nothing to do with the Avalanche or Lightning or any NHL contender. The biggest thing to happen to hockey this year is a fictional TV show—a small Canadian production that suddenly finds itself one of the biggest shows on Earth.
Heated Rivalry, an HBO Max import created by Letterkenny executive producer Jacob Tierney based on author Rachel Reid’s 2019 novel, works from a simple premise: What if two of hockey’s biggest stars were passionately in love? The series has resonated far beyond the LGBTQ and hockey communities to become a pop-culture sensation, and has now caught the notice of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
