While Eli and I try to stick to film adaptations from novels in our crossovers, we thought we would change it up this week and tackle the television and book series “Heated Rivalry.” The show took the public by storm, sparking interest in hockey fans and romance seekers alike.
The show stars Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov, and recently went beyond viral amassing such popularity that – as of now – every episode of the short season has been viewed just above 10.5 million times. The reason for the popularity is endless, but being a LGBTQ+ story that avoided tropes while exploring sexuality and intimacy in a modern way is likely the main reason for its success. Add in the incredible acting, scoring and cinematography and it’s no wonder the show blew up.
Eli here to pop in with some comparison thoughts from the book. Going into this read I had actually already seen and loved the TV show. I would personally give it the highest possible rating, so understandably I was excited to read the book. Sadly though I was left a little disappointed. In the form of a tv show Shane and Ilya’s story transformed into a beautiful story about yearning, intimacy, gender roles and even sweet and spicy moments. The book however, felt like it was lacking
I found myself annoyed throughout the entire first half of the book as about 80% of it was spent purely on sex scenes. While I am not opposed to a good spicy book, that’s almost all the first half could be summed up as. In the show, intimate moments carried by beautiful acting, gorgeous cinematography and a great score fell flat on the page when for several chapters all I read were very detailed descriptions of their sex lives; which OK if that’s your thing, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea.
Passing it back to Hayley for her initial thoughts going into the show.
For me the show started off incredibly slow, not in pacing but in content. The first two episodes felt less like a whirlwind romance, and more like a string of secret shameful hookups. I was honestly beginning to be a little confused as to where the love story that I had heard so much about all over social media was. I also was beginning to wonder how this story could be wrapped up in just six episodes and why creator Jacob Tierney chose to unfold the story this way.
Then episode three entitled “Hunter” played and I was even more lost on what direction the show was heading, as two new characters were introduced and we got to watch their romance unfold passionately before being yanked away just as quickly as it began. As the show progressed however, I realized the genius in this choice of story telling- we the viewer were buckling in to match the characters in their emotions. What started as a questionable “why should we care” story became a very painful and intense relationship with high emotional stakes. A must-watch that I personally couldn’t pull myself away from. I also began to appreciate Tierney’s choice in encompassing the entire story in just six episodes.
Eli here really quick! The story between Scott and Kip actually takes place in a separate book called “Game Changers.” I did not end up reading that one, but as for how they integrated it into the show, I loved it, especially how it came full circle in the final episodes.
In an interview with Bustle, Tierney shares that he didn’t feel the need to go past six episodes, “I would always rather tighten the belt than get loosey-goosey.” he said. “I would rather be like, ‘Let’s see how much story we can pack into these episodes.’ We want everybody to be left yearning.” And yearn we all did, as the romance blossomed on screen our attention and care as an audience did too.
Eli again, building off of that yearning I would say I did feel it, but much more towards the second half of the book. I liked how the author jumped perspectives between characters and once we got past the initial 60 pages of just sex, the emotions of Shane and Ilya felt very real. The battle between their thoughts and feelings for each other slowly began to play out on the page, however in my opinion, not nearly to the level that Williams and Storrie were able to capture on screen.
While I could go on and on discussing the noteworthy ins and outs of this series, the most impressive thing I feel was Storrie’s acting and just how much he had to learn to masterfully take on the role of Ilya. Not only did he and Williams not know how to skate, spending two weeks before shooting the show learning, Storrie also had to perfect his Russian accent and all his Russian lines! As an American, born and raised in Odessa Texas, he had no previous experience speaking Russian, just a high school fascination with the language and occasional enjoyer of Russian Rap music. In preparation for the role, Storrie learned his lines phonetically working closely with dialect coach, Kate Yablunovsky. Knowing this made his monologue in episode 5 all the more impressive, truly showcasing his range and abilities as an actor.
For me the show most definitely gets a 5 out of 5 on the spicy scale. The story had it all, the heat, the romance, the introspection, growth and emotion that will be setting the stage for more tales like this to be told. It also provided Storrie and Williams with their breakout roles, hopefully launching them both into acting careers.
For my score of the book, I would give it a 2.5. A story that was still enjoyable, but as a book simply not for me. I am a little bummed that coming off the show I didn’t enjoy the book as much but I don’t think it takes away from the significance of its popularity and the impact the story has had on audiences. This was a story that to me was born to be on screen, and I will still gladly rewatch the show and fall in love with Shane and Ilya all over again.