Heated Rivalry News
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Rachel Reid on “pairings that shouldn’t happen” and are “not going to happen” but still “live in her head”: Moderator: Do you have any scenes that you may never write but live in your head? Rachel: Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like, sexual pairings that shouldn't happen on page. You know, for various combinations. Like, I think there's a lot of tension between Ilya and Troy and also between Ilya and Scott... But I keep telling myself, “This is not the story. You can’t tease this if it's not going to happen. So don't tease it.” 🗣️ Rachel Reid & BJ Colangelo in LA, October 4, 2026 🎥 via coollongethemenace | ✍️🏻transcription by Heated Rivalry News
Heated Rivalry News72,101 Aufrufe • vor 2 Tagen
Rachel Reid says Connor and Hudson’s reaction to the filming of Skip's epic on-ice kiss encapsulates the "vibes on set" of Heated Rivalry: Rachel: One of the things that really struck me—and I wasn't there that day, but I think everybody's probably seen the video of Connor and Hudson watching you guys film that kiss from up at the top of the stands. And they both start crying when you guys kiss. And I'm like, I feel like that's the best capsule of the vibes on set. Because they're watching it from afar. They're watching you do it several times, probably. And they also don't really know what's going on in your storyline. Like, they weren't there for any of that, so this is all they've seen. Robbie: Yea like, “That’s cute, who are those two people?” Rachel: And they just cry anyway! They’re just so moved by it. 🗣️Rachel Reid and Robbie G.K. in Montreal, September 28, 2026 ✍️🏻transcription by Heated Rivalry News 1⃣ gen_laurin_mtl | 2⃣ CraveCanada |
Heated Rivalry News107,782 Aufrufe • vor 8 Tagen
![Jacob Tierney talks about “boring” and “fuck you” meaning “I love you” for Shane and Ilya. 'A really good friend of mine—a person who reads my scripts who's a brilliant novelist named Rainbow Rowell—she read the first episode and she said to me… “just remember that every ‘fuck you’ is ‘I love you,’ and maybe you're saying ‘fuck you’ too many times.” And I was like oh, that's such a good call. That's a great call. Because it was just a reminder of all of the things they say to each other that are not ‘I love you’ and that are not— Boring, you know, when Ilya calls Shane boring, he's saying he's in love with him. And he's not boring, [Ilya] is endlessly fascinated by Shane. And the only way he can communicate that is by making fun of him and calling him boring, because anything else would rip his soul out through his face. Like that's the idea, and so even the words we use to obfuscate matter, you know?' (via live Q&A with Stage 32 on March 24, 2026)](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2036623859860816272/amplify_video_thumb/2036623755380658176/img/UmOmoZgk1weOWKU0.jpg)
Jacob Tierney talks about “boring” and “fuck you” meaning “I love you” for Shane and Ilya. 'A really good friend of mine—a person who reads my scripts who's a brilliant novelist named Rainbow Rowell—she read the first episode and she said to me… “just remember that every ‘fuck you’ is ‘I love you,’ and maybe you're saying ‘fuck you’ too many times.” And I was like oh, that's such a good call. That's a great call. Because it was just a reminder of all of the things they say to each other that are not ‘I love you’ and that are not— Boring, you know, when Ilya calls Shane boring, he's saying he's in love with him. And he's not boring, [Ilya] is endlessly fascinated by Shane. And the only way he can communicate that is by making fun of him and calling him boring, because anything else would rip his soul out through his face. Like that's the idea, and so even the words we use to obfuscate matter, you know?' (via live Q&A with Stage 32 on March 24, 2026)
Heated Rivalry News1,489,560 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten
Shane Howlander and Ilya Ruffanov on kiss cam at the NHL's Stanley Pup!
Heated Rivalry News756,929 Aufrufe • vor 3 Monaten
Jacob Tierney's annotations for "mangetout," as featured in "Olympians," from the upcoming B&N exclusive of The Making of Heated Rivalry: "God, I love this song. I first heard it on NPR's Tiny Desk, and I just fell so hard. What a band, what a vibe. It felt like the alt-rock that I loved growing up—sexy, smart, go fuck yourself, like Wet Leg could have opened for R.E.M. on the Monster tour! The song instantly felt like Ilya." "When I was choosing a song for a montage like the one that opens episode 2, I wanted energy first and foremost. Wet Leg's energy made me want to bottle it, learn it, and then share it with everyone I know. I played so many people this song. I would ask them, 'Have you heard this? Do you know this band ?!' I became an evangelist. It took me a moment to realize why-but then it hit me. This is Ilya's song." "'You think I'm pretty, you think I'm pretty cool/You wanna fuck me, I know most people do.' Chef's kiss. No Notes. "mangetout" reminded me why rock and roll is still the absolute best vehicle for attitude." 🔗
Heated Rivalry News152,778 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Shaheen Jafargholi is “super, super honored" to be joining Heated Rivalry. 🎥 swooondotcom |
Heated Rivalry News66,853 Aufrufe • vor 13 Tagen
Rachel Reid on the storyline for Unrivaled: “I've said it before, it's going to pick up basically where The Long Game left off, so you didn't miss anything. It’s set in 2021, so that's something I have to keep remembering. But yeah, it's their first season playing together on the same team. They're married. Everybody knows about their relationship. There's so many things that are brand new for them. So where The Long Game, it seemed like a big happy ending for them. But as I kept thinking about it, in the years since it came out, it's really the start of a whole new, kind of weird era of their life that is totally brand new for them. And it isn't going to be totally smooth. So yeah, we're going to see them together a lot instead of grabbing time here and there. There's going to be some bad luck--not everybody loves that two hockey players are married together on the same team. But some people really love it. And I think we're going to see a lot of support for them, but also a lot of the other stuff. Yeah, I don't know, I think it's going to be fun. I'm not going to drag Shane and Ilya through hell, you know, that's not the point of the book. They've been through enough. 🗣️ Rachel Reid x Spotify event, May 13, 2026 ▶️ ✍🏼 transcription by Heated Rivalry News (please credit if reposting)
Heated Rivalry News280,640 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
![Short clips and quotes of Rachel Reid and Ngozi Ukazu from popverse BookCon’s “You Had Me at Hockey” panel this morning: Rachel:…I'm not a good planner. I wrote each book as if it might be the last one in the series. And then when it wasn’t, I had to try to fit everything in. Thankfully, I have really great fans who created this kind of online series bible for me. Which I also sent to Jacob! I appreciate it, it’s great. Because I need to look up things like, their player numbers, birthdays, heights, stuff like that. It’s very, very helpful." 🏒 🏒 🏒 Ngozi: " …I think a fully realized character of color in a hockey novel is one where we're not only inhabiting that point of view, but we're talking about those barriers. We're coming up against them in complex, messy ways. But to be honest, I'm a little—I'm less interested in this idea of inclusion and representation, and I'm becoming more invested in the idea of centering [audience applause]. I think in my future projects—I'm working on another volume of Check, Please! [audience applause]. And I don't think I'd be able to do it, if it was focusing primarily on white characters. We have a biracial character and an Asian character and another character who's from a like, blue-collar socioeconomic class. And yeah, I think my projects going forward, I'm less interested in inclusion and more on centering, even though I have one more shift in the white boy yaoi mines." ▶️ videos via arkh4m_ | threads 🗣️ quotes via “You Had Me at Hockey” panel on April 19, 2026 ✍🏼 transcription via heatedrivalnews (please credit if reposting)](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2046037441769787419/amplify_video_thumb/2046035527086878720/img/mQt2W6GMBU5QMzrW.jpg)
Short clips and quotes of Rachel Reid and Ngozi Ukazu from popverse BookCon’s “You Had Me at Hockey” panel this morning: Rachel:…I'm not a good planner. I wrote each book as if it might be the last one in the series. And then when it wasn’t, I had to try to fit everything in. Thankfully, I have really great fans who created this kind of online series bible for me. Which I also sent to Jacob! I appreciate it, it’s great. Because I need to look up things like, their player numbers, birthdays, heights, stuff like that. It’s very, very helpful." 🏒 🏒 🏒 Ngozi: " …I think a fully realized character of color in a hockey novel is one where we're not only inhabiting that point of view, but we're talking about those barriers. We're coming up against them in complex, messy ways. But to be honest, I'm a little—I'm less interested in this idea of inclusion and representation, and I'm becoming more invested in the idea of centering [audience applause]. I think in my future projects—I'm working on another volume of Check, Please! [audience applause]. And I don't think I'd be able to do it, if it was focusing primarily on white characters. We have a biracial character and an Asian character and another character who's from a like, blue-collar socioeconomic class. And yeah, I think my projects going forward, I'm less interested in inclusion and more on centering, even though I have one more shift in the white boy yaoi mines." ▶️ videos via arkh4m_ | threads 🗣️ quotes via “You Had Me at Hockey” panel on April 19, 2026 ✍🏼 transcription via heatedrivalnews (please credit if reposting)
Heated Rivalry News245,914 Aufrufe • vor 5 Monaten
Ksenia confirms she’s read scripts for season two and Rachel promises a “happy ever after” for Unrivaled: Interviewer: How excited are you to head back to the set for season two? Ksenia: I'm very excited for season two and for everything it has in store. I can't say anything, you guys know I can't say anything! But I'm excited. Interviewer: Have you read the scripts yet? Ksenia: Maybe. Maybe I have, maybe I have. I have. Rachel: I think this upcoming season is going to be very, very good. Interviewer: Everyone is super excited for your next book. I know it's coming out in 2027, is there anything you can tease? Because people want to know what's going to happen to Shane and Ilya. Rachel: They're going to be teammates for the first time. They're together, and the world knows about them. It's going to pick up right where The Long Game left off, so you didn't miss anything. And it's going to be a nice happy ending for them, a happy ever after. 🗣️ THR Women in Entertainment Canada, May 28, 2026 🎥 Etalk: ✍️🏻 transcription by Heated Rivalry News
Heated Rivalry News172,978 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
![Jacob Tierney on the music budget for season two: "It's like half a Taylor Swift song is the budget per episode. And listen, I have the same budget for next season, but what I have now is goodwill. People who want to be on the show, that’s the thing that has changed. The music that is being sent to us. The people—the artists—who have reached out and have been like, "Please use my song." [Joking voice] You always kind of want to pitch to a musician where you're like, "Well, if you give me your song for $5,000, then like, maybe eight new people will hear it." And then this time, it's like, look what the fuck happened to Wolf Parade. And look what happened to Feist. And look what happened to Harrison. And look what's happened to Peter. It’s just, there's so many examples where you're like this is [shrugs]. Like I just had lunch with Wet Leg, and they were like, “It changed everything for this album.” And I was like, “That's fucking amazing.” “Look at these songs that are 20 years old in some cases and are at the top of the streaming charts. People watch the show, and they like the music, so it is a bigger platform… But we don’t have more money.” ✳️ 🗣️ Inside the Sound of Heated Rivalry, May 7, 2026. ▶️ ✍🏼transcription by Heated Rivalry News ✳️ Final paragraph via Canadian Press:](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2054022217655034241/amplify_video_thumb/2054022140286926848/img/yx1IduouwQhROqDl.jpg)
Jacob Tierney on the music budget for season two: "It's like half a Taylor Swift song is the budget per episode. And listen, I have the same budget for next season, but what I have now is goodwill. People who want to be on the show, that’s the thing that has changed. The music that is being sent to us. The people—the artists—who have reached out and have been like, "Please use my song." [Joking voice] You always kind of want to pitch to a musician where you're like, "Well, if you give me your song for $5,000, then like, maybe eight new people will hear it." And then this time, it's like, look what the fuck happened to Wolf Parade. And look what happened to Feist. And look what happened to Harrison. And look what's happened to Peter. It’s just, there's so many examples where you're like this is [shrugs]. Like I just had lunch with Wet Leg, and they were like, “It changed everything for this album.” And I was like, “That's fucking amazing.” “Look at these songs that are 20 years old in some cases and are at the top of the streaming charts. People watch the show, and they like the music, so it is a bigger platform… But we don’t have more money.” ✳️ 🗣️ Inside the Sound of Heated Rivalry, May 7, 2026. ▶️ ✍🏼transcription by Heated Rivalry News ✳️ Final paragraph via Canadian Press:
Heated Rivalry News168,725 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
![Rachel and Jacob talking about season two having "more hockey": Jacob: You know what's funny, there is more hockey in the new season. Rachel: There is, no, I noticed that. Jacob: Yeah, yea me too. You know who else did, my first AD [assistant director]. He was like, "What are we doing?" Rachel: The actors are going to be thrilled. Jacob: They don't love that part. (via etalkctv | instagram)](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2060107110088835153/amplify_video_thumb/2060107044653297665/img/ki3MCHIfN6Z-2SEB.jpg)
Rachel and Jacob talking about season two having "more hockey": Jacob: You know what's funny, there is more hockey in the new season. Rachel: There is, no, I noticed that. Jacob: Yeah, yea me too. You know who else did, my first AD [assistant director]. He was like, "What are we doing?" Rachel: The actors are going to be thrilled. Jacob: They don't love that part. (via etalkctv | instagram)
Heated Rivalry News150,996 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
Jacob Tierney's annotations for "Sea Lion Woman," as featured in "Rookies," from the upcoming B&N exclusive of The Making of Heated Rivalry: "Growing up, my musical taste was deeply impacted by my father's taste. There was no one in the world who meant more to him than Nina Simone. I was lucky enough in my early 20s to see Ms. Simone on her last tour, and she was astounding. She played 10 songs 45 minutes of genius, and as soon as the last note was played on "My Baby Just Cares for Me," she said: 'That's it! Go home!'" "I was always in love with Feist's reimagining of this song. The propulsive rhythm of it is perfect for suspense: a bit of pounding, a bit of humor, so much soul. We actually didn't think of using this song until late in the process, but once we placed it, I knew I had to have it. It felt absolutely right for this excitable, delicate moment for Shane and Ilya's first purposeful one-on-one meeting." 🔗
Heated Rivalry News36,385 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
![Hudson Williams answers a question from Rachel Reid on what it was like to step back into his role as Shane Hollander for season two of Heated Rivalry: 'It is surreal, you know? 'Connor and I were talking about it the closer the date got to shooting this thing. 'We’re like, “This is very surreal. We’re gonna be kissing each other, brother! I’m going to be doing a fucking Russian accent to you!” 'And I’m like, “I know, it’s crazy! I’m gonna be doing my little thing [holds arms stiffly], and he’ll do his thing [moves arms freely].” 'It was hard to wrap our heads around. But we were both very [confident], possibly overconfident, that we were like, “We know the characters like the back of our hands. We’re gonna show up, and it’s just gonna be Ilya and Shane, right back!” 'And then he worked true day one. I worked day two of shooting. [To self] Don’t spoil anything. Don’t spoil anything. 'He came back, and he was like— I don’t think he’d mind I said this— 'But he was like, “It was sort of weird. They were all so good that I was like, ‘Am I good? Am I in it? Am I doing the thing? Or am I doing an impression of Ilya?’” ... 'But I heard [Connor] say that, and I was like, “Okay chump.” Like I’m gonna show up, and Shane’s gonna come back like that. 'And then I showed up, and I was doing the scene, …and I was like, “Oh god, oh god? Am I doing a Shane impression?” 'I was like, “Oh, I’m losing it, I’m losing it! Uhhh Shane. I am—!” So then I came back, and I was like, “I had the same thing. I think I was terrible.” And he’s like, “Right? Right?” 'But then after our first day ones, it came back, thankfully. Because Jacob does a really good job of making the set feel as tiny as it was in season one. It’s all the same crew, which is really great. 'But it was surreal to step into it.' 🗣️ Making Waves With... Hudson Williams at TIFF, September 17, 2026 ▶️ ✍🏼 transcription by Heated Rivalry News](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2100753310340849887/amplify_video_thumb/2100753106833195008/img/SfgE4nuXpTSWmHlw.jpg)
Hudson Williams answers a question from Rachel Reid on what it was like to step back into his role as Shane Hollander for season two of Heated Rivalry: 'It is surreal, you know? 'Connor and I were talking about it the closer the date got to shooting this thing. 'We’re like, “This is very surreal. We’re gonna be kissing each other, brother! I’m going to be doing a fucking Russian accent to you!” 'And I’m like, “I know, it’s crazy! I’m gonna be doing my little thing [holds arms stiffly], and he’ll do his thing [moves arms freely].” 'It was hard to wrap our heads around. But we were both very [confident], possibly overconfident, that we were like, “We know the characters like the back of our hands. We’re gonna show up, and it’s just gonna be Ilya and Shane, right back!” 'And then he worked true day one. I worked day two of shooting. [To self] Don’t spoil anything. Don’t spoil anything. 'He came back, and he was like— I don’t think he’d mind I said this— 'But he was like, “It was sort of weird. They were all so good that I was like, ‘Am I good? Am I in it? Am I doing the thing? Or am I doing an impression of Ilya?’” ... 'But I heard [Connor] say that, and I was like, “Okay chump.” Like I’m gonna show up, and Shane’s gonna come back like that. 'And then I showed up, and I was doing the scene, …and I was like, “Oh god, oh god? Am I doing a Shane impression?” 'I was like, “Oh, I’m losing it, I’m losing it! Uhhh Shane. I am—!” So then I came back, and I was like, “I had the same thing. I think I was terrible.” And he’s like, “Right? Right?” 'But then after our first day ones, it came back, thankfully. Because Jacob does a really good job of making the set feel as tiny as it was in season one. It’s all the same crew, which is really great. 'But it was surreal to step into it.' 🗣️ Making Waves With... Hudson Williams at TIFF, September 17, 2026 ▶️ ✍🏼 transcription by Heated Rivalry News
Heated Rivalry News23,882 Aufrufe • vor 19 Tagen
![Jacob Tierney discusses the demanding physicality of Connor and Hudson's Heated Rivalry roles. "What I always knew about this show—and what I like in general—is behavior is more interesting to me than dialogue. Especially with characters like [Shane and Ilya] who are almost never talking about the topic. They are talking around things. They are full of bluster. They are bragging or showing off or being defensive. … So it's way more about their behavior. It was so much more physical, what I would tell them to do. Because I was like—this dialogue, this scene is like 2½ pages, and not one thing you're saying matters. I don't care about it. What I care about is what your body is doing up against that wall, and when you decide to approach him, and the way you're going to touch him, and at what point. And when you're going to let him off the hook emotionally or when you're going to hook him emotionally. That stuff is so much more important, and that you pace in around what is written. And that is deeply physical. The best acting to me is always physical and the best platform you can give an actor—as a writer, I think—is physical stuff… I want to see what your body is doing. Your body will tell me more than your words ever will. Your eyes will tell me more. But like, especially with these characters, because they're athletes too. It's like physicality will be everything. And that was also why these roles were so demanding, you know? There's the physicality of the intimacy, and then there's the physicality of the hockey. Everything is physical in this story." Transcription via Heated Rivalry News & Updates Quote via Q&A with Stage 32 on March 24, 2026](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2036650688097169526/amplify_video_thumb/2036649857503666176/img/H_IClvNiwViGNaq1.jpg)
Jacob Tierney discusses the demanding physicality of Connor and Hudson's Heated Rivalry roles. "What I always knew about this show—and what I like in general—is behavior is more interesting to me than dialogue. Especially with characters like [Shane and Ilya] who are almost never talking about the topic. They are talking around things. They are full of bluster. They are bragging or showing off or being defensive. … So it's way more about their behavior. It was so much more physical, what I would tell them to do. Because I was like—this dialogue, this scene is like 2½ pages, and not one thing you're saying matters. I don't care about it. What I care about is what your body is doing up against that wall, and when you decide to approach him, and the way you're going to touch him, and at what point. And when you're going to let him off the hook emotionally or when you're going to hook him emotionally. That stuff is so much more important, and that you pace in around what is written. And that is deeply physical. The best acting to me is always physical and the best platform you can give an actor—as a writer, I think—is physical stuff… I want to see what your body is doing. Your body will tell me more than your words ever will. Your eyes will tell me more. But like, especially with these characters, because they're athletes too. It's like physicality will be everything. And that was also why these roles were so demanding, you know? There's the physicality of the intimacy, and then there's the physicality of the hockey. Everything is physical in this story." Transcription via Heated Rivalry News & Updates Quote via Q&A with Stage 32 on March 24, 2026
Heated Rivalry News & Updates155,866 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten
The Best of Jane and Lily 👩❤️👩 "Look, it’s exactly what it says on the video: just a compilation of Jane and Lily being their usual selves. No famous hockey players here, just two people sending completely standard, definitely-not-suspicious texts to one another." (via heatedrivalryoncrave | YouTube)
Heated Rivalry News47,709 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
![Jacob Tierney talks about telling "a human story" and the decision to release the first two episodes of Heated Rivalry simultaneously: 'You know the truth is, it was so important to me that episodes one and two dropped at the same time because it was so clear to me—we’re building to Shane not sending that text, “We didn't even kiss.” And I knew that when I wrote that— Because that was an inner monologue in the book, and he was like, “I can't believe we didn't even kiss.” And I underlined it, and I was like, that's the thing I need to express here. That’s the perfect little moment. That tells you everything you need to know about this, is that all [Shane] thought about that whole time was kissing [Ilya]. And that takes—It does this, it does a complete flip to the sex… that can feel salacious or that can feel like, “oh my we're seeing so many butts!” And you're like no, this is just a reminder of here's where we're going and here's where we're coming from, you know? It’s like, what do they want? They want a human connection. They want intimacy.” Source - Live Q&A with Stage 32 on March 24, 2026:](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2036607428351963602/amplify_video_thumb/2036604982993039360/img/F4w0GN9jqlN6vl9J.jpg)
Jacob Tierney talks about telling "a human story" and the decision to release the first two episodes of Heated Rivalry simultaneously: 'You know the truth is, it was so important to me that episodes one and two dropped at the same time because it was so clear to me—we’re building to Shane not sending that text, “We didn't even kiss.” And I knew that when I wrote that— Because that was an inner monologue in the book, and he was like, “I can't believe we didn't even kiss.” And I underlined it, and I was like, that's the thing I need to express here. That’s the perfect little moment. That tells you everything you need to know about this, is that all [Shane] thought about that whole time was kissing [Ilya]. And that takes—It does this, it does a complete flip to the sex… that can feel salacious or that can feel like, “oh my we're seeing so many butts!” And you're like no, this is just a reminder of here's where we're going and here's where we're coming from, you know? It’s like, what do they want? They want a human connection. They want intimacy.” Source - Live Q&A with Stage 32 on March 24, 2026:
Heated Rivalry News127,448 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten
