In recent years, romcoms like Heartstopper and Love, Simon have centered on multidimensional queer characters, providing much-needed media representation for queer people that goes beyond the worn-out trope of the ‘gay best friend’. The latest in this trend is the hit TV show Heated Rivalry, a six-episode drama which follows two rival captains in professional hockey as they navigate their secret relationship.
While some have criticized the erotic aspect of Heated Rivalry, arguing that it could contribute to the hypersexualization of queer people, many others argue that it lent depth and emotional intimacy to the storyline. “There’s a lot of sex scenes, but the overall romance plot was nice for me to watch as a straight woman because I got to witness romance without any undertones of misogyny,” said Siwoo Rhie (‘26). Shane Meritt (‘26) echoed this sentiment about the appeal of fictitious relationships, reflecting that the show “serves as a form of escapism. And I think that’s okay.” Based on a YA romance novel, the show is rated TV-MA for its copious sex scenes.
For many fans of the show, this was the first TV series they watched that featured queer protagonists. The show serves as a breakthrough in normalizing queer presence in film. However, the show isn’t perfect in its representation. While a certain level of fitness is required to be a professional hockey player, Heated Rivalry’s conventionally masculine cast simply doesn’t capture the full diversity within the LGBTQ+ community, or even the gay male community.
Nevertheless, the majority of the show’s audience doesn’t think it should have to. “I feel like gay representation has evolved so much that we’re in a period where we can move past just accepting [any representation at all],” said Meritt.
mainstream media, so too should the breadth of diverse LGBTQ+ characters. And what about women? Queer romance shows have almost unanimously focused on gay male relationships, meaning that we’re overdue for a mainstream show about a lesbian couple. “I’ve been trying to find more sapphic stories through the media, but it’s really hard, and there aren’t that many,” says Gretel Osha Proudman (‘29). She did, however, find First Kill, a popular Netflix Original sapphic vampire TV series. The show received high ratings and high viewership stats, but to her dismay, it was cancelled after just one season. Furthermore, according to a poll of 54 students at the School, over two-thirds of Heated Rivalry’s audience identified as female, whereas less than a quarter of respondents identified as male. If Heated Rivalry can attract an audience who don’t necessarily see themselves in the show, then a parallel show focused on a lesbian love story can find mainstream success as well.
Still, Heated Rivalry’s focus on dismantling the heteronormativity of men’s hockey provides much-needed representation. While there are dozens of queer athletes in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, professional men’s ice hockey has only two publicly LGBTQ+ players. Thus, Heated Rivalry’s success brings a positive model of queerness to an area that needs it.Heated Rivalry has made progress in bringing more LGBTQ+ stories to TV, but it shouldn’t be the only mainstream show tasked with representing the entire queer community.