Any way you want it
Today: Science journalist, columnist, podcast host, and science fiction writer Annalee Newitz, author of Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind, The Terraformers, and the recently published Automatic Noodle.
Issue No. 489
‘Heated Rivalry’ Gives Everyone Permission
Annalee Newitz
‘Heated Rivalry’ Gives Everyone Permission
by Annalee Newitz
Not since I discovered Star Trek: The Next Generation have I fallen as hard for a show as I did for gay hockey series Heated Rivalry. It’s not merely the show, however; it’s the glorious fandom, which amplifies and extends the latent meanings in the story, creating community around a sequence of fictional events. Even Mayor Zohran Mamdani recognized this recently, when he encouraged New Yorkers to stay home during the January ice storm and take advantage of the New York Public Library’s offer of waitlist-free access to the books that Heated Rivalry is based on.
What exactly is this show? Saying that it’s about a years-long closeted fuckfest between pro hockey players is like saying that Star Trek is about people driving a spaceship around the galaxy. Heated Rivalry is about love in a time of danger; it’s about figuring out who you are while under the constant hostile surveillance that comes with fame and social media. Most importantly, the show presents a permission structure for expressing desires that our culture rejects.
I think this is why Heated Rivalry has become such a mesmerizing narrative in dark times, breaking out of the margins of romance fandom to become a mainstream hit in North America and beyond. It is a show that encourages us to fall in love—and, in the process, to reimagine ourselves and the world.
The Letterkenny connection
I believe we enter new fandoms through doors that are already cracked open. In the case of Heated Rivalry, some came to the show because they were already fans of Rachel Reid’s books, or of romance fiction more broadly. Some were fans of hot male-on-male action, while others were diehard hockey fans.
And a few, like myself, came to the show through one of the lesser-known alleyways. I was a fan of Heated Rivalry creator and writer Jacob Tierney, whose work on the Canadian cult comedy Letterkenny had long ago won my heart and undying loyalty. When other fans ask if I’m more of an Ilya or a Shane, my answer is: “Um, I’m more of a … Jacob?”
Tierney was a co-developer, writer, and director on the 12-season series about life in the tiny Ontario town of Letterkenny. He also played the part of Pastor Glen, the extremely chaotic and closeted fem foil to the show’s hyper-masc, stoic farmer Wayne (played by Letterkenny creator and writer Jared Keeso).
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