How Ottawa became the unlikely star of a gay hockey romance
In a twist that may be as improbable as the success of the show itself, the city of Ottawa — boring Ottawa! — is now at the centre of a cultural phenomenon that’s dominating streaming services and social-media chatter internationally, and especially in the U.S.Heated Rivalry, the gay hockey romance created by Montreal-native Jacob Tierney for Bell Media’s Crave, is a smash hit in Canada and south of the border, where it is carried by HBO Max. The series follows the secret, on-again, off-again, on-again relationship between two professional hockey players, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, as they pursue high-flying careers on the ice — and each other.