One thing that’s helped this frigid winter feel more bearable? A sweeping warm front from the north in the form of the steamy gay hockey romance series “Heated Rivalry,” based on the “Game Changers” book series by Rachel Reid. Produced by Canadian streamer Crave before it was picked up by HBO Max just ahead of its November release, the eight-episode show chronicles the slow-build love story between rival pro hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov (played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, respectively).
At first glance, the premise might seem about as deep as a hockey rink: Shy and focused Shane from Canada and puckish and troubled Ilya from Russia knock ice skates in private while maintaining the public image of nemeses for the macho pro-sports world. But the show has found a vast audience, offering proof that quiet, beautiful character studies can draw viewers. And that people are fired-up for queer love stories. While you await the recently announced second season, check out these other queer romance-forward shows and films to keep that spark going.
Everything Sucks!
This “Freaks and Geeks”-esque 1996-set series sees teenagers in a sleepy Oregon community grappling with their queer identities, mental health, and the mess that is high school. Spot a pre-“Euphoria” Sydney Sweeney in this comedy that’s heaps less emotionally devastating than the HBO drama. Netflix.
Though set during the harrowing early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis, this miniseries still manages to blaze with joy, friendship, and found family as a group of young gay men moves to London in 1981 to start new lives. HBO Max.
A League of Their Own
The eight-episode comedy-drama reboots the beloved 1992 women’s baseball movie of the same name, and expands the story to include issues of race in sports. The plot turns the film’s queer subtext into full-on text as characters grapple with how to live their truest lives in stifling 1940s America. Prime Video.
Sweet, somewhat naïve, and unlucky in love Patrick (Jonathan Groff) and his twenty- and thirty-something pals navigate queer love in this San Francisco-set comedy-drama. Hindsight paints this one — which was unfairly compared to “Sex and the City” during its short run — as a thoughtful portrait of modern love on and off the apps. HBO Max.
Overcompensating
High school football star Benny, played by comic Benito Skinner in his breakout role, white-knuckles through an identity crisis during his first semester in college. Cue the absurdist frat hijinks and cringe, tempered by surprising moments of friendship as he wrestles with the closet door. Prime Video.
The classic enemies-to-lovers romance trope gets a refresh in this flick, based on the hit novel by Casey McQuiston, which sees sparks fly between the son of the first female American president and a British prince. A “very special relationship,” indeed. First they verbally spar, then comes the (surprisingly realistic) steam. Prime Video.
Saving Face
What’s a closeted young Chinese-American surgeon to do when her tradition-minded pregnant mother unexpectedly moves in? Naturally, in this sweet rom-com, she pursues a secret relationship with a modern dancer and tries to drum up the courage to tell her mother the truth about herself. Prime Video.