Christmas was Hockey
Heated Rivalry started in November. Not to be dismissive, but the promos were Shane and Ilya. When it comes to romance novels turned tv shows, I don’t care about 22-year olds. I noted it and watched something else.
Around early December I started to see posts about this show all over social media. When Anne Rice’s son starts talking about this show like it’s the best thing since sliced bread, you pay attention. Christopher Rice is mostly moved by reruns of Knot’s Landing and Dynasty, why was some teen show hooking him?
Then this photo started showing up everywhere on Instagram.
What in the name of Cesare Borgia? I didn’t know he was on this show. Gifted with the flu this past week I binged it.
Hollander and Rosanov are the stars. We meet them as teens and the first season spans like a decade. Look at them. They’re adorable and I cared nothing for their relationship because I never thought there were any stakes. I was just worried they’d try to kill each other out on the ice.
By episode 2, I thought Scott Hunter was just a mentor and we wouldn’t see him much, then episode 3 started.
The episode opens with the star of the NY hockey team (Scott) walking into a smoothie bar and hitting on the barista (Kip). It immediately struck fear in my heart. I didn’t know where they were going, I don’t trust Cesare, but I was rooting for Kip to come out of this alive.
Episode 3 was a total lifetime in a span of an hour and the best episode of this series. Topped only by the ending of season 5 when Scott wins the cup and brings Kip out on the ice with him.
I’m watching the season finale now while I write about this because Ilya and Shane are out at the cottage and they’re fine.
Judging by the posts I see, half the audience are millennial women. I wanted to know what the audience thought of Scott. I saw a post from a very young male Gen Z’er who posted about my favorite episode, “So proud of our forefathers for paving the way.” Are 80’s babies forefathers now? If these children only knew that almost 15 years ago, Francois Arnaud had the Northern Hemisphere on the edge of their seats on a random Sunday night waiting for something that topped everything on Heated Rivalry.
Which brings us back to the question, why are millennium women obsessing over this hockey show? I think it’s because there’s no drama. It’s all the good stuff, without the noise. Fun to watch, but hard not to hear the silent part. Is the narrative that we’re the problem? This Christmas morning, women across the country woke up and posted about their anxiety over whether a NHL star would get his happily ever after. This is where our energy is going.
I’m writing about this because it feels like the early 2000’s again. The boys are showing up to tell us how to live and be happy again. They disappeared a bit after the 2008 crash and the next decade was rough, but the programming lately has been like a beacon across the night sky.
There’s 10Dance on Netflix. Will just came out on Stranger Things. Then there’s hockey. I’m heading into 2026 like I’m the same teenage girl that hero worshipped Brian Kinney. Taking life advice from gay professional athletes and ballroom dancers. Then, like now, it might be the wrong tactic, but I’m loving the energy.
Are we remembering better days or do we just want it to be the early 2000’s again? I miss this energy. It was just better fashion, better music, and a lot more fun. I hope we get back to this because the roaring 20’s have been a slog.