In just a few episodes Heated Rivalry became a HBO show that got the world talking, largely thanks to its steamy sex scenes. The book to screen adaptation (which is steaming with a HBO Max subscription), had had plenty of love scenes, and creator Jacob Tierney recently opened up to his approach to those sequences, as well as rumors that Kip and Scott's ended up getting cut. Let's break it all down.
Heated Rivalry is giving queer folks their own smutty TV show, with the show following two different gay couples who are struggling to deal with their love in the midst of the professional Hockey scene. The show's love scenes are a big reason why it turned so many heads at first, and in a conversation with EW Tierney addressed the way he approached the show's inherent "horny" nature. In his words:
We were very aware we're making a horny show. Let it be horny. Enjoy! That's part of the fun of this, right? That's also part of the reaction we're seeing here, is that this show is different because of that. Sex is not supposed to be trauma here, and that was something I really wanted to avoid. I want it to be beautiful.
Point were made. Over the past few years there's been a ton of discourse about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Historically many queer stories have been tragic, which is not something that Tierney wanted Heated Rivalry to be. The books are notoriously steamy, and he wanted to make sure that the sex sequences in the TV version were more horny and less traumatic. Anyone who watches the show knows that's exactly what we got.
Ilya and Shane's first sex scene definitely tuned up the heat, and actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie were all over each other throughout Season 1. But Scott Hunter actor François Arnaud also claimed that he and Kip actor Robbie G.K. shot sex scenes for days, despite them not having nearly as much naked screen time in their capsule episode. In the same interview, Tierney addressed this claim, saying:
He didn't. He's lying. I mean, he's not lying. He's being an actor. His two days were like one afternoon. We did shoot more than what was in there. Sweet François. As soon as I saw the interview, I was like, 'People are gonna fucking come at me now.' ... I texted him, 'What are you talking about?' He was like, 'Didn't we?' And I was like, 'No, we didn't.'
That certainly clears things up. While we did miss out on some extra footage from that scene, they definitely didn't shoot two full days of sex scenes. Still, I have to assume that the hardcore Heated Rivalry fanbase is going to be campaigning to see what was left on the cutting room floor for Scott and Kip.
Heated Rivalry debuted its season finale on Christmas, but luckily the show has already been renewed for Season 2. Fans can watch the first season in its entirety over on HBO Max as part of the 2025 TV schedule.
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