Fans have been waiting for months to see how the Heated Rivalry show would stack up against the books, and good news: it’s an extremely faithful adaptation that doesn’t shy away from the intense yearning, intimacy, and extremely hot and explicit gay sex between the two main characters.
The rivals-to-lovers story follows a years-long romance between closeted gay Canadian player Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and closeted bisexual Russian hockey star Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). The two men first meet when they are gearing up for their rookie year, and they have instant chemistry that translates into years of secret trysts and repressed desire before they start falling for each other.
Despite the adaptation closely following Rachel Reid’s book, even pulling most of the dialogue directly from the novel, there are a few changes from page to screen. Some were made for budgetary reasons, some to condense the timeline, and others likely for clarity, but don’t get us wrong, this is still a loving tribute to the book.
So, for those of you who have yet to read the book (Seriously, what are you doing? Get on that asap!), or if it’s been a while, here are the changes the show made.
Heated Rivarly is currently streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. and Crave in Canada.
Hockey team names
Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander
Crave Canada
When we first meet Shane and Ilya in the book, we learn that Shane is playing for the Montreal Voyageurs and Ilya is on the Boston Bears. The show couldn’t use these names so they had to change them to the Montreal Metros and Boston Raiders.
Ilya Rozanov’s look
Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander¢
Crave Canada
In the book, Ilya is described as being much taller than Shane at 6 feet 3 inches tall, but in real life, Storrie is around the same height as Williams. He is also missing Ilya’s signature bear tattoo on his chest — though this was likely changed because the show had to switch up the names of the hockey teams.
Despite looking different than he was described in the book, Storrie perfectly embodies the character and after seeing the way he smolders at Shane or how caked up the actor is, fans don’t really seem to mind.
Shane’s apartment building
In the book, we learn that Shane purchased an entire apartment building so that he and Ilya can have a private place to hook up. This shows us just how deep Shane has fallen despite refusing to admit it to himself, while Ilya becomes frustrated over the course of the book that he never gets to see inside Shane’s real bedroom.
But when the two men meet up at Shane’s apartment in the show, it’s Shane’s actual apartment and not just one he bought specifically for their trysts. It’s a shame that it had to be cut for financial reasons because in the book, this perfectly encapsulates the push and pull Shane feels between wanting Ilya and his fear of getting caught, and shows Ilya’s desire to know more about Shane.
The prologue
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In the prologue of the book, we get a scene in the future where Ilya and Shane are already hooking up on the regular. This time, they meet up at Shane’s apartment building for a rendezvous that leads to the pair having sex and then continuing the fun in the shower, where they give each other blow jobs. The show starts the timeline when the boys meet for the first time, so although we haven’t gotten this scene so far, that doesn’t mean it won’t show up at some point. The trailer shows a hot and steamy shower scene, so we may get it in a later episode.
Early O scene
The first time they have sex in the building Shane bought for them, Shane goes down on Ilya and is so turned on that he manages to have a hands-free orgasm. This scene is changed in the shows so that instead of it happening while going down on Ilya, Shane climaxes while being topped and then teases Shane about it later.
In the book, the scene is both hot and hilarious, and gives us a glimpse into how close the two rivals have gotten despite their best efforts not to. After it happens, Ilya laughs at him, and Shane tells him to shut up, “But Ilya laughed harder,” Rachel Reid writes in the book. “He laughed until Hollander joined in, and then they were both holding each other and laughing until they were wiping tears from their eyes.”
Texting
Crave Canada
The second episode of the show opens with time jumps that span two years, punctuated by Ilya and Shane texting each other, but never shows them meeting up. In the book, the longest they ever go without hooking up is between the Olympics and when they have sex in Las Vegas. This change doesn’t really detract from the story and allows them to be able to condense the book into a six-episode show. Plus, it means we got to see Ilya’s hilarious texts on screen, including some new additions that weren’t in the book.
Russian phrase
In the book, Shane hears Ilya say something in Russian while they’re having sex for the first time in Las Vegas, but doesn’t know what it is. This is left out of the show entirely, but author Rachel Reid has that same chapter written from Ilya’s point of view on her website, where we find out that Ilya is falling for Shane and doesn’t know what to do about it, so he says in Russian, “Why does it have to be you? Why are you so perfect? It’s fucking awful.” Our hearts!
Sasha and Svetlana
Sasha and Svetlana in 'Heated Rivarly.'
Crave Canada
In the book, Ilya tells Shane that he used to sleep with his Russian coach’s son, Sasha, but he’s not an actual character. In the show, Ilya not only tells Shane about him, but we actually meet Sasha when Ilya goes back to Russia for the summer.
While Svetlana’s backstory — being the daughter of a former hockey star and a knowledgeable fan herself — is present in the book and show, in the novel, she and Ilya have a friends with benefits situation, but weren’t childhood friends like they are in the show. The series also shows Svetlana with Ilya and Sasha in Russia, but these scenes are absent from the source material.
Shane and Scott brawling
In episode 3, after Shane mildly chirps at Scott, we see Scott taking his frustration out on Shane by implying that Shane and Ilya know each other a little too well, leading to an all out brawl on the ice. In the Game Changer novel this episode is based on, this scene doesn’t happen at all, instead Ilya says something rude to Scott during a game, and Scott decks him.
Scott and Kip’s sex life
Scott and Kip in 'Heated Rivarly' epsiode 3.
Crave Canada
The show hints at both Scott and Kip being vers, and gifts us with a few — much too short — sex scenes between the two of them. But fans of the show might not know that when the men sleep together for the first time in the book, Scott asks Kip to top him, and it isn’t until later on that they reverse roles. The show cut out a lot of their sex scenes for the sake of brevity, but that means we missed out on hot moments like Kip putting on a show for Scott, Scott telling Kip what to do to himself over Skype, and Kip coming hands-free while they have sex.
Scott’s backstory
Scott Hunter in 'Heated Rivalry' episode 3.
Crave Canada
At the end of the third episode, Scott gives a speech where he tells people attending the charity gala that his parent died in a drunk driving accident when he was 12 years old, but in the book, Scott tells Kip about his past when they are alone, and the facts are a little different. In the novel, we find out that Scott is an only child who grew up poor and was raised by a single mother, and that she died of an undisclosed illness when Scott was 15.
Banana socks
The socks play an important thematic role in Scott and Kip’s love story in both the novel and the show, but there is one difference. In the show, Kip gives Scott blue banana socks to represent his lucky smoothies when he’s on the road, a touching moment that leads to symbolic significance at the end of the episode. There are no bananas in the smoothie in the book or on the socks (they’re just blue), but we appreciate the sexual innuendo this added to the show, so we’ll let it slide.
Moving in
Scott and Kip in 'Heated Rivalry' episode 3.
Crave Canada
Scott and Kip’s romance is all about insta-love, but their relationship moves at a much faster pace in the show (which had to get through 3/4 of the book in the span of a single episode) than in the book. In episode 3, Scott asks Kip to move in after their first night together, but in Game Changer, Scott asks Kip to stay at his apartment even when he is on the road after they’ve been dating for about a month.
When Scott and Kip break up
Both in the book and the show, Kip walks out on Scott when the feelings of isolation and loneliness that come with living in the closet become too much for him, and he realizes he needs more than Scott can give him right now. But while this happens directly after attending the gala in the show, the two keep dating in the book for a while longer before the third-act breakup.
