If you're a fan of dabbling in the occult and performing magical acts of witchcraft, you'll probably find yourself binging the highly-anticipated (and LGBT-inclusive!) Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix this spook season.
The upcoming series, which is a retelling of the beloved, '90s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, takes a much darker turn with Sabrina's tale, and Netflix just released the first ooky-spooky new trailer!
Needless to say, it embodies so many of the things gays love: witches, magic, cute boys, and demonic forces picking off annoying aunts (RIP Hilda).
"I’m not an evil person, but these are desperate times," says our supernatural heroine in the trailer, a statement that introduces a show that is sure to become a new cult classic.
Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander in 'Heated Rivalry.'
Crave Canada
Heated Rivalry has taken over everyone’s timeline yet again!
While viewers eagerly await the release of episode four on Friday, HBO quietly posted a new screenshot from the upcoming episode and an episode description that has fans in a tailspin.
The new photo shows Ilya Rozanov spooning his hockey rival-turned-lover, Shane Hollander, with his chin resting on his shoulder.
"As hockey seasons come and go, Ilya is up to his old antics on and off the ice, while Shane continues to thrive in his game and career,” the episode description reads. “After a night together, Ilya lets his guard down, sending Shane into a panic. Meanwhile, Shane’s budding relationship with a movie star only adds fuel and intensifies the turmoil between them.”
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The image quickly went viral, with fans dying to know if this means that the young men finally get to spend the night together after years of hiding their attraction and never spending more than a few hours together.
Fans of the Rachel Reid gay hockey romance novel think they know what’s to come in the next episode and are keeping their fingers crossed that the infamous “tuna melt” scene also includes Shane and Ilya sleeping cuddled up together.
After seeing the image, fans immediately started crashing out and talking about how their hearts won’t be able to handle everything that is about to happen in the next episode.
Heated Rivalry may have gained popularity because of the intense chemistry between Shane and Ilya actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie and the fairly explicit gay sex scenes, but this sweet photo going viral proves that fans are just as excited for the yearning, tenderness, and intimacy between the two main characters.
Heated Rivalry episode four premieres on Friday, December 12 at 12 a.m. ET on HBO Max in the U.S. and the Crave streaming platform in Canada.
As the uber-popular reality show gets ready for its 18th season, a new trailer is out, and so is the list of guest judges.
This season, joining main judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, and Ts Madison is a lineup of pop culture icons including Cardi B, Teyana Taylor, Brook Shields, Law Roach, and Iman.
Scroll through to see all the guest judges for the new season, as well as the new trailer!
Season 18 of RuPaul's Drag Race premieres on MTV on Friday, January 2.
Heated Rivalry; Real-life NHL rivals Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
Crave Canada; Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard all about Heated Rivalry. But what you probably don’t know is how a real-life hockey rivalry and a certain Marvel movie played a role in the origins of the popular gay hockey romance show.
Adapted from Rachel Reid’s popular novel of the same name, Heated Rivalry follows the fierce rivalry between star hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rosanov (Connor Storrie) and their secret, years-long, enemies-to-lovers romance off the ice.
The Canadian series, which is streamed via Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the U.S., spans years as Shane and Ilya go from curious rookies who start a secret fling to Stanley Cup-winning rivals who spend years yearning for each other and meeting up for trysts before their romance can become something more.
While the show may be based on Reid’s Game Changer series of interconnected standalone gay romance novels, the rivalry at the heart of Heated Rivalry (and some of her characters) was inspired by real-life hockey players — and one of the episodes has a surprising fan-fiction origin story.
Is 'Heated Rivalry' based on a real hockey rivalry?
Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images
The gay romance between two National Hockey League stars might not be based on a true story, but the rivalry between Shane and Ilya was originally inspired by a famous hockey feud.
NHL stars Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were drafted in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and then spent years in a legendary rivalry that was egged on by fans and the media circus that surrounded them. The rivalry pushed both players to new heights in their careers, and games between their teams (the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals) became must-watch events for fans, much like the plot of Heated Rivarly — minus the gay romance storyline.
And while Reid says all of her characters are original creations, she admits she drew inspiration from the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry for the book.
"I never directly base my characters on any real people," Reid wrote on her website. "One of my inspirations for Heated Rivalry was, obviously, the extremely entertaining rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin. But I was also inspired by other sports rivalries, by other fictional stories, and by my love of the enemies-to-lovers and forbidden romance tropes."
Who are Shane and Ilya based on?
Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander in 'Heated Rivalry.'
Crave Canada
The rivalry was based on the legendary feud between Crosby and Ovechkin. But beyond Ovechkin being a record-breaking star player and captain of his team, the only real similarity is that they are both Russian.
In an interview with Canada’s CP24, Reid said that she based Ilya on not only Ovechkin but "all these flashy European players” like Jaromír Jágr, Teemu Selänne, and Ilya Kovalchuk.
While Ilya was based on louder, more boisterous players, Reid drew inspiration for Shane from "more stoic, good boy captains,” like Crosby, Wayne Gretzky, and Paul Kariya, who she described as being “more role-modely types.”
Is ‘Heated Rivalry’s gay Marvel fanfic origin story true?
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As soon as episode 3 aired, fans started talking about their theory that Game Changer — the first book in Reid’s story that served as the basis for the episode — has a surprising Marvel origin story.
The fan theory is that Game Changer was originally a “Stucky” story posted to the fan-fiction website AO3 (Archive of Our Own). Stucky refers to the romantic pairing of Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier).
Reid says that she didn’t write the first book in her gay hockey romance series as a Stucky fanfic originally, but fans aren’t totally off base either.
The story didn't start out as fanfic, but Game Changer was her first foray into fiction writing, and she was so nervous she decided to post her story on AO3 to build her confidence. So she reworked it into an alternate-universe story where Steve Rogers, the “superstar captain of the New York Rangers,” falls in love with smoothie barista Bucky Barnes because she thought you were only allowed to post fan fiction on the website.
“Honestly, I felt bad about it,” Reid told Salon. “I knew this wasn’t what ‘Game Changer’ was.”
In 2016, Reid was feeling better about her writing, so she pulled the story off the website and submitted her manuscript to publishers. And the rest is history.
Heated Rivalry drops a new episode each Friday on HBO Max (and Crave in Canada).
Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov in 'Heated Rivarly.'
Crave Canada
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
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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
Crave Canada
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
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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
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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 also 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
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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
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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). 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
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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.
Ilya and Shane's nap
Ilya and Shane taking a nap in 'Heated Rivarly.'
Crave Canada
The much-talked-about “tuna melt” scene is almost identical in the book as it’s portrayed in the show. But leading up to it, there are a couple of small changes that have a big emotional impact on the characters. The show added in that the two men fall asleep spooning in Ilya’s bed, and in the book, Ilya calls Shane “sweetheart” while they’re having sex, but that diminutive was absent from the episode.
This might not seem like a big change from book to screen, but it's another example of Ilya being vulnerable and tender with Shane in the lead-up to Shane freaking out over his feelings for Ilya.
Ilya paying his brother
Ilya on the phone with his dad in 'Heated Rivalry.'
Crave Canada
When Ilya steps away from Shane to have a private conversation with his father, we learn that Ilya has been paying his older brother to look after his father, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, but his brother keeps bailing. This detail is never revealed in the book, though it’s made clear that Ilya’s brother takes advantage of his generosity and is always asking for more money.
Conversation about Shane’s heritage
Rose and Shane having a conversation in 'Heated Rivalry.'
Crave Canada
After meeting Rose, she asks him what it was like to grow up as the only Asian kid playing hockey. Shane admits he had it easier than the one other Asian kid who faced more bullying because of his last name. “He hated me though, I have a western last name so it’s like the other kids kind of forgot to make fun of me,” Shane says. This isn’t part of the conversation Rose and Shane have in the book, but both Williams and director Jacob Tierney have talked about the importance of Asian representation and including Shane’s Japanese-Canadian heritage in the show.
Miles dancing with Shane
Shane dancing with Rose and Miles in 'Heated Rivalry.'
Crave Canada
The club scene at the end of the episode is intense for a multitude of reasons, but it also gets a very sexy addition that wasn’t included in the book. Instead of Shane dancing alone with Rose, Shane becomes the center of a Rose and Miles sandwich on the dance floor. We also see Miles try to pick up Ilya at the bar, but that interaction doesn’t happen in the novel either.
Sex with Rose
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In the novel, we know that Shane and Rose are sleeping together because Shane’s internal monologue tells us it’s been disappointing, but none of the sex scenes are in the book. The show, however, ends the fourth episode with the two characters having sex while the camera cuts back and forth between them and Ilya taking care of himself in the shower.
Ending the club scene with Shane going home with Rose is vastly different from the book, where Shane goes home alone. We also learn in the follow-up book, The Long Game, that Shane was so upset about seeing Ilya making out with a woman on the dance floor that he had to pull his car over because he couldn’t stop crying.
Shane dancing with Rose and Miles in 'Heated Rivalry.'
Crave Canada