Heated Rivalry: Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie – Photo: Sabrina Lantos
The hit HBO Max series Heated Rivalry is drawing more online search interest than many real-life NHL stars, underscoring the show’s breakout popularity beyond traditional hockey audiences.
According to Cyd Zeigler of Outsports, Google Trends data from the past 30 days reveals that searches for the show’s fictional romantic leads, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, consistently outpaced searches for several prominent NHL players throughout most of December.
More strikingly, searches for “Heated Rivalry” briefly surpassed searches for “NHL” itself in late December, coinciding with the release of the Season 1 finale.
The trend extended to some of the league’s biggest names, with searches for Hollander and Rozanov exceeding interest in Colorado Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar; Edmonton Oilers standouts Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov; and Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who last season surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s long-standing NHL regular-season goals record.
Even retired hockey legend Wayne Gretzky has drawn fewer searches than “Shane Hollander” over the past 30 days, underscoring just how far the show’s reach has extended beyond the sport itself.
Two current NHL players emerged as exceptions to the trend: San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini, who recently went viral for removing his shirt and wearing a shark-tooth necklace during a postgame interview — which he claimed would become a “new tradition” for Sharks players named Player of the Game — and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Search interest in Celebrini generally trailed that of Hollander and Rozanov, though he surpassed both fictional characters during two brief periods. Searches for Crosby exceeded those for both fictional players for most of the past 30 days, dipping below them only twice.
Searches for “Shane Hollander” peaked on December 27, with the highest interest coming from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, and California. The metro areas generating the most searches included Champaign-Springfield, Illinois; Louisville, Kentucky; Pittsburgh; the Minneapolis-St. Paul region; and the Boston-Manchester area spanning Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Searches for “Ilya Rozanov” peaked on December 26, with the highest interest coming from the District of Columbia, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, and New York. The metro areas generating the most searches included Lake Charles, Louisiana; Florence-Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; the Boston-Manchester region; the Washington, D.C., area, particularly Hagerstown; Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Denver.
Image-based searches for both fictional players in the United States also surpassed image searches for all active and retired NHL players over the past 30 days, according to Google Trends.
According to Zeigler, searches for “Heated Rivalry” in the United Kingdom — where the show is set to debut on January 10 — far outpace the term “NHL,” consistently outperforming it by a nearly 2-1 margin on most days.
He also noted that, given the NHL’s relatively limited reach compared to other professional sports leagues — even within the United States — it is not especially surprising that characters from a hit television series embedded in the cultural zeitgeist would generate more public interest than individual hockey players.
Outsports has previously reported that the popularity of Heated Rivalry appears to be fueling interest in hockey, with some LGBTQ viewers saying the series has prompted them to watch games on television or attend NHL contests in person. Still, former professional hockey player Brock McGillis — while a fan of the show — has expressed skepticism that the series will meaningfully shift the sport’s traditionally homophobic culture or prompt closeted players to come out.
The new HBO series Heated Rivalry has ignited social media, with fans openly thirsting after its leads and critics debating the show's authenticity.
Based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers novels, the series follows two elite rival hockey players, Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), whose off-ice tension turns into a sexual, quasi-romantic relationship.
The hockey drama wastes no time diving into the rivals' intense lust for each other. Some viewers were surprised to see the usual slow-burn trope swapped for an immediate blaze.
Conservative Christians attacked fast food giant Chick-fil-A after a franchisee in Orem, Utah, posted a Facebook message celebrating a young gay couple’s marriage.
"CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE!" the December 3 post reads. "Dougie & Toby recently got married and we are so beyond happy for them!"
The celebratory message quickly triggered backlash from conservatives. The "Chick-fil-A Orem Plaza" Facebook account ultimately restricted public comments to users who had been following the page for more than 24 hours.
Turn back to 2015, and you may recall a busy year. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of nationwide marriage equality. Barack Obama's second term was coming to a close. Caitlyn Jenner came out as transgender. Star Wars offered up the seventh installment of its ongoing space opera. And, in December, Trade opened on 14th Street.
Ed Bailey, sort of the public-facing proprietor of a decades-running D.C. gay nightlife empire -- along with John Guggenmos and Jim "Chachi" Boyle -- knew the space well. He's long lived just around the corner. Since World Pride, back in June, the original Trade space has more than doubled. Bailey was particularly familiar with the next-door addition the bar grew into.
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