Daniel Gawthrop is the author of Cutting Edge: Hockey as Queer Culture, out this week from Arsenal Pulp Press. Below, he describes responses to the Heated Rivalry TV series in the LGBTQ+ community. (Spoilers ahead!)

After season 1 of Heated Rivalry began streaming late last year, queer community response to the series ranged from unqualified raves to critiques about sex scene authenticity and obsession with the sexual identity of its two principal actors. For many of us, Heated Rivalry was a breath of fresh air from a mainstream TV world hardly abundant with stories of queer happiness—never mind gay male athletes in hypermasculine sports who are unafraid of being vulnerable with each other.

Season 1’s episode 5, where Scott Hunter calls his lover Kip down from the stands to the ice after he’s won “the Cup” to kiss him on live television, was huge. Outsports reported that viewing parties for that episode led to groups of gay men buying tickets to their first NHL games and others watching TV hockey despite knowing little about the sport. For the Cutting Edges, Vancouver’s LBGTQ+ hockey association, there was a massive surge of interest from queer folk wanting to return to hockey or play it for the first time.

Some even used Heated Rivalry to come out. 40-year-old Minnesota native Jesse Kortuem, who left the sport at 17 and later played competitively from the closet, had returned to hockey by playing in queer tournaments as a guest of the Cutting Edges and other teams. A Facebook post citing the Edges’ warm welcome and Heated Rivalry as factors in his decision to come out went viral, landing Kortuem an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. His host surprised him with a video greeting of congrats by Hudson Williams, who plays Shane Hollander. (Williams later reported that real-life closeted pro athletes, including hockey players, had reached out to him for inspiration.)

For others, Heated Rivalry was triggering. Former Ontario Hockey League and minor pro goaltender Brock McGillis—now in high demand on the speaking circuit—had a panic attack while watching the first half of episode 1, which reminded him of the years he’d spent fearful of exposure. He came to enjoy the series, but said it wouldn’t convince closeted NHL players to come out. So far, he’s right.

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