Words by Jordan Robledo

Since November, the pop culture conversation has revolved around one thing: the gay hockey romance series Heated Rivalry.

Created by Jacob Tierney and based on Rachel Reid’s novel of the same name, the show explores the complicated, decade-spanning love affair between two elite professional hockey players: Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).

The official synopsis reads: "What begins as a secret fling between confused teenagers at 17 evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle to navigate their feelings off it. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can't ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there's room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile – and powerful – as real love."

Since its November premiere, Heated Rivalry has become both a viral sensation and a critical darling, thanks to its faithfulness to the source material, iconic sex scenes, and Williams and Storrie’s swoonworthy performances, both on and off screen.

The series has even captured the attention of some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Pedro Pascal, Orville Peck, Drag Race star Katya, The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri, Hacks’ Hannah Einbinder, and, most recently, Miley Cyrus.

While Heated Rivalry has already secured a second season — with a third rumoured to be in the works — the dreaded wait for new episodes has begun to take its toll on fans, including us here at Gay Times.

Fortunately, we have a solution to help ease your Heated Rivalry withdrawal during the show’s ongoing hiatus. If you’re ready to take a break from endless Shane-and-Ilya fan edits and Storrie-and-Williams interviews, we’ve rounded up 13 LGBTQIA+ TV shows and films that exude the same energy. Check out the full list below.