{"id":202594,"date":"2025-12-26T10:21:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T10:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/202594\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T10:21:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T10:21:12","slug":"heated-rivalry-creator-on-season-1-cottage-finale-and-season-2-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/202594\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019 Creator on Season 1 Cottage Finale and Season 2 Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t[This story contains major spoilers from episode six, \u201cThe Cottage,\u201d of Heated Rivalry<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

\n\tPack your bags, it\u2019s time to head to the cottage. <\/p>\n

\n\tHeated Rivalry wrapped its first season with the show\u2019s highly anticipated sixth episode, \u201cThe Cottage.\u201d Professional hockey rivals turned secret situationship turned maybe more Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) <\/a>and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie)<\/a> finally get a moment away from the chaos of their world to spend two weeks together, all alone, at Shane\u2019s secluded cottage.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor fans of Heated Rivalry, who have been rooting for Shane and Ilya to get it together since episode one, it\u2019s a 50-minute emotional rollercoaster. For the first time in the season, these two characters give into the romantic and domestic vibes that have been building throughout the six episodes. It\u2019s still plenty sexy, but it\u2019s mostly emotional and real. <\/p>\n

\n\tAfter a mutual love confession, a decision to have Ilya move to a Canadian team closer to Shane and a plan to start a charity together as a way to soft launch they don\u2019t actually hate each other, Shane\u2019s father catches the pair together at the cottage. This leads the couple to Shane\u2019s parents\u2019 house, where Shane finally comes out as gay to his parents and admits he and Ilya are \u201clovers,\u201d as the Russian player puts it. The episode ends with the pair literally driving off into the sunset, (some) of the weight lifted off their shoulders as they head into the unknown \u2014 a.k.a. the recently announced season two<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey get to be in love,\u201d writer and director Jacob Tierney<\/a> tells The Hollywood Reporter about Shane and Ilya\u2019s season one ending. \u201cThat\u2019s all that I wanted was the simplicity of that, of just letting them have a [moment].\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSeason one followed the source material, Rachel Reid\u2019s novel of the same name, quite religiously, oftentimes using direct dialogue from the book. Season two will, presumably, follow Reid\u2019s sequel The Long Game, but Tierney can\u2019t get into too many details on that yet as he hasn\u2019t started writing.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019ll definitely direct all episodes of season two, but he might get some help in writing the scripts, he says. That would be a change from season one, as Tierney wrote and directed all six episodes solo. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s possible that other writers will come in to help me out. I\u2019m not sure yet. We\u2019ll see what the additional demands are that I have to deal with, the logistics,\u201d Tierney says, adding that Heated Rivalry will \u201ccontinue to be as intimate and handmade\u201d as it was in season one regardless of what\u2019s decided because it\u2019s the only way he knows how to make a show. <\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, the showrunner discusses his decision to end the finale where he did, why that scene with Shane and his mom needed to happen and what he can share about season two. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn Rachel Reid\u2019s book, it jumps ahead to Shane and Ilya announcing their charity. Why did you feel that ending it where you did, at the cottage, was the right move?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a couple of reasons. One\u2019s just a TV reason, which is I don\u2019t want to end with exposition. I was ending with a news conference. I did write that at one point, and as usual, I talk about it all the time, but Rachel Goldstein, my creative executive at Crave, she called me and she was like, \u201cAre you setting up season two? Don\u2019t do that.\u201d I was like, \u201cAlright, alright, I hear your tone of voice. I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI love this book so much, and so much of what I wanted to bring to it were the things that I remembered, the things that imprinted on me. What I remember so clearly was just this feeling of oh, they get to be in love. That\u2019s all that I wanted, was the simplicity of that, of just letting them have a [moment]. They say it at the beginning, [but] they never get a moment. Just letting them drive together with [Ilya\u2019s] hand on [Shane\u2019s] neck and just being sweet. That\u2019s enough for me.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was a scene you added in with Yuna, Shane\u2019s mom, that really added to the story. I think it showed us a bit more about Shane, who\u2019s so internal as a character, and where he\u2019s at. Why did you feel that needed to be there?<\/p>\n

\n\tHe is a tricky character in that way. He\u2019s so internal, and his struggles are so internal. I think Yuna is too. They are actually quite similar. I really felt like those two needed a moment together. Not just because of where we\u2019ve come from, but also because of where we\u2019re going, and how involved Yuna is in the rest of their story. How crucial a role she plays. I think that my little gay heart just needed a moment with Shane and his mom. They needed to talk and that was it.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat is it about the parental relationship that\u2019s important to show?<\/p>\n

\n\tPart of Shane\u2019s journey that I relate to really strongly \u2014 I was a child actor, he was a child athlete \u2014 you make so many decisions with your parents that are because of something you want and you love. Whether it\u2019s hockey or acting or whatever it is, and you do it before you know yourself. These parameters are put up around you and a world kind of builds itself around you as you\u2019re figuring out who you are. I think there\u2019s a lot of really easy ways for well-intentioned people to do things that aren\u2019t great for their kids, their parents, back and forth. The communication can be difficult. I think that it\u2019s really easy to be ungenerous with a character like Yuna, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s fair to her. I wanted to show her heart a bit more clearly than I felt was on the page in the book, and also to show, again, her similarities to Shane.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe other thing that I love about her is her [saying] \u201cEnough, what are we going to do?\u201d That wonderful part of her as well because it was not to change her character, but just to ground her and ground that relationship. Parents were something that I thought about a lot when I was writing this because we didn\u2019t have a ton of money, and I had to fight pretty hard to keep Kip\u2019s dad in the show, which was a huge thing for me. I needed and wanted him there. Scott\u2019s an orphan. Ilya has the relationship he does with his parents and Shane\u2019s [parental relationship] is complicated. I want there to be a spectrum of parents here dealing with these kids. I think that it lays the groundwork for what the readers of the book know is coming, but when Ilya\u2019s talking about his dad in episode five and he says, \u201cI wish he could have known me.\u201d I think he\u2019s acutely aware that, for Shane, you need to do this. You need to talk to them because you\u2019re going to regret it. Even my monster father, I wish I\u2019d told because you want them to know you.<\/p>\n

\n\tHeated Rivalry has become appointment TV. What does it feel like for you as the creator to see that? We\u2019re in an age where it doesn\u2019t happen much.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s deeply surreal, if I\u2019m being honest with you. Letterkenny, which had many, many seasons and stuff, it dropped six or seven in a row. I would definitely have moments where I wondered if anyone noticed the episode I liked in the middle. I know people would consume it in one sitting, which is also amazing. That\u2019s fun too, but I didn\u2019t really register. I knew when HBO bought us that it meant we were going to be [week-to-week], but Crave was going to do that anyway. I guess I just forgot what that was like. <\/p>\n

\n\tHonestly, it feels so cool to be a part of a tradition of TV that I grew up with, of waiting for The X-Files to come on, of waiting for your shows. God, I remember waiting with such anticipation for Mad Men to come on or Veep or The Wire. These shows that you\u2019d be on the edge of your seat waiting [for], remembering what happened last week and wondering what was going to go down. It feels very cool to be a part of that tradition. I realize I\u2019m literally just naming HBO shows. Oh no, AMC, I guess I did mention Mad Men.<\/p>\n

\n\tI feel like we\u2019re in the cultural conversation because of that. I think it\u2019s much harder to be when you just drop [all at once], and everybody reacts on their own time. Especially in a time of so much fucking TV to cut through. To be a show that people are talking about during the week, it\u2019s crazy. I\u2019m also kind of looking forward to it being done for the moment too because it\u2019s very overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\n\tI can only imagine.<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t think anyone can anticipate this, but boy, we didn\u2019t. It\u2019s so good, but it\u2019s not like we were like season three of Game of Thrones or whatever.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the first conversation we had<\/a>, you stressed that you wanted this story to be about queer joy and queer characters just getting to love and have sex and be who they are. We both know that (the sequel book) The Long Game deals with heavier topics. How do you think you\u2019ll balance that?<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t know yet. I haven\u2019t started writing yet, but I do in my head call it Sex Scenes From A Marriage, so it\u2019s definitely heavier. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m going to go quite into Bergman route there, but I think another thing that I told you is that I promised Rachel Reid [I\u2019d] take this seriously.<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, you did.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe takes them seriously in the second book. She\u2019s like, \u201cThis is a real relationship and real relationships come with struggle.\u201d It\u2019s so compelling. I\u2019m just excited to keep going on this journey with these characters, honestly. I think part of that is there\u2019s definitely an element of sadness to what\u2019s coming, of loneliness and of isolation. Of Ilya learning a lot about himself, and Shane learning a lot about himself too. I\u2019m excited, and I still think at its heart, these books and this show, they want to entertain.<\/p>\n

\n\tI want this. We want this. This is supposed to be fantasy romance, and I still want to keep it there. But I think part of the reason that it does work as entertainment is that we are taking this seriously, and that you\u2019re on a journey with two people that you feel have earned these moments. I don\u2019t think episode five would\u2019ve had the impact it had if you hadn\u2019t watched the four that came before it, you need to go through the real-time struggle of this with them so that you can feel that exhale when they say something true or sweet or kind.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s been quite a lot of conversation, deservedly, about how this show has completely changed the careers of Hudson Williams<\/a> and Connor Storrie<\/a>, which is so exciting to see. But how are things looking for you right now? Are you getting any old calls? New calls?<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, the old calls are interesting. There\u2019s a lot of nice stuff being pushed my way. We\u2019ll see what comes of it. The nicest gift that I\u2019ve gotten is that I get to continue to live in this world for a little while, and I\u2019m very, very, very pleased about that. But yes, certainly [HBO chairman and CEO] Casey [Bloys] emails me, so that\u2019s nice.<\/p>\n

\n\tFirst name basis too.<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, my friend Casey? Who did you think I meant? (Laughs).<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course. Of course.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s been very nice, and that\u2019s the beauty of being an actor is you get that stuff face on and they (Connor and Hudson) should. They deserve it. I think there\u2019s some nice things coming my way too, which is great.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there anything from the show that fans noticed that you had hopped they would?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe sunshine line. [It] really made me really happy that people got that. I don\u2019t even think I told (producing partner) Brendan [Brady]. I just did it. I [thought] maybe somebody would notice [it was] the echoing that song (Wolf Parade\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ll Believe in Anything\u201d). <\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve never felt more observed in my fucking life. I want to crawl to a hole, but those moments are really nice. Those little things when [someone sees that]. That\u2019s great. I\u2019m not Taylor Swift. I do not have the attention span for that level of easter egg, but a little thing like that, that meant a lot to me because also that song means a lot to me. I love that song so much and to get to use it that way and to get it and then to see it, it was so nice. I got the sweetest note from the Wolf Parade guys about how happy they are.<\/p>\n

\n\tI spoke with Spotify about some of the songs, and you guys have really made quite an impact with those streaming numbers.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s crazy. It makes me so happy that I picked all these songs I love. I\u2019m so happy to do this for Wolf Parade and Feist and Wet Leg. Peter Peter, our composer, who\u2019s fucking amazing, and all these awesome French songs that are doing so well for themselves. Amen, [it\u2019s] great. I\u2019m so thrilled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[This story contains major spoilers from episode six, \u201cThe Cottage,\u201d of Heated Rivalry.] Pack your bags, it\u2019s time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[97595,114962,156,3484,110172,114961,115103,111,139,69,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-202594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-casey-bloys","9":"tag-connor-storrie","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-hbo-max","12":"tag-heated-rivalry","13":"tag-hudson-williams","14":"tag-jacob-tierney","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}