{"id":454848,"date":"2026-06-01T03:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T03:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/454848\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T03:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T03:08:11","slug":"heated-rivalry-sets-record-at-screen-awards-with-16-wins-including-best-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/454848\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Heated Rivalry’ sets record at Screen Awards with 16 wins including best drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d dominated this year\u2019s Canadian Screen Awards with a record-setting 16 wins after taking home three trophies at Sunday night\u2019s televised ceremony: audience choice, best drama series and best lead performer for star Hudson Williams.<\/p>\n

Fans of the B.C.-born actor were eager to see him at the awards show and receive the honour for portraying the reserved hockey player Shane Hollander, who gets caught up in a whirlwind romance with a rival.<\/p>\n

Williams said he wished he could split the award down the middle with his co-star, \u201chonorary Canadian\u201d Connor Storrie.<\/p>\n

Sunday night\u2019s wins added to the 13 statuettes the Crave series won at a gala dedicated to scripted TV on Saturday, including best direction and best writing for a drama.<\/p>\n

Because Storrie is American, he didn\u2019t qualify for the Canadian Screen Awards. But \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d also won\u2019t be eligible for the Emmys because it was entirely produced in Canada.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s creator Jacob Tierney said being left out of the Emmys race is fine with him \u2014 he always knew they wouldn\u2019t qualify.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like asking if you want to go to a thing you know you\u2019re not going to get invited to: it\u2019s fine. God bless them,\u201d he said on the red carpet.<\/p>\n

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television said the 16 wins in a single year for \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d set a new Screen Awards record, beating out the film \u201cBlackBerry,\u201d which won 13 in 2024.<\/p>\n

The show is an international hit, and its success shot Williams and Storrie to the A-list in short order after its debut last winter.<\/p>\n

It follows the yearslong love story of two closeted professional hockey players.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Arctic sitcom \u201cNorth of North\u201d won best comedy series. Its star Anna Lambe won best lead performance in a comedy.<\/p>\n

The Nunavut-shot series led all the nominations this year with 20, and its nine wins include best ensemble performance in a comedy, as well as best direction, writing and original music.<\/p>\n

The show follows a young Inuk mother who craves more than her predictable life in the fictional town of Ice Cove.<\/p>\n

On the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Lambe said her show and \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d were both series that producers may have considered risky in years past.<\/p>\n

\u201cA queer hockey drama and a story about a very complicated family from the Canadian Arctic sounds like maybe people might have a hard time relating to it or a hard time diving into it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut it shows the humanity of these shows, of these characters, of these stories is what people want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several special achievement awards were handed out, including to \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d actress Sophie N\u00e9lisse.<\/p>\n

N\u00e9lisse won a Screen Award for best supporting performer Saturday and on Sunday was presented with the Radius Award, which recognizes individuals whose work contributes to Canada\u2019s global reputation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the best scene partner I could ask for,\u201d Williams said before handing her the award. The two portray lovers-turned-best friends after N\u00e9lisse\u2019s character finds out Shane Hollander is gay. \u201cShe was there, letting me completely disarm in front of her.\u201d<\/p>\n

While accepting her speech, N\u00e9lisse, known for her roles in Oscar-nominated \u201cMonsieur Lazhar\u201d and \u201cYellowjackets,\u201d said she wanted to continue evolving as an actor. <\/p>\n

\u201cReceiving something like this doesn\u2019t make me feel like I\u2019ve arrived anywhere. If anything, it motivates me even more,\u201d N\u00e9lisse said. \u201cIt makes me want to keep growing, keep taking risks, keep listening, and keep trying to become the kind of artist and human being that truly earns this kind of recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The night\u2019s top film award went to the time-travelling Toronto comedy \u201cNirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

It picked up six statuettes during a series of galas over the course of the week, including best lead performance in a comedy for co-writer Jay McCarrol and best supporting performance for Matt Johnson, who also co-wrote and directed the movie.<\/p>\n

The film follows two bandmates on an ill-fated quest through time to land a gig at a local venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cNirvanna\u201d also picked up prizes for visual effects, sound mixing and best original song for \u201cThe Alphabet Song\u201d \u2014 a short bit in the movie that includes an impression of American comic Bill Cosby.<\/p>\n

While R.T. Thorne\u2019s post-apocalyptic debut \u201c40 Acres\u201d picked up the most film awards, scoring nine including best director and best first feature, it missed out on the top prize.<\/p>\n

Also on Sunday night, Mike Myers accepted the Academy Icon Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a whole speech written about how much I love Canada, but I suspect some of you might be sick of hearing that at this point,\u201d he said, before naming a long list of family, friends and icons from Martin Short to the late Norman Jewison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank the Canadian taxpayer. I really do, actually, because I always say to my American friends, I had a big ally in my hand. I have 40 million people behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the show\u2019s in memoriam segment, Eugene Levy paid tribute to his friend and longtime collaborator Catherine O\u2019Hara, highlighting her memorable characters on \u201cSCTV\u201d and \u201cSchitt\u2019s Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHer body of work alone has earned her legendary status in the entertainment industry, but it was who she was as a person that endeared her to millions,\u201d Levy said. \u201cFor me, she was the one person I spent the most time working with over our 50-year careers, and that is something I take great pride in being able to say. <\/p>\n

\u201cCatherine O\u2019Hara was simply the best,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Earlier in the night, Grace Glowicki won best performance in a drama film for her role in the horror film \u201cHoney Bunch,\u201d about a woman undergoing unconventional therapy following a recent accident.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"'HeatedAnna Lambe holds a trophy after winning Best Lead Performer, Comedy for North of North at The Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto on Sunday, May 31, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chris Young<\/p>\n

\"'HeatedMike Myers arrives on the red carpet at The Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto on Sunday, May 31, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chris Young<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d dominated this year\u2019s Canadian Screen Awards with a record-setting 16 wins after taking home…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-454848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454848","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=454848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}