The sentiment is tongue-in-cheek, but the feeling behind it is not. The dance party held at the Vermont and organized by Club 90s<\/a>, channels the sensuous vacation-from-reality energy adored by fans of the TV show, and the book series it\u2019s based on, that premiered in November and became a breakout hit for HBO Max. The show, acquired from the Canadian streamer Crave, has already been renewed for a second season and made stars out of its two leads, whose steamy onscreen romance has given rise to a new fandom and sprung a series of events that reflect its culture.<\/p>\n Heated Rivalry Night, curated by Club 90s founder and DJ Jeffrey Lyman, began as a single event that quickly sold out, leading to extra dates \u2014 another is being held at the Vermont on Sunday \u2014 and more than 100 multi-city pop-ups<\/a> are planned over the next few months in places like Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., Chicago and London. Social media, particularly TikTok, has amplified the events, turning clips from the dance floor into viral, word-of-mouth-fueled promotion. The events almost didn\u2019t happen: After a supporter emailed requesting a themed night, Lyman hadn\u2019t considered it before because the show\u2019s soundtrack has limited danceable music. But between his love for the series and an \u201cI\u2019ll figure it out\u201d mindset, he dove in.<\/p>\n 1 <\/p>\n 2 <\/p>\n 1. Heated Rivalry Night features different genres of music and clips from the TV series play on the walls of the venue. (Ronaldo Bolanos\/Los Angeles Times) 2. Kaliah Dabee, center, sings during the event at the Vermont Hollywood. (Ronaldo Bolanos\/Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n \u201cMe and my co-video creator were just working nonstop all week long figuring out how to make the night work. We found all these edits on TikTok and trimmed them into full-on music videos for the night, and then put together the show in four days. I had no idea what to expect. The response was just insane,\u201d Lyman recalls. \u201cEvery single post I saw on TikTok was from the night, with hundreds of thousands of views and comments. I was like, all right, we gotta get this thing going because everyone was requesting us in every single city.\u201d<\/p>\n The event has become a space for fans to gather and feel understood, surrounded by others who are drawn to the show\u2019s tenderness, longing, steamy sex and emotional intensity that define it. For many, the universe also sparks a quiet, personal question: Is that sort of romance real \u2014 and could it exist in my own life too?<\/p>\n \u201cNights like these make life worth living. I had so much fun, more fun than I\u2019ve had at a club in a long time,\u201d says Yamamoto, whose entire friend group was \u201cobsessed\u201d with \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d from the start. \u201cI think it\u2019s really easy to feel alone in a room with hundreds of people, even at events where you have something in common with everyone there.\u201d<\/p>\n Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n But Heated Rivalry Night, he says, is different, noting the warmth and mutual comfort among the crowd members in attendance. \u201cI mean, you could have shown up alone and left with 10 new friends,\u201d Yamamoto adds.<\/p>\n That sense of community is exactly what Lyman hoped to create, where people of all ages, genders and sexual preferences can come together to celebrate the themes of the show.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it resonates so much because the show is just beautiful, everything about it,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s been my ultimate goal with every party \u2014 one big accepting space where everyone can let their freak flag fly and be whoever they want, with no judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n Music is another key element of that celebration.<\/p>\n \u201cI want everyone to have their culture represented. I\u2019m Latino myself, I love Bad Bunny \u2014 of course I had to throw him in. This is kind of a no-holds barred thing, I\u2019m throwing in every genre,\u201d Lyman says, highlighting how the eclectic music selection mirrors the crowd\u2019s range of tastes. A typical night can seamlessly bounce from CupcakKe to Robyn, Chappell Roan to Beyonc\u00e9 and Lady Gaga\u2019s aughts banger \u201cTelephone,\u201d and also \u201cRivalry<\/a>,\u201d the show\u2019s theme song by Peter Peter.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it resonates so much because the show is just beautiful, everything about it,\u201d says Heated Rivalry Night organizer Jeffrey Lyman. \u201cThat\u2019s been my ultimate goal with every party \u2014 one big accepting space where everyone can let their freak flag fly and be whoever they want, with no judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n (Ronaldo Bolanos\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Some moments hit even deeper emotionally. One of the standout sequences of a Heated Rivalry Night is when Lyman played a video montage of Shane coming out to his parents, set to Lorde\u2019s \u201cSupercut.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe first time I played it, I had, like, this emotional breakdown almost and I was in tears because everyone was cheering him on,\u201d recalls Lyman, explaining that he didn\u2019t personally get to come out to his family and the initial response was not positive or affirming. \u201cAnd so flash forward so many years later, to have people literally screaming and cheering for this scene for him coming out \u2014 it blew my mind. And it just made me so happy for how far we\u2019ve progressed in terms of acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n How the show has created a community<\/p>\n Ask a viewer on their umpteenth rewatch of \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d or a fan in the comments of a meticulous scene breakdown on TikTok, or a Hollanov enthusiast decked in cheeky merch, and the answer is consistently clear: The \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d universe is a world that feels good to inhabit and revisit. In Los Angeles, the interest in the show has inspired other events as well, like \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d-themed hot yoga<\/a> and comedy shows<\/a>, and fan-made merch, ranging from cozy blankets to graphic tees to custom hockey jerseys, has become ubiquitous.<\/p>\n Jose Bizuet, an educator in training, is still relatively new to the series \u2014 he\u2019s four episodes into \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d \u2014 but loves it so far. Waiting in line to enter the Vermont, Bizuet explained his motivation for attending the event.<\/p>\n Fans have created \u201cHeated Rivarly\u201d merch and several events themed to the TV show have emerged in L.A. and beyond.<\/p>\n (Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like a lot of spaces aren\u2019t accepting of queer bodies, but I know that this space will be accepting of it,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m just excited to have fun, be with my friends, explore different bodies, and just have fun with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Inside, pop hits and 2000s classics played alongside clips of Ilya and Shane, as well as fan edits \u2014 like a montage of the character Scott Hunter (played by Fran\u00e7ois Arnaud) set to Usher\u2019s \u201cDaddy\u2019s Home\u201d and the infamous IYKYK Google Drive edit set to Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s \u201cBig Ole Freak.\u201d The latter, a fan-made video of Ilya and Shane, was originally shared widely on Google Drive before becoming difficult to find in full, making it a treasured \u201cif you know, you know\u201d gem among the fandom \u2014 and the kind of moment that had the crowd cheering in recognition.<\/p>\n Rachel Jackson and Nicole Chamberlain have loved hockey \u2014 and a good romance story \u2014 for years; they\u2019re fans of the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively. \u201cThis series was right up our alley. We fell in love with it and read a bunch of the books,\u201d says Jackson as she waited in line to enter the Vermont.<\/p>\n Chamberlain adds: \u201cIt\u2019s cool to be part of something, and it\u2019s just lovely to see the community rally around this story.\u201d<\/p>\n Partygoers wearing Rozanov and Hollander hockey jerseys at Heated Rivalry Night. Organizer Jeffrey Lyman says he\u2019s be surprised by the response to the themed dance party.<\/p>\n (Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n In a post-quarantine landscape marked by isolation and digital overload, fans described a hunger for physical spaces where online connection could translate into real-world presence. Queer nightlife has long functioned as both refuge and community, and Heated Rivalry Night slots neatly into that lineage.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s really special that \u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019 has become so popular in the U.S. under an administration that relentlessly attacks the rights and livelihoods of queer people,\u201d says Yamamoto. \u201cCelebrating a show about queer love with so many other queer people and allies who understand that felt like a protest in some ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Assessing \u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019s\u2019 effect and influence<\/p>\n Rachel Reid, the author of the Game Changers book series that the show is based on, has been struck by the scale and intensity of the fandom that\u2019s grown around \u201cHeated Rivalry.\u201d From watch parties at a resort in the Philippines to drag shows, themed skate nights, and lively gatherings at West Hollywood\u2019s gay sports bar Hi Tops, she\u2019s seen fans across the globe bring the story to life in ways both big and intimate.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could get to them all. I\u2019m so proud to be a part of something that\u2019s making people so happy and is also creating community and creating safe places for people to go,\u201d Reid says. \u201cIt\u2019s a really good feeling. It\u2019s been my favorite part of all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n She says people have told her the show has helped them try to find romance again. \u201cQuite a few people have reached out to tell me they\u2019d given up on relationships, and watching \u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019 made them want to try again, to believe in falling in love. That\u2019s been incredible to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n The tender queer romance depicted in \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d has been refreshing for viewers. From left, Fran\u00e7ois Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams in scenes from the show. (Sabrina Lantos\/HBO Max) <\/p>\n The prioritization of queer joy and queer pleasure are foundational to the show, which is present even during emotional highs and lows, and that\u2019s intentional. The trauma, harrowing ordeals or deaths that are typically depicted onscreen, and that audiences have come to expect from queer TV and films, were refreshingly absent.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s extremely important to me, and I knew it was important to Jacob Tierney as well, who made the show,\u201d says Reid. When the two brainstormed the creative direction, Reid says they were on the same page. \u201cIt would just be joyful. And it would be sexy in a way that nobody got punished for it. It was really important to me and really important to him, and I think it came through in the show for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob Tierney, who adapted, wrote and directed the series for television, echoed this perspective. \u201cRachel\u2019s book is unapologetically queer joy, and from the very first read, I knew I wanted to bring this shamelessly funny, glorious, romantic story to life, complete with the kind of happy ending that gay people so rarely see in the media,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He told Reid he wanted to honor the book with the seriousness it deserves.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when queer lives and love are still so often framed through pain or erasure, I felt it was important to tell a story that celebrates pleasure, tenderness, and happiness as something worth protecting,\u201d Tierney adds. \u201cWatching the series bring people together and spark meaningful conversations about how these stories are told has been profoundly moving.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWatching the series bring people together and spark meaningful conversations about how these stories are told has been profoundly moving,\u201d says Jacob Tierney, who adapted \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d for television.<\/p>\n (Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n As the night wound down in Hollywood, partygoers lingered, sweaty and smiling, voices raspy from singing with friends and strangers who felt like friends.<\/p>\n Outside, the crowd spilled onto the sidewalk, already talking about the next Heated Rivalry Night. For a few hours, the story had leapt off the screen into something tangible \u2014 proof that the right song, room and people can make all the difference.<\/p>\n \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d cannot fix all of the world\u2019s ills, of course, but its influence is evident in Los Angeles and beyond. \u201cIt gave us a reason to dance. We haven\u2019t had a lot of those in the past year,\u201d Yamamoto says.<\/p>\n \u201cJoy is resistance, too.\u201d<\/p>\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768738043_683_.jpeg\")
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