Kerry Washington is going all in as a “Heated Rivalry” fan.

“I just bought one of those candles on Instagram — an ‘I’m coming to the cottage’ candle,” she told me Tuesday at the premiere of her new Apple TV series “Imperfect Women” at the Academy Museum. “I’m obsessed.”

The nine-time Emmy nominee (she won in 2020 as a producer of Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: “All In The Family” And “Good Times”) went so far as to call the queer hockey drama series “some of the greatest television in the most recent decades.”

Believe it or not, but I did not bring up the show to Washington. Earlier on the carpet, her husband, former NFL star and now actor and producer Nnamdi Asomugha, told me she was a big fan. “What’s not to love about the show,” Washington said. “It’s a show about belonging. It’s a show about acceptance. It’s a show about finding love, accepting love and having the courage to love. It’s also vey spicy.”

Nnamdi Asomugha, left and Kerry Washington with Zinzi Coogler and Ryan Coogler at the 2026 Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards.

Getty Images for ESSENCE

She recalled watching Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady’s (Robbie G.K.) romance play out in Episode 3. “There are so many shows that try to do that kind of flashback bottle episode, but I was like, ‘All of you go home and watch this. This is great television,’” Washington said. “At the end, I was literally screaming at the television.”

I suggested a football version of “Heated Rivalry” to Asomugha. “Oh, my goodness,” he said. “That would be…wow. I didn’t even think of that. That’s interesting. Wow.”

Asomugha didn’t realize that “Heated Rivalry” has inspired some queer athletes to come out publicly. “That is what art is meant to do,” he said. “It’s meant to empower you so that’s great.”

Season 2 of “Heated Rivalry” was announced soon after the series premiered on HBO Max and Canadian streamer Crave in November with Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie reprising their starring roles as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Filming is expected to begin this summer, according to series creator Jacob Tierney.

“Imperfect Women” stars Washington, Elizabeth Moss and Kate Mara as three best friends whose lives are upended after a horrific tragedy. “These girls are messy,” Washington said. “They’re making mistakes and they’re trying to figure out how to be honest.”

The first two episodes of the series premiere on Apple TV on March 18.

“One of the things I’m most proud of in this show is that we cover a lot of ground thematically, but also tonally,” Washington said. “There are light moments, moments of humor, there’s a lot of thriller, danger murder mystery stuff. There’s a lot of romance and familial love.”