The ice-hockey romance heated rivalry has become the flagship title of Bell Media’s streaming arm, Crave. Its unexpected global reception convinced executives that Canadian-produced stories can compete beyond the North-American market. President Sean Cohan now positions the series as the benchmark for future projects, arguing that the show proves a Canadian content model can be both locally resonant and internationally sellable.
In the most recent financial release, Crave reported just over five million subscribers, a figure that already places the service among the top streaming platforms in the country. Cohan disclosed an ambition to reach six million users by the end of 2028 and, more aggressively, to be present in one-half of the nation’s estimated 15.8 million television households by 2029. The plan relies on stacking domestic hits like Heated Rivalry with premium U.S. programming secured through an extended HBO agreement that now stretches into the 2030s.
Heated Rivalry’s impact and Crave’s growth plan
The second season is slated for a 2027 release, while talk of a third installment circulates among the cast and crew. Cohan described the series as “the biggest global hit that Canada has ever produced,” emphasizing that the momentum provides a clear pathway for additional seasons, even if a definitive third-season order has not yet been announced. Beyond subscriber numbers, the show has generated considerable reputational capital, allowing Crave to negotiate better licensing deals and to attract higher-budget talent for upcoming projects.
New Canadian series riding the momentum
Capitalizing on the buzz, Crave’s pipeline now features several distinct titles. The most prominent is Yaga a witch-laden folklore drama set in the coastal town of Whittock, starring Hudson Williams – the breakout lead from Heated Rivalry – alongside veteran actress Carrie-Anne Moss. Yaga will be front-page at the upcoming MIPCOM market, and its distribution rights have already been pre-sold to AMC in the United States, Sky in the United Kingdom, and HBO Max across continental Europe.
Other projects include the queer-focused softball series Slo Pitch a comedic culinary-sport hybrid called Meatballs (inspired by the Bill Murray film), and Bulges a bar-room comedy set in a Hooters-style venue staffed entirely by men, featuring Mark-Paul Gosselaar. All four titles are being handled by Sphere Abacus the distribution arm Bell acquired last year, which is actively courting overseas broadcasters keen on authentic Canadian narratives.
Extended first encounter: what the original script revealed
While the on-screen romance between Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) has become iconic, the original script drafted by creator-director Jacob Tierney contained a much longer opening. The first meeting, filmed at a junior hockey tournament in Regina, Saskatchewan, was initially written to run up to six minutes, offering a richer exchange that displayed Shane’s awkward-dad charm and Ilya’s gradual shift from suspicion to playful banter.
During post-production, editor Arthur Tarnowski trimmed the sequence to roughly one minute, keeping only a handful of lines about a “no-smoking” sign and a brief hand-shake. Tierney’s annotations explain that the longer draft included dialogue about families, holiday timing, and the forthcoming tournament in Ottawa, all designed to lay a foundation for the characters’ chemistry. The decision to condense the scene reflects a broader industry trend of prioritising pacing over exposition, yet the original material has become a point of fascination for fans and scholars alike.
With the success of Heated Rivalry still reverberating, Bell Media is doubling down on its commitment to high-quality Canadian content. The combination of ambitious new series, aggressive subscriber targets, and an expanding international sales network suggests that the streamer aims to cement its reputation as the premier destination for home-grown drama that resonates worldwide.
