The television adaptation of Rachel Reid's gay hockey romance novel, Heated Rivalry, has become an unexpected cultural sensation, with a fervent fanbase that is overwhelmingly female. The Crave series, which follows the clandestine decade-long relationship between rival professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, has sparked a mainstream conversation about gender, fantasy, and what women truly seek in romantic narratives.
A Demographic Surprise: The Female Fanbase
Despite initial assumptions that the show would primarily attract a gay male audience, figures and fan engagement tell a different story. Data reported by the New York Times indicates the audience has tilted heavily female. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are flooded with reactions from women, while lesbian and women's sports bars host marathon screenings. Late-night host Jimmy Fallon compared the screaming enthusiasm for star Hudson Williams to that seen for global pop phenomena like BTS.
Showrunner Jacob Tierney acknowledged this strategic reality, telling Teen Vogue that while gay men would watch, the "secret fanbase" was women—a much larger demographic. This aligns with a long history of women consuming male/male romantic content, from the classical historical fiction of Mary Renault to the slash fan fiction of the 1970s Star Trek fandom and today's booming commercial MLM (Men Loving Men) romance novel genre.
Escaping Gendered Power Dynamics
For many viewers, the appeal lies in experiencing a love story free from ingrained misogyny and hierarchical power structures common in heterosexual romance. "This is our dream romance," said Mary, a 64-year-old executive from Toronto. She cited a lifetime of workplace inequality to explain why the dynamic between Shane and Ilya felt so refreshing, noting the portrayal of literal equals.
Professor Clare Sears of San Francisco State University explains that stories focusing exclusively on men "sidestep the kind of gendered power imbalances that structure intimacy between men and women." This offers a form of escapism, particularly potent in a climate of trad wife rhetoric, threats to reproductive rights, and widespread discussion of disappointing heterosexual dating dynamics.
Dawn Bovasso, a 49-year-old queer avid reader from Boston, switched almost exclusively to MLM romance because she could no longer stand fictional depictions of women suffering. "The men do their own emotional labour. It's not on us to fix, defend ourselves, or worry," she said, describing the genre as better for women's psyche and wellbeing.
Fantasy, Identification, and a New Gaze
The genre also provides unique imaginative space. Professor Adrian Daub of Stanford University notes it allows women to "engage in a male gaze without a woman being offered as its object." In Heated Rivalry, the male body is objectified by the camera, while female characters remain clothed and treated with respect.
This creates a fluid viewing position where identification isn't predetermined by gender. "It opens up imaginative space for women to access more masculine parts of themselves or to fantasize about themselves in different sexual roles," added Professor Sears. For some women with disabilities or chronic illness, it also removes the pressure of comparing their bodies to those of traditional romance heroines.
The show's success has turned its leads, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, into breakout stars who presented at the Golden Globe awards in January 2026. While the online debate about whether female enjoyment of MLM content constitutes fetishisation continues, many fans and commentators offer a simpler read. As gay, non-binary influencer Griffin Maxwell Brooks put it: "If anything they're fetishising men who are not abusing women, and I think we can't be mad at that." In a complex media landscape, Heated Rivalry has tapped into a profound desire for narratives of equality, consent, and uncomplicated passion.
