How 'Heated Rivalry' became a joyful community: 'It gave us a reason to dance'
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Picture this: You’re scrolling TikTok when a video grabs your attention — it’s a packed dance floor at an L.A.venue, lights low and moody with people vibing together as clips from “Heated Rivalry,” the hit queer hockey romance, flicker across the walls.
The crowd sings along to pulse-thumping anthems from Britney Spears, Charli XCX and Bad Bunny, with a Paramore sing-along thrown in for everyone’s inner emo babe.Cheers erupt whenever favorite moments with the show’s central couple, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander — played by Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, respectively — come to life around them.A TikTok offering a glimpse of this gathering, posted by Raven Yamamoto at a Heated Rivalry Night at the Vermont Hollywood, reads: “Never kill yourself.
Just go to Heated Rivalry Night.”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, channels the sensuous vacation-from-reality energy adored by fans of the TV show, and the book series it’s 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.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 — another is being held at the Vermont on Sunday — and more than 100 multi-city pop-ups 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’t happen: After a supporter...