Missing Heated Rivalry? Watch These 6 'Boys Love' Films & Shows Next
If you have even the slightest interest in romance and/or LGBTQ media, you can’t have missed the international Canadian sensation, Heated Rivalry.
Adapted from Rachel Reid’s book series, the six-episode series, which hit UK screens this month after conquering its domestic and neighbouring American market, focuses on a hidden relationship between Canadian and Russian ice hockey pros, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Their steamy, no-strings-attached hook-ups slowly build into something more romantic, taking them on separate but entwined journeys of self-discovery, heartache, and ambition.
If you’re also anything like me, you’ll have devoured those six episodes quicker than a puck hitting the back of a net and will spend the next year pining for Season 2. In the meantime, there’s a whole subgenre of ‘Boys Love’ – same-sex male romances predominantly made by and for women – films and shows to ease your yearning.
This sadly short-lived anime series was the first thing I thought of when I heard about Heated Rivalry. If I went down the anime recommendations route, we’d be here for considerably longer, as manga and anime are the mediums from which ‘Boys Love’ as a marketable thing originates. But we can’t talk about gay winter sports shows without giving Yuri on Ice its due.
When down-on-his-luck professional figure skater Yuri gets the chance to be mentored by his skating idol, Victor, he not only finds a path back to athletic greatness, but also into the arms of the silver-haired man of his dreams. There’s some Heated Rivalry tension in the presence of his firecracker Russian counterpart, also, hilariously, named Yuri, but the romance and main obstacle to said romance is a teacher/student rather than rival setup. It’s also animated by MAPPA, better known these days for shonen titles like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen, so you can expect it to look as good as it feels to watch.
Another Japanese offering, but live-action this time. Based on Inouesatoh’s manga series of the same name, 10 Dance is another rivals-turned-lovers story in a competitive setting – this time, dancing. Shinya Sugiki is the king of ballroom, while Shinya Suzuki is the Latin prince. When they team up to learn each other’s art and compete in the ‘10 dance’ championship, an unforeseen attraction builds, one that they can only stifle for so long.
This film adaptation is definitely flawed: Suzuki’s Latin heritage comes with some clumsy stereotyping, and the climax feels unrealistically cheesy. However, the two leads do have irresistible chemistry and impressive dancing ability, and while the steamiest scenes don’t go as far as Heated Rivalry, you’ll certainly feel the same cathartic flutter seeing them finally get some pent-up lust out of their systems.
Our first and not our last inclusion of bisexual favourite Nicholas Galitzine on this list. If you like a transatlantic romance (ala The Holiday, Love Actually, etc.), then the premise of Red, White & Royal Blue–the son of a U.S President and a British Prince (Galatzine) engaging in a secret affair–is a big, fluffy box ticker.
There’s a smidge of ‘rags to riches’ going on, too, with the first son of the U.S coming from humble beginnings, adding an element of ‘dreams come true’ Tinkerbell dust over a film that doesn’t pretend to be that deep, or realistic. And that’s just fine with me! The pair naturally have to hide their relationship at first, as Hollander and Rozanov do, but this adversity is merely there to boost the tension rather than wade into choppier waters.
I don’t think either Netflix or graphic novel creator Alice Oseman were prepared for the adoration from both critics and viewers that Heartstopper earned–and it’s thoroughly deserving of it. The series is a classic, coming-of-age, British-set school drama, in which two classmates come to terms with their sexualities and their feelings for one another.
Heartstopper plays to a younger audience than Heated Rivalry, a really key demographic to cater to, given its funny, sensitive, and illuminating exploration of the broader spectrum of sexual orientation – bisexual and asexual, not just gay. Fresh-faced future MCU stars Kit Connor and Joe Locke are a big part of what makes it work, bringing an earnest tentativeness to their roles, but the supporting cast makes it a fully-realised world that you’d love to hang out in.
I’ll bet, like me, you didn’t know until now that Britpack darling Josh O’Connor came up with an idea for a gay teen rom-com musical a few years ago. The Challengers and Wake Up Dead Man actor also, naturally, makes a cameo in the film, which is directed by another up-and-comer, Julia Jackson, who recently helmed the starry, romantic fever dream, 100 Nights of Hero.
Bonus Track is more for fans of the previous schmaltzier entries on this list than Heated Rivalry. It's 2006 English countryside setting gives it a touch of the darkly homoerotic Saltburn, and similarly, it centres around another ‘from different worlds’ meet-cute, with a 16-year-old wannabe pop star crossing paths with the son of music royalty. All sweet and no sour, this film is wonderfully cute confectionery for easy, afternoon viewing.
Here’s the promised second appearance of Mr Galitzine, and in one of his earliest film roles. Here, he plays the closeted star player of an all-boys boarding school rugby team in Ireland, striking up an ‘opposites attract’ kinship with his new roommate, also closeted and struggling to fit in. Their situations are mirrored in Andrew Scott, who plays a sympathetic teacher forced to keep his sexuality secret for the sake of his job.
What I especially like about Handsome Devil is that it’s one of the few pieces of LGBTQ media to feature an adolescent coming out story without a full-blown romance. Granted, that makes it an outlier on this particular list, but the sports subplot, enemies-to-(not-quite)-lovers trope, and themes of isolation and fragile masculinity still make it a strong match with Heated Rivalry. And why wouldn’t you want to see Andrew Scott in literally anything?
