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In a worse world,Heated Rivalrywould be a lot less steamy. Luckily, series creator Jacob Tierney refused to let that happen.
Along with millions of fans, series star François Arnaud is very grateful for the freedom that the buzzy Canadian-made romance ultimately enjoyed. And if you ask him, it's a big part of the reason that the show has become so popular. During a visit toCBS Mornings, Arnaud celebrated the show's path to success — which apparently included Tierney turning down offers that would've significantly trimmed down theHeated Rivalry's celebrated approach to intimacy.
"I don't think this show could have been made in the U.S," Arnaud told hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson. "It was set up at a big streamer before, and they had so many notes and so many thoughts on what that show could be that Jacob decided to leave them and get it made in Canada."
Arnaud shared that among those prudish notes was a demand for "no kissing until episode five" — an unthinkable alteration to all who have enjoyed the steamy MM show.
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Over the past few weeks, the modestly made Canadian series about rival professional hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) has exploded intoa full-blown sensation. The show gets off to a rather steamy start, as the two Major League Hockey players start a sexual relationship behind closed doors, but across six episodes their relationship grows complicated as deeper feelings get involved.
Arnaud pointed out that while partnering with the Canadian streaming platform Crave meant the series was made with a "much smaller budget" than it could've had, the choice allowed Tierney to make the show that he envisioned — sexy scenes and all.
"I think that's what people are responding to and I think in a way it's a huge lesson for Hollywood people," Arnaud continued. "This is like a niche show, no movie stars and it's a [big] sensation."
Already, the serieshas earned a season 2 renewalfor which HBO Max once again will distribute the show from the Canadian streamer.
As for Tierney, theHeated Rivalrycreator has continuously championed the role that sex plays in Shane and Ilya's love story, and the show's approach to bringing that from page to screen.
"It's this very limiting, puritanical way of looking at sex scenes of, you either pan away and 'I don't wanna watch this,' or you omit people's sex lives entirely as though that's not a part of who they are,"Tierney toldEntertainment Weekly."We were very aware we're making a horny show. Let it be horny. Enjoy! That's part of the fun of this, right? That's also part of the reaction we're seeing here, is that this show is different because of that."
Sabrina Lantos
Tierney added, "Sex is not supposed to be trauma here, and that was something I really wanted to avoid. I want it to be beautiful."
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Williams and Storrie have certainly not shied away from the show's sexy reputation. The costars, who became close friends over the course of shooting, even celebrated the intimate aspect of the show by getting matching tattoos: a heart bearing the words "sex sells."
In an Instagraminterviewfor HBO Max, Storrie explained, "We settled on 'sex sells' because I think it was just kind of like a tongue-in-cheek, kind of winky view of being a part of something like this."
Added Williams, "There's sex that is selling and it's a very sort of alluring factor, but we believe it's sort of the worth and the merit beyond that."
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
