SPOILERS: This post contains details about the Heated Rivalry, Season 1 finale episode ‘The Cottage’
With the conclusion of Heated Rivalry‘s rookie season, writer/director/creator Jacob Tierney is taking a breath before hitting the ice again with the wildly popular LGBTQ hockey drama series.
Ahead of the highly anticipated Season 1 finale ‘The Cottage’, which is now available to stream on Crave and HBO Max, Tierney teased that despite the satisfying closure of the episode, Season 2 and beyond “will always be centered around” Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov’s (Connor Storrie) love story, with author Rachel Reid’s final book in the series, The Long Game, serving as the basis.
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“But we have a whole universe here, and so there’s loads of other things that we’re thinking about and that we’re gonna explore and that we’re gonna start to take more seriously now that we know that there’s an audience for it,” explained Tierney, following the show’s Season 2 renewal. “And that’s pretty exciting, so I’m looking forward to really digging into this world.”
Taking LGBTQ and female audiences by storm with its bold depictions of gay sex and romance, Tierney revealed that his favorite intimate scenes were in the finale.
“What I was committed to was making sure that we watch this relationship evolve through the sex, because it’s one thing to just make smut—which I’m thrilled to be doing. No shame in that game,” he said. “But it would be numbing and boring to watch the same f*ck scene over and over again. Who cares at a certain point? We are certainly not starved for sex, as viewers.”
Tierney added, “That’s why I love the sex in episode 6 so much, because it’s both incredibly sweet and then incredibly playful and funny. And I like those two juxtapositions. That’s when I feel like they’re a real couple, like when you’re giving somebody a blowjob to annoy them. That’s what a boyfriend does.”
Read on about the Heated Rivalry, Season 1 finale’s sex scenes, why the show’s depiction of LGBTQ fame appealed to him and what’s ahead for Season 2.
DEADLINE: Are you surprised that the show has taken off on this level, outside of Canada?
JACOB TIERNEY: No, this is exactly what I expected—yes, I’m very surprised. We’re all a bit overwhelmed by the reaction to the show. Obviously, it’s very gratifying and it’s very nice, but it’s certainly not anything you can expect, and then coupled with, plan for anything like that. It’s crazy.
DEADLINE: And it was awesome seeing the fan reaction to the Scott [François Arnaud] and Kip [Robbie GK] kiss in the last episode. It was such a good wrap-up for that episode.
TIERNEY: It was very moving to see all those reactions. It was very, very moving for me.
DEADLINE: And now, all of the gays and the girls are super excited for ‘The Cottage’.
TIERNEY: I’m telling you, no Canadian’s that excited.
DEADLINE: Was the pressure on to bring that part of the book to life? Because I’ve seen a lot of people are really anticipating it.
TIERNEY: I mean, I made the show. I didn’t think anybody was gonna care this much. I’m relieved that I made it the way that I did. I mean, there was pressure for me internally to end the show well. And I think that the thing that I was aware of, though it might not seem that way on the surface, it’s a big swing cause it’s a two-hander essentially. To go from an episode like 5, which is so big and epic, into ‘The Cottage’, which is relatively tiny—I think 38 of the 52 minutes are the two of them alone in a cottage. That’s kind of a big structural and narrative swing to pull off, or to attempt, I suppose. But I just wanted to continue to do right by this relationship, these characters, and to give their journey the kind of last push that I thought it needed to successfully finish the book.
DEADLINE: And I really appreciated the scene with Shane’s parents because coming out was obviously such a big fear for him, and just seeing how perfectly they handled it. Tell me about bringing something that gay kids really need to see to the screen like that.
TIERNEY: Yeah, it’s a big part of the book, so I certainly didn’t invent it whole cloth. But yeah, that stuff is very important, and it’s always been an interesting distinction between Shane and Ilya. And I think it’s quite stark when Ilya—it’s a small line that he says in episode 5, but he says that about his father, “I wish he could have known me.” And I think that’s what he means, and I think that Ilya’s very aware. Part of the reason that he’s kind of gently probing Shane in that episode and being like, “Do they know about you?” And he’s like, “No, about you. Who f*cking cares about me? Do they know you? If they don’t, you’ll regret it at a certain point. You need to take this leap.” And it’s scary as those of us who’ve come out to parents [know], which is most gay kids at this point, or queer people in general. It’s very scary and it’s a big deal, but it’s something that’s pretty important in that journey. And what was important to me throughout the show was to make sure that we had sophisticated and complicated relationships with parents going on here. It was why it was so important for me to keep Skip’s dad in the show, to see somebody be supportive like that, to see somebody whose love cup is endless. And I think that to see Yuna [Shane’s mom, played by Christina Chang] is such an important part of this show, and she’s such an important part moving forward, especially. And I think that in these moments, you see that her and Shane are so similar, and they have very similar limitations, and that it was really important to me for the two of them to have a moment together beyond what was already in the book and what was already in the story. It felt very important to me that these two have—I don’t think it’s a reckoning, but that they have their own moment of intimacy where they can clear things up for one another. Because I think they’re both the kinds of people that build things up in their heads, and when you say things out loud, I think you can kind of take the air out of them, and it suddenly becomes a lot more manageable than whatever you’ve created in your brain. And it helps to have two very, very good actors there to do the heavy lifting for me.
DEADLINE: And one thing that’s really tragic, even though it was such a great finale, just the fact that Shane wants to just keep their relationship a secret until they retire. And it kind of struck me how it’s almost like art imitating life, or vice-versa, with the pressure and speculation that the actors are facing. Was that exploration of fame in the back of your head when you were making this?
TIERNEY: I mean, I’ve been an actor my whole life. I know what that’s like. I’ve known loads of actors in the closet. I’ve known loads of actors who have come out. And I do think that part of the reason that this story appealed to me is because I can relate to it. I can understand that pressure, especially when you come up at a young enough age that you don’t know, that you don’t know what an answer to a question like that would be, but you certainly live in a world where you got a lot of people telling you not to talk about it, and that if you want the things you want, you’ll kind of keep toe-ing a line. And I think that’s also part of what makes the story resonate with so many people is that we’re not pretending we live in a world without homophobia, and we’re not pretending we live in a world where coming out is easy. I think that’s part of the beauty of what Scott does is so brave, and it’s so big, and it does crack something open for other people, but I think what it cracks open for them is just allowing them to know that they are allowed to be together. The rest of it, they can figure out at a later date—and the fans of the book know how this is gonna go—but I think that part of what is interesting and different and unique about Shane and Ilya’s story is that this journey that we’re watching them go on in this first book, in this first season of TV now, is a journey to just understanding that they love each other. And that’s such a hurdle for them. That’s hard enough for them, that to then add in the rest of the world, I think will take a whole other season of television. So, that’s kind of part of the journey that will be explored down the road. But I have a lot of empathy and I have a lot of time for Shane’s journey with that stuff. It’s not easy. It’s hard, and I do think that there’s actors, a lot of professionals, especially people who begin their professional journey at 12 years old. There’s so much baked in, and there’s so much built in around you that you can often lose yourself. I think it’s quite easy to do that, and again, I’ve seen it happen with so many actors that I came up with.
DEADLINE: Speaking of which, I just recently discovered that you were in Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which was such a big part of my childhood.
TIERNEY: I am a campfire kid forever.
DEADLINE: I love that. Were there moments on Heated Rivalry where you had to compromise your vision or the story?
TIERNEY: Sure, there were moments along the way … my execs at Crave were so f*cking amazing about that. There were people along the way. But my execs, they didn’t want it toned down at all.
DEADLINE: Well, it’s great to see such a fearlessly queer show, especially when GLAAD recently released their study that almost half of LGBTQ characters are disappearing. So, it just feels very needed right now, and I love it.
TIERNEY: We added a bunch, so at least there’s that. It’s not a great time for stuff like that, and I think, unfortunately, the more there’s consolidation among broadcasters and streamers too, it’s not gonna get a lot better, I don’t think. But it is nice to be a part of a show that is doing something like this, that’s reminding people that there’s loads of audiences here and that they can be queer and queer adjacent, our allies, our friends, our families. If this was just gay people watching this show, we wouldn’t be talking about it right now, let’s be real. So, the fact that it’s gotten to this level of conversation in the culture is because there are people that want to watch this, and they don’t care if it’s two men in a love story, or maybe even want that specifically. And then even more so, it’s just such a pleasure to be involved in a show that’s making people happy and that is providing joy. I still read people being like, “I know that this show is gonna end on a cliffhanger.” And I keep wanting to shout it from the rooftops, “It won’t! I don’t want to do that to you, that’s not what we’re doing here.”
DEADLINE: Honestly, I had that thought too, watching it. It’s such a good ending, and then they get in the car. I’m like, “Oh, they’re about to get into a car accident or something. I just know it.”
TIERNEY: You know what’s really funny, is that if I let that footage just run and run and run, because we shot that in the studio, my producing partner Brendan [Brady] will run out in front of that car and get hit by it. So you will see our straight producer dying. Does that help? Is that the secret twist that nobody saw coming?
DEADLINE: That’s the one we want.
TIERNEY: There you go. That’s it.
DEADLINE: Another thing I thought was funny, I’m reading a lot of the social media reactions, and you’ve introduced a lot of viewers to frottage.
TIERNEY: Frottage at the cottage, baby!
DEADLINE: Yeah, exactly. So that’s cool, it’s really opening a lot of eyes to queer sex. And I’ve also seen some people talk about how very accurate the sex scenes are to the book, and I’m wondering if you were very committed to maintaining accuracy to those scenes.
TIERNEY: Some of them are super accurate to, or close to the book, and some of them go different ways. But what I would say I was committed to, that Rachel and I are both committed to, was kind of using this sex to tell their story, that this is not separate from their story. The sex isn’t like, “And then they fuck! Let’s put it in a new room or do it on a kitchen counter.” Their sex is the way that they understand each other, and it’s the way that we understand them as a couple. So, what I was committed to was making sure that we watch this relationship evolve through the sex, because it’s one thing to just make smut—which I’m thrilled to be doing. No shame in that game. But it would be numbing and boring to watch the same f*ck scene over and over again. Who cares at a certain point? We are certainly not starved for sex, as viewers. You can go watch sex wherever you want to. So, what would have to keep this interesting, is to watch it evolve and to watch their intimacy change. That’s why I love the sex in episode 6 so much, because it’s both incredibly sweet and then incredibly playful and funny. And I like those two juxtapositions. That’s when I feel like they’re a real couple, like when you’re giving somebody a blowjob to annoy them. That’s what a boyfriend does. That’s annoying. That’s great. That’s what I want to see.
DEADLINE: Another thing I loved, as great as the sex scenes are, I noticed that episode 5, there’s not as many sex scene.
TIERNEY: There’s none.
DEADLINE: But there’s a lot of more emotional intimacy, and it made it feel so earned and real. Like when Ilya tells Shane “I love you” in Russian.
TIERNEY: I think that’s part of the evolution too, it’s a story. It was really important to me that you have to earn these moments. That’s why episode 3 is where it is, and that’s why 5 ends the way it does. This stuff, it has to imprint on you, and then, you get that those big feelings like that. And I don’t think you get those big feelings that you get in 5 if you haven’t sat through how painful 4 was for them, or the ending of 2, where you’re like, “Oh God, will these two ever f*cking learn to talk to each other?” And then when they do in 5, it’s in two different languages. I think that’s also part of what’s amazing when romance works, that you’re just endlessly watching two people bypass each other. When they hit, you’re like, “No, wait! It’s not that.” And that aching. Yeah, it’s been so fun to see people react to that.
DEADLINE: Where are you at with Season 2, or are you just kind of letting it ruminate?
TIERNEY: It’s all gonna be underwater. It takes place in the lost city of Atlantis—no, listen, Season 2 will be based around The Long Game. I don’t have details. I have not started writing, so I’m not just trying to be evasive. I genuinely don’t know yet. I’m so lucky to have a whole world of books here to grab things from, to use, to add color, to add context, to add story. I can tell you I’m really excited to get back to writing. I’m excited to get back into this world with them, and I’m looking forward to it. I guess, here’s what I can say too, is that Heated Rivalry will always be centered around Shane and Ilya, this show. But we have a whole universe here, and so there’s loads of other things that we’re thinking about and that we’re gonna explore and that we’re gonna start to take more seriously now that we know that there’s an audience for it. And that’s pretty exciting, so I’m looking forward to really digging into this world.