On the podcast, host Alex Heeney what made her fall for Jacob Tierney’s Crave show, Heated Rivalry, and how what makes it good isn’t entirely synonymous with what makes it popular.
Discover one film you didn’t know you needed:
Not in the zeitgeist. Not pushed by streamers.
But still easy to find — and worth sitting with.
And a guide to help you do just that.
The best directed TV show of 2025 is a queer hockey romance from Canada called Heated Rivalry. And like the rest of the internet, I have become quite a fan.
But I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes it good and what has made it popular, and how those two things definitely intersect, but the Venn diagram isn’t just a circle.
So on today’s episode, I talk bout why I, too, was very excited for the cottage, why I think it’s hitting in this cultural moment, what still felt lacking — and how all of that sent me rewatching Looking, a very different kind of show, to get the hit I was really craving.
Want to watch/rewatch Looking with Alex and a small group this spring?
Show notes for Heated Rivalry
Related Episodes
94. HBO’s Looking
141. My Lady Jane with Nathalie Atkinson: An addictive, swashbuckling Tudor-era romance
117. The North Water (dir. Andrew Haigh)
91. AIDS on screen featuring It’s a Sin
Podcast Credits
Alex Heeney edited, produced, and recorded the episode.
Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram. Read our articles at seventh-row.com.
Follow Alex Heeney on Bluesky, Twitter and Instagram.
An AI-generated transcript for the episode is available on Apple Podcasts.
Discover one film you didn’t know you needed:
Not in the zeitgeist. Not pushed by streamers.
But still easy to find — and worth sitting with.
And a guide to help you do just that.
