Spoiler Alert: “Heated Rivalry” is not about hockey.

The new limited series, produced for the Canadian streaming service Crave and available in the U.S. on HBO Max, may look from its marketing like a show about hockey. It definitely contains a lot of scenes involving hockey – being played, being watched, being talked about – and the story is surrounded by hockey; its two main characters are professional hockey players, and their competition as opposing hockey champions (the “rivalry” of the title) is a major factor that moves the plot.

Even so, if you’re a hockey fan who knows nothing about it, and you stumble across it while looking for something to watch, be warned before you press “play” that you are probably in for a big surprise.

Adapted from “Game Changers,” a popular book series by Canadian author Rachel Reid, the show follows the two above-mentioned hockey pros – Canadian Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), each of whom is a star player for their respective team – as they compete against each other with puffed-up “alpha” swagger, on the ice and in the media. When the skates (and cameras) are off, however, there’s a different story going on. Despite the jocular animosity of their public relationship, there’s something else brewing between them in private, and it comes to a head when a commercial shoot leads to an unexpected rendezvous in a hotel room.

Well, unexpected for them, at least. We in the audience have seen it coming since that first smoldering glance across the rink.

From there, “Heated Rivalries” continues over a course of years as the two secret lovers use every match, tournament, or Winter Olympics where they compete against each other as an opportunity for more rendezvous in more hotel rooms. But while their meetings may be all about a release of pent-up passion, the bond between them is based on something more. In the high-stakes world of professional hockey, there’s not much they can do about that – publicly, at least – without killing their careers; in Ilya’s case, as a Russian citizen and the son of a prominent government official, the situation carries the potential for even graver consequences. 

That’s just at the end of the first two episodes, though. The show, which drops an episode weekly through December, leaves us hanging there to explore the story of another hockey player, Scott (François Arnaud), teammate and best friend to Shane, who becomes entangled with smoothie barista Kip (Robbie G.K.) in a whole secret gay life of his own.

If you’re thinking that the idea of a gay love story between two butch hockey players is a preposterous premise for romance fiction, think again – or at least redefine your idea of “preposterous.” It’s a genre that has exploded in popularity among a surprisingly large demographic of romance literature fans who also love hockey, combining the thrill of forbidden love with the drama and excitement of their favorite sport to catapult numerous writers, including Reid, onto the bestseller lists, which was surely a factor in the choice to translate her “Games Changers” books to the screen, courtesy of the show’s queer creator/writer/director Jacob Tierney.

The latter (also co-creator of “Letterkenny,” another popular and queer-friendly Canadian show with a strong hockey presence) delivers it with all the glossy, high-charged passion one would expect – and more – from a romance about world-class athletes in love. Set within the rarified world of wealth and privilege that is professional sports, the drama takes place against a backdrop of packed arenas, awards ceremonies, elegant fundraisers, and luxury hotels, where the protagonists must play at being enemies while secretly planning their next hook-up with each other.

Which brings us to the thing that really makes “Heated Rivalry” the buzziest queer show of late 2025: the sex. The show takes full advantage of its story’s obvious sex appeal – as well as its leading actors’ sculpted, athletic bodies – to serve up some of the hottest onscreen trysts in gay TV memory. Though they stop just short of being “explicit,” they’re the kind of sex scenes that push the limits of “softcore” right to the edge and make sure we know exactly what’s happening, even if we can’t see the details. Tierney turns those steamy private meetings between Shane and Ilya into set pieces and centers entire episodes around them, because he knows they’re what the audience is there for. Like we said, this is not really a show about hockey.

That said, it’s not really just a story about sex, either. In between those steamy scenes of athletic carnality, there’s a lot of percolating emotion happening – and thanks to the exquisitely tuned performances of Williams and Storrie, whose electric chemistry doesn’t just spark during their lovemaking scenes, but crackles through their every moment together on screen, it all comes across with elegant clarity. Shane and Ilya may want each other’s bodies, but there’s something more they want, too. There’s a tenderness in the way they look at each other, even when they’re smack-talking on the rink, and it infuses their scenes of passion, too, which arguably makes them even more blistering hot. More than that, it calls to us with its fond familiarity; it’s that heady feeling to which most of us, if we’re lucky, can relate, a sense of yearning, of needing another person so keenly that it feels like a physical sensation. In other words, it feels like being in love.

Of course there’s another layer too, which hangs over everything and ultimately fuels all the conflict in the plot: the pervasive homophobia that exists in professional sports, creating an atmosphere in which players are pressured to present nothing but a masculine, definitively “straight” image and any hint of non-heterosexual leanings is enough to destroy a career. That’s not a situation limited only to pro athletes, of course; many of us in the wider world also face the same dilemma, which is why we can all relate to this aspect of their love story, too.

Still, it would be misleading to say that “Heated Rivalry” is really about social commentary either, though it certainly brings those issues into the mix. With only half the six-episode season released so far, it’s hard to draw a certain conclusion, but what stands out most about the series so far is the way it captures the palpable joy of being in love – and yes, that includes the joy of expressing that love physically. These joys come with pain, too, when they can only be shared in secret, and it’s that obstacle that Shane and Ilya – and apparently, with the side trip of episode three, Scott and Kip as well – must find a way to overcome if they want their real yearning to be fulfilled.

For now, we’ll have to wait to find out if they can all make it. In the meantime, you know we’ll all be watching each new installment with our full attention, waiting to see what happens during Shane and Ilya’s next match-up.

And no, we’re not talking about hockey.

The post ‘Heated Rivalry’ is the gay hockey romance you didn’t know you needed appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

The podcast, produced by Will Packer Productions and Complex, features eight episodes that spotlight the stories behind Atlanta’s music scene, politics, film, religion, and more. To help decide what those stories should be, the production team brought in a trio of experts. 

Jewel Wicker, Maurice Garland, and Christina Lee serve as hosts of the podcast,  tasked with figuring out just how those eight episodes should be divided up. With seven of the eight episodes already out (the final one drops Dec. 17), the trio has covered everything from the influence of Atlanta’s Black churches on the rest of the world to the city’s status as a Mecca for Black businesses. 

“Those first few months were us sitting down and saying, you guys have this very general, broad concept,” Wicker said. “Within the reporting that the three of us have done over the span of our careers, what are some stories that we’re interested in telling?”

The three hosts bring very different backgrounds to the podcast. Wicker’s family has been in Atlanta since the 1920s. Lee moved to the city from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area in 2009. Garland wasn’t born in Atlanta, but he might as well have been — he and his family moved to the city when he was four years old. 

The hosts’ different perspectives help “Atlanta Is…” offer a robust take on the city, telling stories that are personal to them and that they’re passionate about. 

“A lot of these stories are about places that we have actually set foot and spent time in. A lot of these stories are about people that we run into all the time or actually know,” Garland said. “I interviewed the dude that owns the barber shop that I go to!”

That personal touch is what makes “Atlanta Is…” such a fun listen, but the hosts faced a singular challenge — making the podcast interesting to locals while still making it accessible to those outside of the city. The stories on the podcast are specific to Atlanta and emphasize its reputation as an epicenter of Black culture. But even with that specificity, the stories are still universal, Garland said. When the episode about the 559 — the popular 1990s nightclub that helped fuel the rise of crunk music  — was released, Garland said friends from all over the country were reaching out to tell him about similar clubs in their cities. 

“We’re still telling very American stories at the same time. I think that’s what makes it palatable to a lot of audiences,” Garland said. “But we are doing ourselves a favor by trying to be as specific as possible and not leaving a lot of room for vagueness or misunderstanding.”

The podcast features interviews with plenty of nationally known names, like Ludacris and Sen. Raphael Warnock. But Lee said that whenever they talked to a celebrity, they tried to present them within contexts that they’d rarely been seen in before. One episode features Ludacris talking about his roots in Atlanta rap radio. Another features Pastor Troy discussing Atlanta’s role as a nexus for Black businesses. 

“We had to be conscious of the names that would draw everybody else to the show, but we wanted to be able to talk to them in ways that still seemed novel and exciting for us,” Lee said. 

When figuring out how to shape each episode, it was necessary to kill some darlings — after all, some of these episode topics could have stretched on into series-long podcasts themselves. Lee said she was conscious of making sure that the stories they told not only explained Atlanta then, but helped explain the city today. 

“First it has to be a compelling story … but then also when you get to the end, is it the story that can really help substantially explain some aspect of how Atlanta’s cultural influence shows up today?” Lee said. 

For Wicker, working on the show added more context to events that she experienced first as just a person, not a reporter. One of the episodes tells the story of Morris Brown College losing its accreditation in conjunction with the 2002 movie “Drumline,” which was filmed on Morris Brown’s campus. Morris Brown lost its accreditation around the same time due to financial mismanagement issues. The school’s accreditation was restored in 2022. 

“I knew Morris Brown and had a reverence for it, and I obviously knew that they lost their accreditation, and I also knew ‘Drumline,’ obviously – it’s a cult classic,” Wicker said. “But I don’t think I had really put the timeline together … that those two things were happening literally at the same time.” 

Garland said that one of his favorite episodes was Episode Six, which considers Atlanta’s reputation as a Mecca for Black businesses. His aforementioned barber shop resides on Peters Street. According to Garland, the owner, Karl Booker, had been hounding him for years about doing a story about the businesses of Peters Street. 

“I finally had an opportunity to do that after him telling me that for 20 years,” Garland said. 

That’s been one of the real rewards of this podcast, said Wicker — telling stories about slices of Atlanta history that don’t get the shine they deserve. 

“We finally get to tell some of the stories that have been untold and give some of those folks a platform to tell their stories in a way that for decades they’ve been wanting to, and no one has given them the chance,” Wicker said. 

The post ‘Atlanta Is …’ podcast dives into what makes the city unique appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

The second time the girl with the falcon and the Latin tutor meet, he’s embarrassed. 

The first time they met, he mistook the girl – Agnes (Jessie Buckley) – for one of the serving girls, and, in quite a forward move, kissed her before she ran off. He has since learned that she’s the eldest daughter of the family he’s been working for and has come, chagrined, to apologize. But he doesn’t necessarily regret his actions, just his mistake. He’s fascinated by Agnes. In fact, she renders him a bit dumb. “I find speaking to people sometimes difficult,” he tells her. 

Agnes finds his inability to speak a little ironic (and has no problem calling it out). And it is a bit ironic, given that the Latin tutor is William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal). Not yet known for the works that will make him the most famous playwright in history, but a known intellectual and wordsmith around their small town no less. As his stuttering dies down, Will decides to tell Agnes the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. He transforms, then, from an awkward boy to a man alive with the power of the poetry pouring out of him. 

This will become a theme in Agnes (more commonly known as Anne Hathaway) and Will’s relationship — her emotions coming easy, raw, and unfiltered, while he finds it necessary to process his through art. “Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name, dramatizes that dynamic in connection with the death of the couple’s 11-year-old son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), which in turn inspires perhaps Shakespeare’s most famous play, “Hamlet.” (The film begins with by telling us that those two names would have been interchangeable at the time)

While a bit clunky in its narrative setup, “Hamnet” slowly nestles into your heart, evolving into a beautifully considered meditation on art and legacy, but not necessarily in the way you expect a movie that’s, at least in part, about William Shakespeare to be. Although “Hamnet” is unmistakably about grief, it feels trite to pin its considerations down to just the process of dealing with unimaginable loss. Instead, “Hamnet” is also about the pain and joy of creation, both in parenthood and art. It’s about two people in a constant dance with each other and the world, reckoning with their pasts in an attempt to build something stronger together. 

With “Hamnet,” Zhao seems deeply invested in what the novel has to say about legacy. Not from a grand perspective, but rather how we reckon with what it is our parents have left us. Agnes has a strong desire to stay connected to the physical world around her — a trait she picked up from her late mother, and a desire completely divorced from that of her husband, who falls into his imagination to escape his abusive, overbearing father (and even that isn’t far enough away). Her fingernails are dirty, her hair a tangled mess. She chooses to have her firstborn daughter, Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) in the woods, the wind wailing, moaning, and screaming with her. 

These are all superficial markers of a woman connected to the natural world, but for this character, it’s less about the forest itself and more about reaching for some spiritual connection to the mother who loved the woods well, and who left her too early. The second time Agnes gives birth to her twins, Hamnet and Judith (Olivia Lynes), she’s forced to stay inside. She wails for her mother, for the relative ease of this process when she could feel her presence in the trees. 

This second birthing scene also represents one of the core ideas of “Hamnet,” which is creation as communion. It might be a very singular thing, to give birth — or, to write a play — but the effect is communal. Agnes’ mother-in-law Mary (Emily Watson) is firmly in the anti-Agnes camp when they first meet, but it’s here where an understanding finally blooms between the two women. In Agnes’ pain and grief, Mary comforts her by telling her that her husband was born in this very room. Took his first breaths over by the window in the corner. She is communicating to Agnes that she and her children belong here as much as they belong in the woods, soothing a fear and creating a new safe haven in the process. 

Will and Agnes are often creating together, but even the things they ostensibly create separately — he misses the birth of the twins, his imagination forever taking him away to London, and later, she is unaware that he is writing a play that shares a name with their deceased son — are forged with both of them in mind. There’s a reason the backdrop for “Hamlet” looks exactly like Agnes’ woods. She is up there as much as he is. 

When grief strikes though, it’s difficult to find that sense of togetherness again. Zhao films many of the scenes in “Hamnet” like a play, a static camera that lets the actors move about the space. The effect can be strangely alienating at times, but when it works it captures the tragedy of change. There is a particular shot of the twins’ room that repeats throughout the film — the shot is the same, but the context is different, a simple way for Zhao to show us the sadness of a space, despite its physical characteristics barely changing, 

In that sadness, it becomes painful to create. It’s agonizing to put so much of yourself into something, dedicate your life to nurturing and protecting it, and have it be gone in an instant. There’s a tension between Buckley and Mescal’s performances throughout the film, but their reactions to Hamnet’s death draw out those stark differences. Buckley is so free with her movements, whether it be an upward quirk of her mouth or the guttural scream she releases upon the death of her son. Mescal feels more self-conscious in a very male, artistic sort of way. He lets out a small, “That’s my boy” when he looks upon Hamnet’s body, the tears only fully coming when he’s alone. 

Agnes has no issue telling him how little she thinks of how he handles his grief. She derides his decision to retreat back into that place in his head, to go back to his stories instead of confronting this head on the way she is forced to. There is an argument to be made that he’s running away. Even with the film’s eventual end, with Will confronting Hamnet’s death through his work, he still left a family behind to do so. He retreated into himself, leaving them to go it alone. The movie never really contends with that damage, rushing through Agnes’ hurt over finding out about the play, whereas the novel wraps you up in her boiling rage. 

And yet, in his retreat, Will finds another act of creation, not to recover what he has lost, but to share in that grief, and joy, and wonder with his wife and the world in the way he knows how. “Hamlet,” thankfully, does not represent a one-to-one of the tragedies of “Hamnet.” So, as the rest of the world feels the pain of a young man avenging his father, feels Agnes and Will’s pain siphoned through a different lens, Agnes is able to finally hear her husband’s grief as best he can express it, to see her son’s desire to be one of his father’s players borne out in the young actor at the show’s helm (Noah Jupe – the real life brother of Jacobi Jupe). It’s just as it was in the beginning, when she was able to hear Will’s love and affection for her through the lens of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. 

Through “Hamlet,” one of the aims of art is achieved: Will, Agnes, and Hamnet’s story becomes something universally understood, but it is still theirs — something forged out of their own pain, and pasts, and joys. Shared, but completely their own. 

The post ‘Hamnet’ and the act of creation as communion appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

For the first time, the Virginia-Highland Civic Association (VHCA) will host its Tour of Homes in tandem with Virginia-Highland Winterfest, offering a full weekend of seasonal celebration. The collocation brings together Instagram-worthy “homes for the holidays” with irresistible charm, shops, restaurants, and community spirit.

Returning to its original December schedule, the Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes celebrates a century of architectural charm and neighborhood pride with a showcase of 10 beautifully decorated homes, including homes featured in Architectural Digest and House Beautiful.

Tour times are Saturday, Dec. 13, from noon to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 14, from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person (children 10 and younger are free) in advance at vahitourofhomes.org or $40 the day of the event. The tour app is available on both Apple and Google Play.

The 2025 tour offers a rare peek inside these coveted homes, beautifully dressed in their holiday best, and the opportunity to be inspired by some of Atlanta’s top interior designers, including Heuer Design Collective, Bellwether Interiors and Nugent + Co.
Proceeds from the Tour of Homes benefit the Virginia-Highland Civic Association and its work with civic engagement,  local schools, parks and community improvement projects.

This year, the magic of the Home Tour extends beyond the featured houses. 

VHCA will host Winter Wonderland, a charming and cozy display of storefront windows along North Highland Avenue. For this presentation, Midtown High School students were partnered with neighborhood businesses to create festive, creative window designs that bring the spirit of the season to life.

 The same weekend, the Virginia-Highland District Association will host Winterfest, a growing neighborhood event tradition, delights visitors from across the city with the Jingle Jog 5K, a holiday parade, gift market, and more

By combining the vibrant energy of Winterfest with the historic charm of the Tour of Homes, the weekend becomes a major community fundraiser that offers something for everyone, from runners to shoppers to architecture lovers.

By merging these signature events, the Virginia Highland District Association and Virginia-Highland Civic Association are able to combine forces and raise more funding for essential services and neighborhood improvements, helping preserve the charm and vitality of Virginia-Highland for years to come. 

Unwrap the Weekend Schedule

Saturday, Dec. 13 
8 a.m.: Jingle Jog 5K 
10 a.m.: Holiday Parade 
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Gift Market
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Kids Corner
Noon to 6 p.m.: Tour of Homes

Sunday, Dec. 14 
Noon to 5 p.m.: Tour of Homes

A Closer Look

Jingle Jog 5K
The Jingle Jog is back and bigger than ever! Lace up your sneakers, put on your bells, and kick off Winterfest weekend with a festive 5K starting at 8 a.m. on Dec. 13. Your little ones can join the fun too with our 0.25-mile Elf Dash, free for runners under 12. Come decked out in your festive holiday gear–costumes are highly encouraged!  Every Jingle Jogger will receive a commemorative race T-shirt.

Holiday Parade
The Holiday Parade rolls out at 10 a.m. after the Jingle Jog, making its way down Lanier Blvd, filling the streets with festive floats, music, and holiday cheer. Want to be part of the magic? Float registration is now open, so gather your group, get creative, and join the fun! 

Gift Market
Find gifts worth giving and support the 80 talented local makers and artisans at the heart of the festival. From youth-made crafts to unique vintage jewelry, the Gift Market is the perfect place to shop small and check off everyone on your list. The market is open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Tour of Homes
The annual event anchors the weekend with a self-guided look inside some of the neighborhood’s most charming residences, dressed up for the season. The tour runs both Saturday and Sunday. See page 15 for more on the tour.

Kids Corner
Winterfest is fun for the whole family! Bring your little ones to the Kids Corner from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday for a day packed with holiday excitement from festive crafts and s’mores to face painting and bounce houses. It’s the perfect spot for kids to play, create, and make merry memories while you shop. 

For the full schedule, participating vendors, and volunteer opportunities, visit virginiahighlanddistrict.com/winterfest or follow @virginiahighlanddistrict on Instagram and Facebook for updates.

The post Virginia-Highland Winterfest and Tour of Homes set for Dec. 13-14 appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Where you land, how you leave

Dec. 10 — Outgoing Atlanta City Council president Doug Shipman is moving into a new role, and he’s thinking about what it means to keep artists at home. As the incoming president and CEO of South Arts, Shipman is taking on a nine-state region where creative workers often start their careers, leave for visibility, and return only after building their names elsewhere. 

At Hartsfield-Jackson, movement is the medium. Georgia Tech’s yearlong art exhibition, “Transport | Transform | Transcend: Innovations in Materials and Movements,” turns the constant flow of 104 million annual travelers into art. The challenge isn’t getting people to slow down. It’s creating work that meets them where they are – mid-stride and mid-journey.

Two tales of creative movement. One about building systems of support, the other on what happens when movement itself is the material.

What’s moving you these days? 
—Sherri Daye Scott

Not an artist, but a catalyst

Doug Shipman takes over South Arts in January with a nine-state challenge: build funding and systems to keep creative workers rooted in the Southeast. 

 Read about Shipman’s priorities for the region. 

Discover what’s new in Chamblee!
SPONSORED BY DISCOVER DEKALB

Experience Chamblee’s vibrant culture through its expanding public art scene, where murals and sculptures showcase the city’s diversity, creativity, and global spirit.

Explore colorful pieces that bring neighborhoods to life and celebrate community connection.

And, with the unveiling of a new sculpture at the newly renovated Dresden Park, there’s never been a better time to discover Chamblee’s artistic heartbeat.

Art at airport speed

 Georgia Tech’s yearlong “Transport | Transform | Transcend” exhibition uses travelers’ movement as its material: walk past and your steps become petals on a digital flower; an AI system tracks your motion and dances back; sound installations are powered by bicycles, not fossil fuels. The exhibition runs through November 2026 at Hartsfield-Jackson. 

 See how Georgia Tech artists are turning motion into art.

Art Happenings

 “Know Hope” Screening & Artist Talk | 6:30 p.m., Dec. 11 | The Supermarket ATL. (pictured)

 Art After Hours: “Metamorphosis” | 6-8 p.m., Dec. 11 | The Arts Center.

 “Through Every Window, A Little Light Flows” Opening | 6-9 p.m., Dec. 12 | The Bakery Atlanta. 

 “A Vibrant Thang”: Opening & spirit-free Candy Cocktail Bar  | 6-9 p.m., Dec. 12 | Avondale Arts Alliance.

 Art of Street Wear | 12-7 p.m., Dec. 13 | WESTL STUDIOS.

Post of the Week

 A Print Born of Care

Printmaker Delita Martin shares a first look at “The Songkeepers: The Women of Ebon,” a varied edition created to support Atlanta artists who lost work in the recent South River Art Studio fire. Each pull carries its own voice and story – and each sale helps rebuild what was taken.

 See the post.

 Today’s Sketchbook was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.

The post 🌌 South Arts’ new ‘catalyst’ appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.