Bell Media’s Canadian hockey romance series “Heated Rivalry” has generated strong international sales ahead of its Nov. 28 premiere on streamer Crave.
Sphere Abacus has sold the six-episode Crave Original show to HBO Max in the US and Australia, where it will premiere on November 28, as well as on Sky in New Zealand on November 30 and on MoviStar Plus+ in Spain, with a release date to be announced.
Created by “Letterkenny” writer/director/producer Jacob Tierney and based on Rachel Reid’s best-selling book series “Game Changers,” “Rivalry” follows the love story of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Story). The cast also includes Francois Arnault, Robbie GK, Christina Cheung, Dylan Walsh, Sophie Nellis, and Ksenia Daniela Karlamova.
The show’s synopsis reads: “Shane and Elijah are two of Major League Hockey’s biggest stars, bound by ambition, rivalry and a magnetic force neither of them fully understands.” “What begins as a secret love affair between two rookies develops into a journey of love, denial, and self-discovery that spans years. Over the next eight years, the two struggle to keep their emotions off the ice while pursuing glory on the ice. Torn between the sport they live in and a love they can’t ignore, Shane and Elijah must decide whether their fiercely competitive world has room for something as fragile and powerful as real love.
The international distribution of ‘Heated Rivalry’ follows Bell Media’s acquisition of a majority stake in Sphere Abacus earlier this year, positioning the company as the primary international distributor of Bell Media’s distribution rights.
“‘Heat Rivalry’ is premium, high-quality content that resonates with audiences around the world,” said Justin Stockman, Bell Media’s vice president of content development and programming. “These international sales are a testament to Accent Aig Entertainment’s vision for Rachel Reid’s story and underscore the strength of our partnership with Sphere Abacus and our shared commitment to bringing engaging and topical content to audiences around the world.”
Jonathan Ford, Managing Director of Sphere Abacus, added: “With strong performances from our lead actors, Rivals delivers a powerful and unique story that our clients around the world want to share with their audiences. We are very excited about the prospects for further international sales of this fascinating series in the coming weeks.”
Bell Media President Sean Cohan said the company’s long-standing goal is to “create great content that goes around the world” and that the sales of “Heat Rivalry” are “another validation of that vision.”
He continued, “Jonathan Ford and the team at Sphere Abacus have been a great partner on this journey, helping us bring our series to a loyal audience around the world…We’re just getting started.”
“Heated Rivalry” is produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media’s Crave. Tierney serves as writer, director, producer and executive producer. Brendan Brady will serve as producer and executive producer. Lori Fishberg will serve as producer and Reed will serve as consulting producer. At Bell Media, Alison Korogyi is senior production executive for original programming. Sarah Fowlie is the executive producer of original programming. Adam Feigen is the Director of Development and is responsible for original scripted programming. Rachel Goldstein-Cuto is the head of development for original programming. Brian Blazik is Head of Bell Media Sales at Sphere Abacus. Carlyn Klebuc is general manager of original programming. Stockman is vice president of content development and programming.
