Everyone's Favorite Hockey Show ‘Heated Rivalry’ Isn’t Eligible for Emmy Nominations

In late 2025, Canadian streaming service Crave decided to produce a show no one probably would've ever thought would get made: Heated Rivalry. Following the tradition of merging "manly" worlds with a gay romantic primary plot, a la Brokeback Mountain, the series follows two hockey players who go toe-to-toe on the ice, but romp around with each other once their jerseys are off.

The series has garnered a lot of attention for its premise, and there's been buzz around its disqualification for the 2025 Emmy Award season.

The reason for the show's inability to apply for Emmy nods boils down to the nature of Heated Rivalry's production, and they do not comply with Emmy awards show rules. As Variety explains, any series that is considered for Emmy awards must be US-based productions.

Now that doesn't mean that programs that receive any type of foreign funding aren't allowed to apply for an Emmy award. Because if that were the case, then, there'd be a lot of beloved and critically acclaimed series that would've never taken home a trophy at all.

The rules clearly state that there needs to be some type of level of collaboration between US and foreign production teams. And that's in terms of both money and artistic direction.

As the entertainment outlet puts it: "The 2024-25 Emmy rules state that a 'foreign television production is ineligible unless it is the result of a co-production (both financially and creatively) between U.S. and foreign partners."

The Emmy rules go on to state: "Which precedes the start of production, and with a purpose to be shown on U.S. television."

Originally, Heated Rivalry was set to debut in 2026, but Crave moved it up to the Holiday 2025 season in the hopes to capture viewers while they were off from work.

The push seemed to work; however, this meant that the show's first season was already done by the time HBO Max got to distributing on its streaming service, so U.S. viewers could watch all of the gay hockey action.

And while HBO Max is responsible for helping get a lot more eyes on the show, it didn't really have a creative or financial role in the show's production.

And it seems that this mode of content delivery is going to remain constant for season 2. HBO's CEO and content chairman, Casey Bloys, said as much according to Variety. "We're not going to be involved. I think the last thing the show needs is people meddling in what works."

Bloys continued, 'So, I don't feel the need to weigh in. Clearly, they've got a good sense of the show and what works. I will be excited to receive my episodes and highlight them on HBO Max."

And while the show isn't going to be getting an Emmy, it's already received some distinctions due to its success. It garnered a Peabody award, a GLAAD media award, and has been cleaning house with nods in the Great White North.

Plus, it also has a dedicated viewership, which is arguably better than a trophy doled out by a relatively small group of people who decide what's artistically meritorious.