Can't Wait to Watch It Get Steamy in 'Heated Rivalry'? Here's How to Watch in the U.S.

Having a beloved book or series be adapted to film is perilous in the best of times. And now, when people's emotions are so heightened, and everyone so desperately needs a break from reality, the stakes are as high as ever. So, if you're an author bringing your books to life on the large or small screen, you have to be pretty brave.

Heated Rivalry was once just a very spicy romance novel written by Rachel Reid and obsessed about on BookTok, but Crave brought it to life.

Unfortunately for American audiences who also loved the book, an option to stream the series in the United States seemed nowhere to be found. Enter: HBO Max. The streaming giant has finally announced that we have a date for viewers in the U.S. to start streaming the highly anticipated BookTok series, and it's sooner than you'd imagine.

Here's what we know about how to watch Heated Rivalry when it lands in the U.S., and what exactly that release date will be.

If you've been waiting, patiently or not-so-patiently, for Heated Rivalry to come to a U.S.-friendly streaming service in the United States, it's HBO Max that you have to thank for the good news in that department. Crave, a primarily Canadian streaming company, adapted the film series, which meant that American audiences would have been out of luck without the deal through Max.

The streaming platform will begin airing the series, and all you need is a subscription to Max. They start at $10.99 per month, so it's about the price of two coffee shop drinks if you really want to squeeze it into your budget.

Like most Max series, one episode will come out each week, meaning you can't just binge it all on the drop date. But then again, if you wait until all of the episodes have dropped, you can binge it all in one night. Just stay far away from social media and any spoilers, if this is the route you go.

And there's some good news about the release date as well. Since Crave and Max were able to strike such a seamless deal, American audiences will get the first episode as soon as Nov. 29, 2025. Episodes will drop weekly until the Season 1 finale drops on Dec. 26, 2025, closing out the holiday season with a bang.

If you aren't familiar with Heated Rivalry, there are a few things to know. First of all, it's spicy. Like many BookTok obsessions, the book could rightly be called gay "smut," and although it's set in a non-fictional world, this hockey-centered series almost toes the line of romantasy.

It focuses on two hockey players who have butted heads professionally through the years, but eventually they can't ignore the chemistry that's rising between the two of them.

So, if you're an American fan who was worried that you would never get to watch the adaptation, there's some great news to be had. Get your Max set up, set your calendar, and get ready to watch it all go down.