Heated Rivalry is officially a Peabody Awards winner.
The Peabody Awards announced the winners for the “Entertainment” category on April 23 with Heated Rivalry being one of 11 winners of the prestigious honor. Winners are selected based on “a rigorous deliberative process and face-to-face discussions among a diverse Board of Jurors.” This is the show’s first Peabody award.
The other list of winners are:
- Adolescence
- Andor
- Common Side Effects
- Death by Lightning
- Dying for Sex
- FOREVER
- Heated Rivalry
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Mussolini: Son of the Century
- The Pitt
- Pluribus
- The Rehearsal
On the Peabody winner’s page, Peabody described the show as one where it inspired gay athletes to come out and “dispelled Hollywood’s limiting beliefs about the value of diverse stories.” Heated Rivalry follows the almost decade-long relationship between hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov who, to the world, are bitter rivals. Unbeknownst to the public, the two are far from that. What started off as a lust-filled relationship where the two seek each other out to satisfy each other’s sexual urges has turned, terrifyingly, into something more that can destroy everything they have sought to protect.
“For showing how we can overcome our worst fears and ‘go to the cottage,'” Peabody Awards wrote, “Heated Rivalry has earned a Peabody.”
Adapted from Rachel Reid’s hockey romance novel, the TV show, produced by Crave, debuted on November 28 and has received an overwhelming outpouring of critical acclaim and praise for both actors, screenwriting, directing, cinematography, and music composition. The show has earned nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards and Banff World Media Festival’s Rockie Awards, and recently won “Outstanding New TV Series” at the GLAAD Media Awards. Jacob Tierney wrote and directed the show with a second season projected to release in 2027.
The Peabody Awards ceremony takes place in LA on May 31.
Source: Peabody Awards
