The broadcasting industry In the past few years, there’s one thing Hollywood studios are undeniably good at: recycling the same idea, over and over again until the world ends (or until everyone decides it’s sick. Harry Potterwhichever comes first).
This tried and true formula is now playing in real time with Prime Video Off campus and an upcoming Netflix series Icebreaker, shows that, like him Hot Competition, is a hockey-themed romance about rivals who can’t keep their hands off each other.
But there is one main difference: Icebreaker again Off campus they’re about heterosexual romance, period Hot Competition it’s about a secret gay relationship. And if you look at how much of a role queerness has played Hot CompetitionThe hot buzz, it seems like the sound of straight up horny content is another example of Hollywood not getting the message.
Off campuswhich debuted last month, is about Hannah Wells, a reclusive singer who agrees to enter into a fake relationship (?) with college hockey captain Garrett Graham in exchange for teaching a philosophy class (??). What is to come Icebreaker, announced by Netflix this week, is about a skater who falls in love with a hockey player after they are forced to practice at the same rink.
Besides hockey, Icebreaker again Off campus they have a lot in common Hot Competition. All are famous novels: Off campus is based on the bestselling book series by Canadian author Elle Kennedy, when Icebreaker inspired by a YA novel by British author Hannah Grace. They’re also all variants on the “enemies to lovers” trope, popularized by popular sites like Wattpad and ao3.
When it premiered on Crave and HBO Max last winter, Hot Competition it gained attention mainly for its steamy sex scenes, and the chemistry between its two leads, Connor Storrie (who plays the mercurial Ilya Rozanov) and Hudson Williams (the straight-laced Shane Hollander). But as the show gained momentum, it was also praised for its portrayal of the dramatic relationship between the two, as well as its portrayal of LGBTQ-specific spaces and themes. It also gained a large following among straight women, drawing attention to Japanese fandom fujoshi, centered around heterosexual women consuming gay men’s stories.
It’s hard to overemphasize how much Hot CompetitionIts success is owed to its originality—not just because it was hot, but because there was a real need for its audience. According to UCLA’s 2024 “Hollywood Diversity Report,” shows that contain “misrepresentative stories,” including LGBTQ-themed narratives, have higher average ratings on social media talk than shows that don’t. “The evidence is clear that audiences today are hungry for diverse stories and diverse storytellers,” the report’s authors Ana-Christina Ramón and Michael Tran told WIRED in an email.
There is certainly evidence to suggest that general interest in hockey has increased as a result Hot CompetitionPopularity, as NHL ticket sales reportedly spike in the weeks following the show’s launch. But it’s hard to understand how studio executives could take that show’s success and factor it into the sudden, newfound interest in a sport that, historically, has been less popular in the United States than baseball, basketball, or football.
The real meaning of Hot CompetitionThe popularity seems obvious: girls, gays, and they like to watch hot guys play in hotel rooms and exchange longings above the dance floor. The unacceptability of Shane and Ilya’s relationship in a traditionally masculine environment also played a large role, said Matt Puretz, a senior researcher at UCLA’s Center for Storytellers and Scholars.
