I can't stop thinking about the insane hat trick Jacob Tierney pulled off as the creator, director, and writer of #heatedrivalry
CREATOR — Tierney not only reached out to novelist Rachel Reid about adapting her books into a series, but pushed back when studio heads tried to cut the show’s explicit sex scenes and then cast the truly perfect troupe of actors to bring this story to life.
DIRECTOR — Yes, the show was visually arresting (no one will ever forget the club scene into shower sex montage) but it was only as the season wore on that you realized how intentional every frame was as one visual callback after another was revealed, tying Episode 6 to Episode 1, perfectly completing this part of Shane and Ilya’s journey.
WRITER — The online discourse has made it abundantly clear that this show has tapped into something much bigger than a sexy show about closeted hockey players. It showcases the kind of big, sweeping romantic writing that has always been reserved for stories about straight people and reminds us that we deserve sunshine too. I can’t imagine what it would have meant to me to see queer love on this epic scale when I was a teenager. But I’m so happy younger generations now have Ilya and Shane and Scott and Kip... and Jacob.