Sex scenes, cut characters and unscripted moments: 10 things we learned of Heated Rivalry from ‘I’ll Believe in Anything’
Heated Rivalry’s sex scenes are a big talking point. (Sabrina Lantos/HBO)
Are you also still obsessed with Heated Rivalry? Find out more about the show with the release of Jacob Tierney‘s I’ll Believe in Anything script book.
The official collection of annotated scripts reveals behind-the-scenes details about the show, which follows the rivals-to-lovers plot of ice hockey stars Ilya (Connor Storrie) and Shane (Hudson Williams).
The script book includes deleted scenes, improvised moments that made it into the show and Tierney’s reasons behind certain directorial choices. I’ll Believe in Anything offers a look at how the beloved show was created, written, and directed.
With the release of I’ll Believe in Anything, here are 10 things we’ve learnt about Heated Rivalry from the annotated scripts…
Choreographing sex scenes
A big talking point around Heated Rivalry is the show’s sex scenes, and the script book gives a peek behind the curtain at how Tierney achieved them.
The writer outlines that he shot crucial intimate scenes as if they were being relived in memory. Tierney outlines snapshot moments for Shane: “The first time he was penetrated, the first time someone ate his a**, the first time all of that happened. I liked it feeling like flashes of memory.”
In I’ll Believe in Anything, Tierney also describes how he directed his actors during intimate scenes.
“Part of the way a heavily scripted sex scene translates into reality is by letting your scene partner know what beat you are on,” Tierney explains in the book.
“If something is described as a slow entry, instead of telling your partner with words, you can use your body to communicate what is happening, whether by a thigh tap or another signal. These are physical roles, so the actors had physical ways of transmitting information from one to the other.”
Shane’s coming out to Rose was changed
Tierney honoured much of the original dialogue from Reid’s novel in adapting the scene where Shane comes out to Rose (Sophie Nélisse).
In the script, there’s only one brief flashback to Shane’s time with Ilya. Rose prompts it by asking the ice hockey player if being with a man was different for him.
However, the show inserts a series of flashbacks that stirs a more emotional side to the sequence. Tierney explains that he made this decision to include more flashbacks while editing.
“There was a moment when I was watching Hudson act, and he took this pause and closed his eyes,” Tierney recalls.
“In my head, I was imagining what he was imagining, and I wanted to try it on the screen. What’s so key is the sound. It’s a quick flash, an image. We don’t hear the sound from the particular scenes we flash to.”
‘All The Things She Said’ wasn’t scripted
One of Heated Rivalry’s most memorable sequences is the club scene with Shane and Ilya. Both are dancing with other women, but their eyes meet, and their fiery attraction is undeniable.
The moment is soundtracked to “All The Things She Said” by Russian pop duo t.A.T.u., a track that has taken on a life of its own for LGBTQ+ listeners.
Though the show’s scripts reveal this was a rare scene that Tierney didn’t have a song allocated to. “The list of iconic, queer, Russian songs is not long — in fact, it might just be one song,” Tierney explains.
“I avoided it for a while, thinking it was too on the nose, but then I decided to try it, and it was great… It was a great example of how sometimes the obvious idea is not the wrong idea. It just worked.”
Costume designer Hanna Puley is a legend
Tierney also offers insight into the “All The Things She Said” club scene in regard to costume.
One beloved look is Ilya’s club shirt, believed to be a 1998 Jean Paul Gaultier leopard shirt. Speaking of the garment, Tierney revealed Storrie and Puley jointly chose the item.
“I don’t understand clothes,” Tierney wrote. “I hated it, but they thought it was amazing. It’s some kind of vintage and very fancy.” Though garish, the outlandish costume choice has a distinct Ilya-ness.
Puley also delighted fans with Shane’s Team Canada fleece, the jacket’s brief appearance leading to it becoming, effectively, Heated Rivalry merch.
“I had no idea that the fleece would take on such a life of its own,” Tierney explains. “We knew we had to make Olympic outfits for everybody, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we’d be talking about this so much.”
Episode five is a big sunshine metaphor
Episode five, which many claim is the show’s best episode, was structured around the Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade’s song “I’ll Believe in Anything.” In particular, Tierney was fascinated by the sunshine metaphor in the song’s lyrics, using that as inspiration in the tonal shift and increasing presence of light in the frame.
Throughout the episode, an instrumental of the song is used, but it’s not until the climactic conclusion that the lyrics hit.
“I’ve always loved this song. It’s one of those songs that should be an anthem, and I wanted to make it one,” Tierney said of the track. “It’s so hopeful and wonderful and optimistic and beautiful, and it felt right for these characters.
“I have to have a relationship with a song to use it in that big of a way, and I definitely have a very strong and intense relationship with the whole Wolf Parade catalog because I listened to them at a time in my life when music meant so much.”
Eric Bennett and Ryan Price were originally in the show
Alongside Ilya and Shane, other characters from Reid’s Game Changers series were originally going to make an appearance in the show.
First is Eric Bennett, in the script, Shane spots his mum speaking to the New York Admirals goaltender. Bennett is a character in Reid’s fifth book, Common Goal, where he explores his bisexuality.
Alongside Eric, there was also going to be a scene with Ryan Price (Daniel Diemer). In Reid’s Tough Guy, the deenceman struggles with anxiety. However, he reunites with musician Fabian Salah (Shaheen Jafargholi) and the pair explore a romance.
In the show, Ryan is mentioned in passing and Tierney’s idea of a scene with the character was ultimately cut to focus on Shane and Ilya. Ryan is set to appear in season too, though it appears Eric will be absent.
“Gimme kiss” was unscripted
Much of the reason Heated Rivalry has resonated is because of Tierney’s strong adaptation, his understanding that fans loved the original, so why mess with it?
However, this is paired with the actors’ strong portrayal of these characters and Storrie and Williams’ ability to embody them with authenticity.
One such moment is in episode six, where Ilya and Shane are basking in domestic bliss at the cottage. Shane is sitting on the shore while Ilya paddles in the lake, the latter then approaches Shane and declares: “Gimme kiss.” The script details “they kiss” but Storrie’s cute vocal addition is beloved by fans.
“Connor said, ‘Gimme kiss’, and I thought it was so cute that I kept it in,” Tierney writes about the scene.
Other notable additions to the script include Ilya’s “I’m sorry” when he’s crying in front of Shane in a hotel room. There’s also Shane’s cute “bet-ter” as he calls Ilya to his bedside in hospital which wasn’t scripted but Tierney loved it so much it made the cut.
Ilya was going to meet Shane’s parents earlier
After Shane suffers a head injury on the ice, Ilya comes to check on him in a hospital room. There, a drugged-up Shane asks Ilya to join him at his cottage during the summer.
Describing Ilya’s thought process in the hospital room, Tierney writes: “I’m not going to come to the cottage, but I’m going to risk my entire career to come to your hospital room.”
As Ilya exits Shane’s room, it was scripted that he bumps into Shane’s parents. However, the scene wasn’t even shot. Tierney explains: “We ran out of time. We didn’t have the spot or the money.”
In the deleted scene, Ilya shakes hands with Shane’s parents. Ilya’s bravado cracks when he asks them: “Let me know if there’s anything I can do?” It’s a brief but sweet moment. Though, it’s clear Ilya meeting Shane’s parents in the final episode is a much more dramatic version of a first meeting.
Tierney didn’t know about Harrison Browne
One of the show’s supporting characters is Ilya’s hockey teammate Connors, portrayed by Harrison Browne.
Browne has an impressive hockey resume; the first openly trans professional ice hockey player.
However, Tierney admits he didn’t know Browne’s hockey history when he cast him. “When we found out, we thought it was amazing,” Tierney wrote. “He just gave a great audition. Then to discover that he was a legendary hockey player… it all made sense.”
There was no loon… just Jacob
Another fan favourite moment is the iconic loon scene: the Canadian bird spooks Ilya as he relaxes at Shane’s cottage, leading to a funny exchange between the pair as they lounge outside by the firepit.
The script directions read: “A loon cries out somewhere nearby.” However, the casting director didn’t cast the loon role to an actual bird. Instead, Jacob shouted “bird” to have them react at the same time
The director wrote: “We could not cue an actual bird. I’m sure, in fact, it was me yelling “Bird!” off camera that ensured that they both reacted at the same time.”
I’ll Believe in Anything is out now.
