Viewers binge-watching 'masterpiece' 6-part drama after landing new streaming home

The series holds a 95 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with one viewer penning: "This was a masterpiece in storytelling. The highs and lows were blended seamlessly together to create a beautiful budding romance that took my heart and abused it in the most amazing way. I was pulled in and glued to the screen. Absolutely beautiful story, beautiful acting, beautiful producing and directing. I can't recommend this enough. It's a must-see."

A second person wrote: "Such a great series, honestly it's beautifully shot, cast and acted. It's just the best love story I've seen in years and one I'm definitely going to keep coming back to. I can't stop thinking about it. It was only released in The UK yesterday and I'm on my second watch already." 

Meanwhile, a third added: "Fresh, sexy, but absolutely heartbreaking! I really missed these kinds of daring TV series. The entire cast and crew did a magnificent and brilliant job; every aspect of the series is a masterpiece: acting, writing, cinematography, and especially the music. I can't wait for season two!"

Judging by the overwhelming response from viewers, it's unsurprising that the show has also proved a hit with critics, and is sitting at a near-perfect 98 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

In its five-star review, London Evening Standard penned: "This isn't your standard tragic queer TV show where everyone is getting AIDs and/or beaten up over their sexuality. No gays are buried here, thank you. It's a pure, unfettered romp that promises lashings of gay sex with a happy ending and more than delivers," while The Guardian's Rhik Samadder wrote: "Ravishing actors, charged glances, buttocks like pneumatic hams… this is one steamy love story. But it's far more than just a porny sport-based bodice-ripper." 

The Hollywood Reporter added: "Get your mind out of the gutter! The sex is hot, but it's the swoony romantic highs and tender insights into queer first love and self-acceptance that make HBO's breakout hit special."

According to Sky's official synopsis: "Heated Rivalry follows Asian-Canadian player Shane Hollander and Russian player Ilya Rozanov – two rising stars in Major League Hockey playing on teams with a long-standing rivalry.

"But their ambition to succeed in their careers and the hatred on the ice hides a secret romance between the pair of them that started while they were rookies and they are desperate to keep under wraps.

"Starting in December 2008, Heated Rivalry tracks the eight years that follow their first meeting, as the pair find themselves on their own personal journeys as they become torn between their love of hockey and each other.

"With outside forces working against them – including the conservative Russian government, overbearing parental figures and the ultra-masculine world of ice hockey itself – can love prevail between them?"