JOHN JAY COLLEGE— On a Wednesday in February at 1:40 p.m., about 15 students trickled into NB.129, shedding winter coats and settling in for the weekly Heated Rivalry watch party hosted by the John Jay LGBTQ+ Resource Center.
Over winter break, Heated Rivalry lit up timelines, group chats and living rooms across New York, even inspiring a look-alike contest in Washington Square Park. The Canadian television series from Crave, adapted from Rachel Reid’s novel, follows two cisgender male professional hockey players whose on-ice rivalry masks a secret relationship off the rink. Set against the hypermasculine world of professional sports, the show explores identity, love and the pressures of staying in, or stepping out of, the closet.
Back at the LRC, College Assistant Sarah Alvira said she and her colleague River returned for the spring semester still talking about the show.
