Why Heated Rivalry’s Acclaimed First Season Didn’t Earn Any 2026 Emmy Nominations

2 min read

Did Heated Rivalry deserve an Emmy nomination—or, ideally, several? Absolutely. Did it get any? As you might have noticed, no. The acclaimed Canadian hockey romance series was conspicuously missing from the nominees announced Wednesday morning, despite having debuted its first season during the eligibility window (from June 1, 2025, to May 31, 2026).

Still, you can keep your pitchforks stowed—this isn’t a snub or an oversight. Per Primetime Emmy rules, the aforementioned Canadian series was simply ineligible.

The Television Academy’s official eligibility guidelines state that “foreign television production is ineligible unless it is the result of a co-production (both financially and creatively) between U.S. and foreign partners, which precedes the start of production, and with a purpose to be shown on U.S. television.” Although U.S.-based fans can watch Heated Rivalry on HBO Max, the series was created by Canadian company Bell Media and airs on Canadian streaming service Crave, meaning it does not meet the criteria for the Primetime Emmy Awards. (The show is eligible for the International Emmy Awards.)

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams in Heated Rivalry season 1.

Thankfully, Heated Rivalry fans nevertheless have good reason to celebrate this morning: A star of the series did snag his own Primetime Emmy nomination—just not for Heated Rivalry itself. Connor Storrie, who plays hockey star Ilya Rozanov, earned a nod for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live in February 2026. (Ilya Rozanov, known comedy legend!)

Heated Rivalry season 2 is currently in development, with production set for summer 2026 and a release date planned for spring 2027. The next chapter of Rozanov and Hollander’s love story will continue to draw material from author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, with Reid planning to publish a seventh book, Unrivaled, in June 2027.