‘Heated Rivalry’ star François Arnaud on navigating fame, fans and online firestorms

By the time François Arnaud realized how obsessed people were with "Heated Rivalry," it was already too late.

“I remember telling my agent, ‘I think this is going to be a worldwide sensation.’ But I did not think that it would happen overnight like it did,” the Montreal-born actor said in an interview Friday.

“It's a thing to deal with, to be witnessed at all times. I can't go out on the street at all without being recognized in 20 seconds.”

"Heated Rivalry” — Crave's breakaway gay hockey drama starring Arnaud as veteran forward Scott Hunter — has exploded into a global phenomenon. Carried by HBO Max stateside, the show has dominated the American media cycle, its cast appearing on late-night talk shows and red-carpet events.

Author Rachel Reid on what the next ‘Heated Rivalry’ book will be about and tuning out the mania

As "Heated Rivalry" author Rachel Reid writes the latest instalment in the love story that served as the basis for the hit television series, she's trying to strike a delicate balance.

There's real-world inspiration to be found in how quickly her life changed following the Crave series' debut in November, but she's also trying to ignore the show's existence. 

"'I'm trying really hard not to think about the show versions of the characters while I'm writing this," she said on a video call Thursday. 

"I'm pretending there's no show, because if I start thinking that way, I start thinking about the possibility of what I'm writing being filmed, then I think about real people having to say and do these things, and then I'm just not going to be able to do it."

Heritage minister says hockey romance ‘Heated Rivalry’ is a Cancon triumph

OTTAWA - The Canadian TV show "Heated Rivalry" is winning fans all around the world — including Culture Minister Marc Miller, who calls the show a Cancon triumph.

The Crave original series — a love story about pro hockey players on rival teams — is based on a series of romance novels by Nova Scotia's Rachel Reid.

Miller told The Canadian Press he has watched the first episode and is keen to watch more. He said "Heated Rivalry" has a "great plot" and is breaking down a lot of stereotypes.

The Crave series, which airs on HBO Max in the U.S., features a lot of Canadian talent, including writer-director Jacob Tierney and actors Hudson Williams, François Arnaud and Sophie Nélisse.

Destination Ontario touts restaurants, historic villa where ‘Heated Rivalry’ filmed

TORONTO - Destination Ontario is encouraging fans of "Heated Rivalry" to relive their favourite moments from the Crave series by visiting filming locations across the province.

The tourism body shared on social media a list of six spots that serve as the backdrop to the lustful hockey show.

Most of the locations listed are in Hamilton, including FirstOntario Concert Hall, the set for the fictional Major League Hockey Awards; Dundurn Castle, which stands in for Moscow in the show; and the restaurants Ciao Bella and Le Tambour Tavern. 

Destination Ontario also lists Joni Restaurant in Toronto, which is used as a Las Vegas location in the series, and points to the entire Muskoka Region, where pivotal cottage scenes were filmed.

Hey ho, let’s go watch punks, cops and spies

Punk rock, kooky spies, crooked cops, a hilarious old man and a contract killer with a big, big problem: that should be enough to tide viewers over for a couple of weeks!

Rachel Reid to publish another book in ‘Heated Rivalry’ universe

TORONTO - The "Heated Rivalry" boys are coming back sooner than expected — at least in book form.

Harlequin announced Monday that Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid would publish the seventh instalment in her "Game Changers" series in September.

"Unrivaled" returns to the love story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, the subjects of the Crave TV show and of the second and sixth books in the series, "Heated Rivalry" and "The Long Game."

The other books in the series follow different gay couples in the world of professional hockey.

Seth Rogen, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’ stars shine at Golden Globes

Life imitated art for Seth Rogen as he won big at Sunday’s Golden Globes, capping a maple leaf-stamped fever dream of a night that also saw “K-Pop Demon Hunters” and the Canadian creator of "The Pitt" triumph.

Rogen won the award for best male actor in a comedy for his Hollywood-skewering series “The Studio,” and the meta-ness of the moment was not lost on him.

“This is so weird,” said the Vancouver native during his acceptance speech. “We just pretended to do this and now it’s happening.”

In episode eight of the Apple TV comedy, Rogen’s fictional studio exec Matt Remick attends the Golden Globes and goes to great lengths to ensure he gets a shout-out if one of his films wins.

‘Heated Rivalry’ rewatch event brings fans together at Montreal bookshop

MONTREAL - On Sunday nights at an independent bookstore in Montreal, a city known for its love of hockey, fans of the hockey romance TV series "Heated Rivalry" gather to rewatch episodes of the just-concluded first season with fellow enthusiasts.

“I've joined the group psychosis of 'Heated Rivalry,' and I'm so excited about it,” said Jodi Tellier, one of 60 fans who attended the screening of the first episode on a cold Sunday evening at Joie de livres on St-Laurent Boulevard.

“We consider ourselves 'Heated Rivalry' headquarters!” exclaimed Carrie-Ann Kloda, director of hospitality at the bookshop, which also hosted a sold-out Q-and-A in October with Rachel Reid, author of the novel that the show was adapted from.

The event this past Sunday night featured themed cocktails, such as The Rocket and The Naughty Scott Hunter, and a post-screening discussion led by co-owner Claire Trottier.

Nikki Glaser takes swings at CBS and Leo, goes gentle on Julia in Golden Globes monologue

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikki Glaser went hard then eased up in her monologue to open Sunday's Golden Globes.

In her earliest jokes she suggested stars in the room might be in the Epstein Files and took a shot at CBS, the network airing the show.

“There are so many A-listers, and by A-listers, I do mean people who are on a list that has been heavily redacted," she said. “And the Golden Globe for best editing goes to the Justice Department."

She segued into mocking the recent woes at CBS News and its killing of a critical “60 Minutes” story about the Trump Administration sending immigrants to a prison in El Salvador.

Interlake explorer leads TV viewers on a modern Viking quest

Winnipegger Johann Sigurdson, a protagonist of the Quest for the Lost Vikings TV series that premièred on Super Channel Quest last Sunday, identifies with a long line of Norse explorers.

A millennium-long line, to be precise.

“We actually descend from folks that were likely here back from the time of the L’Anse aux Meadows: Thorfinn Karlsefni and Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir,” says Sigurdson.

The latter two are now recognized as early Icelandic explorers of North America, while L’Anse aux Meadows is an archeological site in Newfoundland of Norse settlement from about 1,000 years ago.

How an Ontario family home became Shane Hollander’s love nest in ‘Heated Rivalry’

The Montreal apartment where some of the steamiest moments in “Heated Rivalry” happen isn’t a Montreal apartment at all.

Mae Martin ‘thrilled’ queer Canadian stories are embraced as ‘Wayward,’ ‘Heated Rivalry’ earn GLAAD nods

TORONTO - Mae Martin says they’re grateful Canada has reached a point where queer stories no longer have to live in the margins.

It’s a shift underscored by the Toronto-born comedian’s Netflix thriller “Wayward” earning a GLAAD Media Award nomination for outstanding limited series on Wednesday.

“I’m thrilled. It’s always nice to be recognized within your community,” says Martin, who is non-binary.

The GLAAD Awards honour film, TV, music and other media that offer fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ+ community.

Big streamers challenging financial disclosure rules in CRTC Cancon decision

OTTAWA - Large foreign streaming companies are fighting a requirement by the federal broadcast regulator to disclose financial information — part of the CRTC's modernization of its definition of Canadian content.

A group of streamers, including Netflix and Amazon, filed the challenge in the Federal Court of Appeal in December.

The new disclosure requirements would see the regulator publish information about each large streamer’s broadcasting revenues and their spending on Canadian content.

In the court application filed by the Motion Picture Association—Canada, the companies say the new rule doesn’t give them a chance to argue the information should be treated confidentially.

Series continues to mine later-life feminine reality for laughs, insight

The Judy Blumes of menopause are back.

Small Achievable Goals, the workplace comedy about menopause from creators, executive producers, writers and stars Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill (Baroness Von Sketch Show), returns to CBC tonight for a second season of boundary-pushing TV.

“It’s kind of like we’re always in labour,” Whalen jokes.

Season 1, which premièred last winter, put Whalen and MacNeill firmly in the menopause cultural zeitgeist. Here, finally, was a frank and funny coming-of-middle-age comedy, with relatable characters played by women roughly the same age — Whalen is 55, MacNeill is 50 — who weren’t making hackneyed open-freezer hot-flash jokes or wallpapering over reality with euphemisms.