“I don’t think this show could have been made in the U.S.,” the actor said.

Heated Rivalry star François Arnaud says other streamers wanted ‘no kissing’ in early episodes

"I don't think this show could have been made in the U.S.," the actor said.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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January 13, 2026 3:31 p.m. ET

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François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. on 'Heated Rivalry'. Credit:

Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max (2)

In a worse world, *Heated Rivalry *would be a lot less steamy. Luckily, series creator Jacob Tierney refused to let that happen.

Along with millions of fans, series star François Arnaud is very grateful for the freedom that the buzzy Canadian-made romance ultimately enjoyed. And if you ask him, it's a big part of the reason that the show has become so popular. During a visit to *CBS Mornings*, Arnaud celebrated the show's path to success — which apparently included Tierney turning down offers that would've significantly trimmed down the *Heated Rivalry*'s celebrated approach to intimacy.

"I don’t think this show could have been made in the U.S," Arnaud told hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson. "It was set up at a big streamer before, and they had so many notes and so many thoughts on what that show could be that Jacob decided to leave them and get it made in Canada."

Arnaud shared that among those prudish notes was a demand for "no kissing until episode five" — an unthinkable alteration to all who have enjoyed the steamy MM show.

François Arnaud as Scott Hunter and Robbie G.K. as Kip Grady in episode 5 of 'Heated Rivalry'.

Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max

Over the past few weeks, the modestly made Canadian series about rival professional hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) has exploded into a full-blown sensation. The show gets off to a rather steamy start, as the two Major League Hockey players start a sexual relationship behind closed doors, but across six episodes their relationship grows complicated as deeper feelings get involved.

Arnaud pointed out that while partnering with the Canadian streaming platform Crave meant the series was made with a "much smaller budget" than it could've had, the choice allowed Tierney to make the show that he envisioned — sexy scenes and all.

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"I think that’s what people are responding to and I think in a way it's a huge lesson for Hollywood people," Arnaud continued. "This is like a niche show, no movie stars and it's a [big] sensation."

Already, the series has earned a season 2 renewal for which HBO Max once again will distribute the show from the Canadian streamer.

As for Tierney, the *Heated Rivalry* creator has continuously championed the role that sex plays in Shane and Ilya's love story, and the show's approach to bringing that from page to screen.

"It's this very limiting, puritanical way of looking at sex scenes of, you either pan away and 'I don't wanna watch this,' or you omit people's sex lives entirely as though that's not a part of who they are," Tierney told **. "We were very aware we're making a horny show. Let it be horny. Enjoy! That's part of the fun of this, right? That's also part of the reaction we're seeing here, is that this show is different because of that."

Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander in episode 4 of 'Heated Rivalry'.

Tierney added, "Sex is not supposed to be trauma here, and that was something I really wanted to avoid. I want it to be beautiful."

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Williams and Storrie have certainly not shied away from the show's sexy reputation. The costars, who became close friends over the course of shooting, even celebrated the intimate aspect of the show by getting matching tattoos: a heart bearing the words "sex sells."

In an Instagram interview for HBO Max, Storrie explained, "We settled on 'sex sells' because I think it was just kind of like a tongue-in-cheek, kind of winky view of being a part of something like this."

Added Williams, "There's sex that is selling and it's a very sort of alluring factor, but we believe it's sort of the worth and the merit beyond that."**

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW TV”