‘Heated Rivalry’ and Hollywood Risk with Bell Media’s Sean Cohan

A year ago, almost no one had heard of Heated Rivalry. Now, as the gay hockey romance approaches its first anniversary on Nov. 28, a second season is in the works — and the surprise hit is headed for movie theaters.

In a theatrical run announced this week, all six episodes of the show’s first season will screen in pairs at more than 650 theaters beginning Nov. 6. Not bad for a Canadian production that became an international phenomenon on its home country’s Crave and HBO Max.

On the eve of this hockey-versary, I sat down with Sean Cohan, president of Bell Media, which owns Crave and financed the series, to look back on a whirlwind year, the gamble that paid off and what the rest of Hollywood might learn from it.

Which brings me back to Ankler rule No. 1: It’s a business of hits — and a hit changes everything.

“I’d like to personally take credit for the show as much as possible, but I want to make sure that it’s clear that Accent Aigu Entertainment was the producer of the show, and we had a talented team here at Bell Media,” Cohan tells me on this week’s Rushfield Lunch.

Cohan knew there was “something special” about Heated Rivalry, created by Jacob Tierney from Rachel Reid’s bestselling Game Changers novels, and its devoted fan base.

“There are lots of steps along the way where we escalated commitment,” he says. “And there are lots of steps along the way where other folks maybe had an opportunity to get involved. But what I’m personally proudest of, and what our team’s proudest of, is the risk-taking. It comes down to ‘Do you believe in it?’”

In an industry increasingly wary of taking chances, Cohan backed a show about two male hockey players whose romance includes explicit sex scenes.

“You got to find the worthy risks, and you got to take shots,” he says. “And Richard, I do believe that a hit changes everything. But I also believe, very strongly, that if you’re not failing once in a while, you’re not taking enough of a risk.”

Cohan, who joined Bell Media in 2023 after 15 years in leadership roles at A+E, has overseen an expansion of Crave and partnerships with creators including Seth Rogen, Tom Green and Elliot Page.

With Heated Rivalry headed to theaters and its second season on the way, Cohan joins me to discuss the making of an unlikely global hit, the business of taking chances and Bell Media’s ambitions beyond Canada.

Watch our conversation above.