Fated Mates BONUS: All Stars Talk Heated Rivalry (January 8, 2026)

Overview

This special Fated Mates bonus episode brings together hosts Jennifer Prokop, historical romance author Joanna Shu, and romance author Joanna Shupe for a rich, emotionally charged analysis of the Heated Rivalry TV adaptation—based on Rachel Reid’s beloved hockey romance novel. All three, longtime fans of the book and genre, explore why this series has become a cultural phenomenon, dissecting its adaptation, impact, and what it means for queer representation, romance storytelling, and their own experiences as writers and readers.

Main Theme & Purpose

• Celebration and Deconstruction: The episode is a “fan out” on the Heated Rivalry series, highlighting its faithfulness to the source material and its breakthrough as a romance adaptation.
• Romance as Resistance: They discuss the power of romance storytelling to challenge norms and fight social stigma, particularly regarding queer love and patriarchal structures, and how this adaptation achieves those aims.
• Community and Joy: The hosts reflect on how Heated Rivalry has galvanized romance readers, drawn in new fans (including many gay men unused to seeing their lives centered), and built a rare sense of communal joy and hope, particularly after a collectively “shitty year.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Reactions and Fandom (00:00–03:00)

• Diverse TV Approaches: Jennifer admits to rarely watching TV but was "totally a fangirl" for this show—evidence of its cross-audience appeal.
• Anticipation: Joanna Shu describes skepticism until seeing "the trailer," after which she “lost her mind” with excitement.
• Group Chat Frenzy: All three reference being in numerous group chats about the show—a testament to the fervor within the romance community.

2. Faithfulness and Creative Interpretation (03:00–05:30)

• Adaptation’s Success: Unlike typical adaptations that “suck out the life and all the things you love about that book, especially with romance,” this one instead feels like “a creative interpretation” that is "so close to the text and the beats" it’s “like you’re watching a romance novel.” (Joanna Shupe, 03:04)
• Audiobook Parallel: Jennifer shares a past insight—that audiobooks are the most faithful adaptation for most authors—and contrasts it with how Heated Rivalry’s series achieved uncommon fidelity with its source.

3. Why Romance Adaptations Usually Fail, and Why This One Didn’t (06:05–09:21)

• Medium Mismatch Myth: Jennifer used to believe “television as a medium [was] fundamentally at odds with romance as a medium… What TV does is different than what romance does.” (06:05) Heated Rivalry’s adaptation proves this isn’t inherently true if creators respect the genre’s conventions.
• Cinematic Nature of Romance: Joanna Shupe argues romance’s built-in story beats—highs, lows, tensions, climaxes—are “organically cinematic” if adapted with care.

4. Casting, Chemistry, and Respect for Source (09:21–10:51)

• Actor Chemistry: The hosts gush over Hudson and Connor as "lightning in a bottle," attributing much of the show's success and authenticity to their performances.
• Showrunner’s Role: They credit Jacob Tierney for approaching the source material with rare respect for the genre and its readers.

5. Deeper Romance Elements Beyond “Smut” (10:51–12:39)

• Feelings Over Sex: The show is celebrated for centering intimacy and emotion—romance “is about feelings,” not “just smut.” Jennifer points to a scene where characters clarify “that’s not what this is…hasn’t been for a long time.” (Jennifer Prokop, 11:06)
• Nonverbal Acting: The subtlety of romance novel internal monologue comes to life in the actors’ expressions, especially “the way Hudson could act, like just show what he was feeling with his eyes.” (Jennifer Prokop, 12:13)

6. Adapting Internal Monologue and Structural Differences (19:12–20:16; 31:33–32:53)

• Internal vs. External: Much of the novel’s depth comes from characters’ internal worlds, which the show manages to convey via acting and cinematography, even without the book’s introspective passages.
• Queer Cadence: The structure of Heated Rivalry, with its focus on the externalities of coming out and the pressures of public/professional life, marks it as different from standard straight-couple romance plotting.

7. Scenes and Emotional Touchstones (25:40–27:16; 50:31–54:55)

• Romance Reader “Easter Eggs”: Viewers are delighted by small, romance-coded touches (like clothing swaps, shared glasses, coffee in the morning)—"Jacob Tierney is a person who...is attuned to the things that make romance reading a joy." (Joanna Shupe, 24:50)
• Notable Highlights:
  • The “I love you” scene in Russian, breaking down both characters’ emotional barriers (26:43–27:16).
  • The tactile and visual intimacy (hand-holding, feet-touching) is framed as pure romance, not just sexuality.

8. Queer Representation and the Weight of Coming Out (29:07–32:27; 33:14–35:23)

• Stakes Are Real: The hosts emphasize the different, higher emotional and practical stakes in queer romance—“the choice between identity and happiness,” sometimes literally life-and-death due to family, citizenship, or societal threats.
• Cultural Resonance: The show’s depiction of coming out, and its impact on both older and younger queer viewers, is described as nothing short of “revelatory” in its optimism and care.

9. Community, Culture, and Joy in Hard Times (35:23–38:24)

• Shared Experience: The series is bringing together unexpected communities—straight women, gay men, and others—in a time of social hardship, providing “a gift for so many people that didn’t know they needed [it]” (Jennifer Prokop, 56:14).
• Political Context: They underscore the importance of celebrating queer joy and supporting rights, linking consumption of queer love stories to real-world allyship and voting.

10. The Adaptation’s Place in Romance History (41:21–44:46)

• “God Tier” Romance: Heated Rivalry (the book) is elevated alongside classics like Lord of Scoundrels and Bet Me—novels that are “so loved...they deliver exactly what a great romance should” (Jennifer Prokop, 42:47).
• Sports as Character: It’s praised as possibly “the best sports romance I’ve ever read,” not only for the romantic plot but for how deeply their identities are interwoven with their athletic careers (Joanna Shupe, 43:44).

11. Comparisons & Recommendations (58:13–62:15)

• If You Loved Heated Rivalry, Read…
  • Us or Him and Us by Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen (Joanna Shu, 58:13)
  • Finding Joy by Joanna Shupe (59:00)
  • Band Sinister by KJ Charles (Jennifer Prokop, 59:23)
  • The Locker Room by Amy Lane (Joanna Shupe, 60:56)
  • Mafia Target by Mila Finelli (Joanna Shu, 61:59)
• Other Authors Mentioned: C. Travis Rice, Tal Bauer, S.E. Harmon, Amy Lane.

12. Impact of Weekly Releases and Communal Watching (62:59–63:40)

• Why Weekly Worked: The staggered release schedule created communal anticipation and deepened engagement, as “the conversation and everyone talking about it” became as important as the episodes themselves (Jennifer Prokop, 63:12).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It doesn’t feel like an adaptation. It feels like creative interpretation of a work of fiction...Like you’re watching a romance novel.”
  – Joanna Shupe (03:04)

• “A good romance novel should make you feel the way this show made you feel.”
  – Jennifer Prokop (05:58)

• “Romance is about feelings. Everything is leading up to the feelings that you are supposed to have as you are watching.”
  – Jennifer Prokop (12:03)

• “You can actually do it. And give it, like, breathe life into it...All of the things that I love as a romance reader that show gave me.”
  – Joanna Shupe (05:08)

• “Sex on screen is all about them. It feels almost like you’re a voyeur in the room—they’re so locked in on each other.”
  – Jennifer Prokop (18:06)

• “The internal, kind of moment of just like, I love this man so much, and my parents don’t know that he and I have this...And, you know, there’s no way that they could have rendered that in the show. But Hudson and Connor were just so effective.”
  – Joanna Shupe (20:07)

• “One of the things that’s been so beautiful is seeing older gay men watching this show and texting about it...I never thought, as someone coming of age in the ‘90s...we could ever get to see something like this.”
  – Joanna Shupe (33:13)

• “You cannot love the queer sex in this show and then vote to take rights away. Just off with that nonsense.”
  – Joanna Shu (38:43)

• “Heated Rivalry is one of those books...If you don’t like this book, then you just don’t like romance.”
  – Jennifer Prokop (42:47)

• “People that didn’t know they could give themselves this...so many posts of gay men being like, I’m still afraid something bad’s gonna happen. They could not believe that they would just get the happy ending.”
  – Joanna Shupe (56:14, 56:38)

Highlighted Timestamps

• 00:00–03:00: Introductions, escalating fan excitement
• 03:04–05:08: Why this adaptation succeeds where others fail
• 06:05–07:52: The tension between TV and romance conventions
• 09:21–10:51: The “magic” of casting and creative respect
• 12:03–14:14: “It’s just smut”—discussion of deeper emotional storytelling, notable scene analysis
• 19:12–20:16: How the show handles internal narrative
• 24:29–25:34: Readers’ coded joy—small romantic gestures
• 26:41–27:16: The “I love you” in Russian—tears and catharsis
• 29:07–33:02: Stakes in queer romance vs. straight romance
• 33:13–34:21: Cultural impact for older gay men
• 38:43–39:16: The importance of political allyship for queer rights
• 41:21–44:46: The rarefied category of “God Tier” romance books
• 54:39–55:33: Great romance is about kissing, not just sex
• 62:59–63:40: The value of the weekly release model
• 58:13–62:15: What to read next—recommendations with host commentary

Closing Notes

• The hosts underscore their gratitude for Heated Rivalry’s joy and the collective experience it inspired—offering catharsis, hope, and visibility for marginalized stories.
• They hope the adaptation’s success will encourage more faithful, respectful, and emotionally rich romance adaptations—and bring more readers to both backlist and new queer romance titles.
• The conversation is lively, loving, and brimming with the unvarnished passion for romance novels and the transformative power of storytelling.

Summary by Fated Mates Podcast Summarizer | Original episode hosted by Jennifer Prokop, Joanna Shupe, Joanna Shu | January 8, 2026