Russian fans of"Heated Rivalry"could end up in prison if they publicly declare their love for the show, but that hasn't stopped the gay romance about two hockey players from becoming a word-of-mouth hit — and some are subtly displaying their affection.
The show centers on the relationship between Russian Ilya Rozanov, played by Connor Storrie, and Canadian Shane Hollander, played by Hudson Williams, who are rivals on the ice but lovers off of it. The two actors have been named officialtorchbearers for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics next month.
The show has grabbed attention for its steamy sex scenes but garnered praise for its depiction of LGBTQ relationships — something that is strictly off-limits in the deeply conservative country.
"You feel like some sort of criminal when watching the series," one female fan told NBC News in a video call earlier this month. "It feels like a protest, some kind of rebellion," the Moscow native added.
NBC News agreed not to name the interviewees in this story because they feared they might be arrested.
As part of a crackdown on LGBTQ people in a country where "traditional family values" have been a cornerstone ofPresident Vladimir Putin's rule, the Russian Supreme Court banned what the government called the LGBTQ "movement" in November 2023,labeling it an extremist organization.
Under the country's criminal law, participating in or financing an extremist organization is punishable by up to 12 years in prison. A person found guilty of displaying symbols like a rainbow flag faces up to 15 days in detention for a first offense and up to four years in prison if they repeatedly offend.
There are currently 17 ongoing criminal cases related to LGBTQ "extremism" in Russia, according to the advocacy group Coming Out, and authorities in recent weeks have opened cases against managers at online streaming services Kinopoisk, Wink, Ivi, Amediateka, 24TV and Beeline TV for allegedly promoting LGBTQ propaganda, the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency reported earlier this month.
Despite the risks, the female fan, 26, said she had a small shrine in her Moscow home with photos and keychains dedicated to the characters in the show, which she first discovered on TikTok.
Made by Crave Media Canada and picked up by HBO Max in the U.S., neither of which is available in Russia, the show is drawing fans on illegal streaming sites and messaging apps like Telegram, where one group has more than 45,000 followers.
Not only are the episodes available to view, they often have Russian subtitles within hours of release in the U.S.
When episodes have arrived late, as was once the case when the internet was shut down due to a drone threat, the administrators of the Telegram groups have apologized.
Bell Media, which owns Crave Media Canada, did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment, nor did Telegram.
Despite viewers' use of illegal methods to watch the show, which is based on Canadian author Rachel Reid's books, it has an 8.5 rating from 45,000 users users on Kinopoisk, a Russian movie review site, similar to IMDb in the West.
While the fan said she didn't directly reference the show on her social media and it would be "quite dangerous to do so," she added that she knew someone who featured a poster with the show's name on her Telegram Stories. "I think if someone decides to charge her, they can," she said.
The show has already been criticized by Sorok Sorokov, a Russian Orthodox nationalist movement, which called for it to be banned earlier this month, saying its "unnatural depravity" would drive down the country's birth rate. Whether the Kremlin could ban a show that is illegally streamed is unclear.
For members of Russia's LGBTQ community, the series evokes feelings of both pride and fear.
"There's a world out there where you can exist," one 26-year-old gay fan said in a video call earlier this month, adding that in Russia, "you can't kiss your boyfriend on the ice."
Another 22-year-old member of the LGBTQ community cautioned that the risks remained real. "Like with any queer content, it's a Russian roulette. It may be OK or you may be fined or go to jail. That's what's so scary," he said, adding you never know what you can be charged for.
That view was echoed by a lawyer for Coming Out, who said that "the law in Russia is applied very selectively," but you face consequences if the security services come across the content or if someone reports on you to the authorities. "Out of those charged with extremism, more than half are not public figures," they added.
Nonetheless, some are subtly showing their fandom for "Heated Rivalry," which centers on a sport beloved by Putin, a longtime hockey player, who in March proposed in a call withPresident Donald TrumpthatAmerican and Russian skaters should face offagainst each other.
On social media, some have posted videos of themselves ice-skating to music from the show.
Merchandise from the show has now been adopted by fans of "Heated Rivalry" to subtly advertise their allegiance to it.
One 33-year-old male fan said he wore a sweater with characters from a classic Soviet cartoon about hockey rivalry. "If they've seen 'Heated Rivalry,' they'll know right away why I'm wearing this," he said.
He said he had posted about the "romantic" show on his Instagram account but believed that "nothing would happen" unless you were a public or government figure, adding that he'd seen a lot of social media posts from women who had been inspired to attend hockey games because of the show.
Some brands are also trying to discreetly hop on the bandwagon, walking a fine line by selling candles featuring the characters' jersey numbers and editing their products into pictures from the show's premiere.
In the meantime, Russia's LGBTQ community is "still alive," the 22-year-old said, but "it has gone underground."
