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“Heated Rivalry” Showrunner and Music Team Discuss Scoring Sex Scenes and Provocative Song Choices

The showrunner and music team behind Crave-HBO Max's hit hockey romance "Heated Rivalry" delve into their choices for the show's soundtrack, including the intentional use of a t.A.T.u. song as a defiant statement.

Variety Music·May 13, 2026·via Variety Music

“Heated Rivalry” Showrunner and Music Team Discuss Scoring Sex Scenes and Provocative Song Choices

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May 13, 2026 7:00am PT

‘Heated Rivalry’ Showrunner Jacob Tierney and His Music Team on Scoring Sex Scenes, and Why Including T.A.T.u’s ‘All the Things She Said’ Was a ‘F— You to Russia’

By Jem Aswad

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Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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There’s been no shortage of raves and praise for “ Heated Rivalry ,” Crave-HBO Max’s surprise hit hockey romance — for its premise, its writing, its stars and, refreshingly, its music, which is effectively a character in the show and has ignited or reignited the careers of multiple musicians, many of them Canadian.

Like the show itself, which explores the taboo sexual relationship between Canadian player Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian star Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), the music is un-obvious: The score, by Montreal-based singer-songwriter Peter Peter — who had never written for film or television before — moves and accentuates the action and emotion but is never obtrusive, and the songs featured in the show are equally left of center.