Off Campus vs. Heated Rivalry: Which Hockey Romance to Watch First
In short: Watch Heated Rivalry first if you want an intense, adult love story between two pro players kept secret for years. Watch Off Campus first if you want a lighter, funnier college romance. Both are explicit. Heated Rivalry (Crave and HBO Max) returns in April 2027; Off Campus (Prime Video) has a second season coming.
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- Heated Rivalry: two professional players, Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), on rival teams, in a relationship they hide for years. Serious, sexy and emotional. Created by Jacob Tierney.
- Off Campus: college hockey captain Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) and student Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) strike a tutoring-for-fake-dating deal. Funnier, lighter and very much a campus romance.
Where each comes from
Heated Rivalry adapts Rachel Reid's 2019 novel, the second in her Game Changers series, and also brings in Scott and Kip from the first book. Off Campus adapts Elle Kennedy's The Deal (2015), the first of her Off Campus books, with each season set to follow a different couple.
How they did
Heated Rivalry became a breakout in late 2025, HBO Max's top-rated live-action acquisition, and was renewed for an April 2027 second season. Off Campus premiered on Prime Video on May 13, 2026, drew 36 million viewers by Amazon's count, and was renewed before it even aired.
Which to start with
If you want something you'll think about for days, Heated Rivalry. If you want a fun, swoony weekend binge, Off Campus. If you like the first, the second is an easy follow-up, and both have source novels to read while you wait for new seasons.
Frequently asked questions
Are Off Campus and Heated Rivalry connected? No. They're based on different book series by different authors: Off Campus on Elle Kennedy's novels, Heated Rivalry on Rachel Reid's Game Changers books.
Which is steamier, Off Campus or Heated Rivalry? Both are explicit, but Heated Rivalry is generally considered more intense, both sexually and emotionally.
Read more
See our Off Campus reading order and Game Changers reading order, or take the series quiz for something else to watch.