A raunchy new HBO show is both shocking and titillating viewers with its explicit gay sex scenes.

The Canadian series, which is based on a viral BookTok hit, follows two rival hockey players who fall into a secret, steamy romance that spans across several years.

Since the November 28 premiere, Heated Rivalry has been one of HBO Max’s most-watched shows and a trending topic on social media.

Given that it stars two little known actors and originally aired on the Canadian streaming service Crave, the show’s success is largely down to word-of-mouth.

‘This is a lot freakier than I thought it would be #heatedrivalry,’ commented one viewer.

‘I’m invested in Heated Rivalry… I’m a sucker for a good romance,’ commented another one.

Raunchy HBO series Heated Rivalry is shocking and titillating viewers with its explicit gay love scenes
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Raunchy HBO series Heated Rivalry is shocking and titillating viewers with its explicit gay love scenes

The Canadian series follows two rival hockey players who fall into a secret, steamy romance that spans across several years
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The Canadian series follows two rival hockey players who fall into a secret, steamy romance that spans across several years

‘Heated Rivalry is I think the hottest BL series I’ve ever watch, like seriously? Those bed scenes are insane ughh,’ added a third.

The show’s co-writer and creator Jacob Tierney admitted to Rolling Stone that he was first discovered the books, which were penned by romance novelist Rachel Reid, he was stunned by how ‘smutty’ they were.

Despite countless fans salivating over the series, others have called it ‘shallow’ and slammed the show’s overly sexual scenes.

‘That heated rivalry show is absolutely terrible and is clearly just a cash grab off of dumb horny gays,’ wrote one.

‘Heated Rivalry is one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen and it’s crazy that there are actual fans of it already,’ wrote another.

The show has earned mixed reviews from critics, with many agreeing that it’s more focused on its steamy sex scenes than anything else.

Tim Byrne from The Guardian wrote that, ‘Tierney seems more interested in the ambivalent thrill of down-low f***ing than any exploration of masculinity or homoeroticism in sport.’

'This is a lot freakier than I thought it would be #heatedrivalry,' commented one viewer

‘This is a lot freakier than I thought it would be #heatedrivalry,’ commented one viewer

The series sees hockey stars Shane and Ilya fall in love
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The series sees hockey stars Shane and Ilya fall in love

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play the two lead characters, are pictured at the premiere in November
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Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play the two lead characters, are pictured at the premiere in November

Decider’s Joel Keller wrote, ‘While the subject matter of Heated Rivalry is somewhat daring, the first episode plays out like something that used to be shown late nights on Cinemax instead of story with well-drawn characters and romantic chemistry between its leads.’

Actor François Arnaud, who has a guest role on the series, has admitted that he was initially shocked by the explicit nature of the script.

‘At first, I was a bit overwhelmed, I guess, by the intensity of the sex scenes, but I knew Jacob had something that he would turn on its head,’ he told Variety.

‘People are hooked by the smutty aspects of it, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I think Jacob really uses that to peel away layers. I think the end of it is quite emotionally affecting,’ he added.