We Crave some Heat in the Winter (Olympics)
How the series Heated Rivalry subtly promotes the upcoming Olympics, and how timely programming and tapping into the cultural zeitgeist can raise your brand awareness.
One of my first articles brushes on the power of propaganda - for better or for worse - utilizing narrative storytelling to curry favor for your intended audience.
In time for the Winter Olympics, the steamy series, Heated Rivalry airs its finale this week. The Canadian-produced series, which blends ice hockey drama with an emotionally charged LGBTQ+ romance between two rival professional hockey players, is an adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series. The writer/director of the series is a “Letterkenny” and “Shorsey” alum - two sitcoms in the same universe about Canada and… hockey. If you don’t know them, you can catch them on Disney streamers (Hulu).
My phone blew up this weekend with the ending of episode 5. Heated Rivalry sparked over a million hits on Threads and 44.1k posts on Instagram:
“In Canada, “Heated Rivalry” is now the most-watched original series ever on Bell Media’s Crave streamer. And here in the U.S., it’s now the top-rated non-animated acquired series on HBO Max since it launched in 2020, and is in the top five among all scripted debuts on HBO Max this year.”
Variety talks about its origins story from option to distribution, but I can’t help thinking about the tie-in to the 2026 Winter Olympics. While the timing is not explicit (the “smutty” tone of the show doesn’t leave much to imagination), it is a good thought to have when programming.
“Originally, we were planning to air it in early 2026. But as we kept seeing it, we were like, ‘This is really good!” Stockman says. “The holidays are generally a very high viewing period for Crave — when people are at home, and there’s not as much new television on traditional TV. We were like, ‘We should try to get this on during the holidays, and really capitalize on a lot of eyeballs.’ So we moved it up at the last minute.”
Heated Rivalry premiered in Canada and United States on Nov 28, 2025, directly into ice hockey season across North America and Europe — when interest in hockey (NHL, other leagues) is very high, and when audiences are tuned into winter sports culture as winter begins. The early trailer release in October, film festival preview in late November, which can lend itself to come critical/prestige buzz, are naturally times leading into buzz around global ice sports as the Winter Olympics approach.
Neither HBO nor Crave will broadcast the Olympics, but they’re able to capitalize off the buzz and interest in winter sports at this time.
Things were hot down in Brasil
This reminded me of another highly-appreciated (by me, anyone else?) HBO Latino series in 2013, HDP.
(fdp) (sometimes referred to in programming listings as HDP) is a Brazilian comedy-drama television series.
The narrative centers on Juarez Gomes da Silva, a soccer referee who dreams of officiating the World Cup final. While his career progresses — including being selected for major games like the Copa Libertadores — his personal life falls into turmoil, testing his relationships and ethics.
The series is officially titled with the stylized (fdp), which in Portuguese is an abbreviation deriving from the show’s recurring joke on the main character often being insulted by others (“Hijo de puta” or “son of a bitch!”). A divorced soccer referee gives his ex wife an STD as a result of his infidelity? Each episode lends itself to have someone express that ending line. With 13 30-minute episodes lasting only one season, the series created a situational comedy in a place we usually don’t get the opportunity to see.
fdp) premiered on HBO Brasil on 26 August 2012, nearly two years before Brazil hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil was already deeply energized about hosting the World Cup, which had been awarded to the country in 2007. The event was one of the biggest cultural and sporting milestones Brazil had ever prepared for, with intense debate about infrastructure, national image, and football culture.
Even though the show wasn’t explicitly produced as a World Cup tie-in, its football focus would have resonated with audiences already primed by ongoing national conversations about football prestige, refereeing controversies, and Brazilian identity in the sport.
In the next iteration, The series aired on HBO Latino in the U.S. in Fall 2013 — roughly eight months before the World Cup began. I’d like to posit they strategically positioned the series in the U.S. Hispanic cable schedule ahead of the World Cup media barrage and primed the US audience. As a casual soccer fan, the series resonated with me and got me interested in the Copa del Mondo.
Around the same time, major U.S. networks were building other soccer-related programming tied to the World Cup — for example, ESPN’s documentary series and Univision’s expanded World Cup coverage — highlighting a genuine, but general sports media appetite for football content before Brazil 2014.
Align with the times
What can arts programmers and non-profit arts producers (mainly on stage) learn from scheduling stories, concerts, operas, offerings around global cultural events, and not necessarily directs tie-in to that zeitgeist.
What is the value of producing seasonal and timely events as well as adapting works to their communities to make them more cultural relevant?
This is exactly where arts programming stops being just “curation” and becomes cultural strategy.
Global cultural events (Olympics, elections, climate moments, anniversaries, social movements) reshape attention, not just taste.
The Olympics unconsciously incite themes of discipline, rivalry, national identity, or physical risk. I’m not talking about athlete spotlight stories during the Olympic broadcasts, which do a great deal supporting the focus of the programs, but works like Nabucco, Forza del destino, Gloriana, War Paint, Les Miserables, West Side Story could illicit the same vim from audiences.
Election cycles bring up thoughts of power, persuasion, fracture, and moral choice. So do Tosca, L’elisir d’amore, Marriage of Figaro, Barnum, The Music Man, etc.
Live arts can program parallel meaning, not topical imitation.
When a global moment dominates culture, audiences are thinking in certain metaphors. Programming into that moment lowers the activation energy for attendance. You’re not convincing people to care—you’re meeting them mid-thought. Tap into this!!
Let’s also acknowledge in both cases, they may have been inadvertently connected to cultural touchpoints. There were still months, if not years, of development and planning to get these to public viewing at the time they did. Timely programming gives newcomers a reason to show up without prior knowledge.
Someone may not think: “I want opera.” But they might think: “This feels connected to what everyone’s talking about.”
That’s how cultural doors open.