If Heated Rivalry got you in your feels this Valentine’s Day, you’re not alone.
Rewatching Shane and Ilya’s slow-burning relationship is great, but you might be looking for a new romance to get invested in before they return.
It’s one of the queer shows that has exploded in popularity in recent years, but it certainly isn’t the only one to win over our hearts.
In this list, we cover cornerstone queer shows like Heartstopper, as well as sporty shows like A League of Our Own.
So, here are seven swoony queer shows to watch after Heated Rivalry!
Fellow Travelers
Fellow Travelers can be described in three words: raunchy, memorable, and heartfelt.
This Showtime miniseries features gay icons Matt Bomer and Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey.
In just eight episodes, Fellow Travelers builds an incredible love story between Hawk and Tim that’s impossible to forget.
And if you’re looking for shows that have steamy scenes that match the energy of Heated Rivalry, you’ve come to the right place.
Importantly, it also confronts the harm that the AIDs epidemic wreaked on the gay community in the 1980s.
The duality of Fellow Travelers is exactly what makes it a must-watch for anyone looking for a short yet fulfilling watch.
Young Royals
If your favorite part of Heated Rivalry was watching Shane and Ilya sneak around, then Young Royals might be right up your alley.
This Swedish Netflix show follows Simon and Wilhelm’s love story as students at a prestigious boarding school.
As the title suggests, their relationship is complicated by Wilhelm’s status as a prince.
Young Royals has all the elements of a teen romance with messy drama mixed with deep emotions and confrontations.
Most of all, it’s simply impossible not to root for Simon and Wilhelm.
Their relationship has its ups and downs, but they fight against all odds to be together.
Heartstopper
Another queer teen drama that should be on your radar is Heartstopper.
Most people have watched this Netflix series already, but if you haven’t yet, this is your sign to tune in before the movie drops.
When Heartstopper was first released in 2022, it generated buzz as a radically queer show for many young viewers.
Considering that Heated Rivalry has a relatively younger following, Heartstopper is the perfect show to tune into if you’re looking for a wide variety of queer representation.
One of the main characters is transgender, and another character identifies as asexual.
Both are underrepresented identities in a lot of queer media, so it’s truly a show that can appeal to anyone looking for more LGBTQ+ representation!
A League of Their Own
Speaking of expanding queer representation, let’s show some love for lesbians!
There’s a joke that Heated Rivalry is not really about the hockey, and the same holds for A League of Their Own and baseball.
This Prime Video series centers on an all-female baseball team with mostly queer players on the team.
There are so many great relationships on the show, such as Max and Esther.
The series has only eight episodes due to an unexpected cancellation.
But A League of Their Own still stands as one of the best series to feature characters who are gay athletes.
Killing Eve
Killing Eve has to be one of the best slow-burning queer romances on television.
This BBC America series doubles as a heart-racing thriller and a will-they-won’t-they romantic drama.
It features Sandra Oh of Grey’s Anatomy fame as Detective Eve, who becomes entangled in a cat-and-mouse chase with an assassin named Villanelle.
Ignoring the ending (which is not canon in my opinion), this series expertly toes the line between love and obsession, if there is a line that exists.
The plot twists are shocking and will leave your jaw dropped for days.
Yet the focus never diverts too far from Eve and Villanelle’s intense, albeit unstable, affair.
Interview With The Vampire
Speaking of obsession, Interview With The Vampire is great for Heated Rivalry fans looking to expand their palate (and perhaps lose their appetite in the process).
This AMC series deals with the messy and destructive relationship between the vampires Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt.
Even with its supernatural flair and historical framing, Interview With The Vampire always returns to the romance between Louis and Lestat.
Sure, Interview with the Vampire might be a far cry from hockey-playing gays, but the passion is simply impossible to look away from.
With Interview with the Vampire Season 3 dropping this spring, now is the perfect time to invest in this queer show.
With Love
A queer show that doesn’t nearly get enough recognition is Prime Video‘s With Love.
This dramedy follows two siblings, Lily and Jorge Diaz, as they navigate their family and complex relationships.
The show explores the nuances of being queer and Latino, with a strong focus on Jorge’s relationship with Henry.
In the very first episode, Henry meets Jorge’s family. While it’s not as dramatic as Ilya meeting Shane’s parents in the cottage episode, it’s an adorable scene that offers a similar warm acceptance of queerness from family members.
Additionally, the show features a nonbinary character with a compelling romantic plotline that’s easy to get invested in.
Have you watched any of these shows? Are there any shows you’d add to the list?
If you’re looking for more queer shows to watch, check out our list of LGBTQ+ shows to watch for Pride Month!
-
Has Heated Rivalry got you looking for more romantic shows featuring queer characters? We’ve got some recommendations for you!
-
Our Characters of the Week are inspiring, heartbreaking, and heartwarming from Will Trent to The Lincoln Lawyer. Find out who made the cut!
-
The Hunting Party drops on Netflix on February 15th, and the overlying Pit mystery and team dynamics are 2 reasons why you should binge it.
