Where was Heated Rivalry season 1 filmed? All filming locations revealed

Heated Rivalry season 1 is HBO Max's newest steamy romance series for grown-ups that has everything from gay romance, rivalry, and sports. The series dropped its first two episodes on Craven and HBO Max on November 28 and one new episode is released every week on Fridays until December 26. 

It's set in Montreal amidst the professional rivalry between the Montreal Metros and Boston Raiders. The show brings the Canadian hockey atmosphere to make the story realistic by filming right in Canada. Heated Rivalry was filmed in two major Canadian provinces: Ontario and Quebec.

These backdrops set the landscape for the tale of romance between rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov and their unlikely spark that ended in a secret affair. 

All the filming locations in Heated Rivalry season 1

Canada was the main filming location for HBO Max's Heated Library. Principal photography for the series started in April 2025 and they mostly filmed in Quebec and Ontario. The two Canadian provinces feature vast and versatile landscapes that became the background of the story. 

Ontario, Canada

Filming in Ontario happened especially around Toronto and Hamilton. Some of the most pivotal sequences in the series were shot in Toronto, and fans were able to identify several landmarks where the cast and crew filmed.

The hotel scene in eTalk's feature in the series was reportedly shot on the Lavelle rooftop, per Cosmopolitan. Toronto's streets and neighborhoods also lent their charm to the series, especially with how they could stand in for New York and Chicago outdoor scenes. 

The outlet also reported fans identifying the Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, which was reportedly a stand-in for Russia. It was where Ilya's jogging scene was filmed. The outdoor location where Ilya and Shane first met was reportedly shot at the McMaster Burridge Gym, also in Hamilton. 

Reddit users have also reportedly identified the First Ontario Concert Hall in Hamilton as the filming location for the LA party for the Major League Draft. The cast and crew were also spotted filming portions of the first season in other areas in Ontario.

They were seen filming in and around Sleeman Centre in Guelph early in June 2025, per Moviedelic. Other filming locations also include the city of Vaughan and Lake Muskoka in Southern Ontario. 

Quebec, Canada

Quebec is often called the 'Europe in North America.' The Charmed province, specifically its second-largest French-speaking city, Montreal, was also a shooting spot for Heated Rivalry. 

Plenty of Montreal's landmarks made it into the series. Viewers may have spotted the Olympic Stadium, the Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, the Bell Centre, and the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal in a couple of establishing shots.  

What is Heated Rivalry all about

The steamy romance is an adaptation of the second novel in Rachel Reid's Game Changer book series. It follows a pair of hotshot professional hockey players who secretly developed a romantic relationship that lasted years. They are together in private but rivals on the ice.

Show creator Jacob Tierney described the series to Toronto Life back in November. He summed up the storyline to this:

"[Heated Rivalry] is a gay love story set in the world of hockey, so its very existence is an act of rebellion... But the show itself is happily ever after. I didn't want to subvert too many romance tropes."

The first four episodes of Heated Rivalry are not streaming on HBO Max. Subsequent episodes arrive weekly on Fridays.