What Heated Rivalry reveals about funding Canadian stories

Heated Rivalry is ubiquitous in the entertainment landscape righ now, usurping Hollywood’s most prestigious events and the attention of its A-list. But despite garnering global attention and shooting its stars to fame in a manner only paralleled on screen, Heated Rivalry is not a product of Hollywood, nor should it be regarded as such. 

In fact, Heated Rivalry exists in part due to Canadian cultural funding, granted by the Canadian Media Fund (CMF). The show’s success and reception are a testament to the importance of such institutional bodies—in telling not just Canadian stories, but especially those that are historically underrepresented.  

With its leading actors essentially working paycheck to paycheck, while playing characters whose multi-million dollar contracts (ironically) derive mostly from television appearances, Heated Rivalry also punctuates the startling disparity between the arts and sports within Canadian culture—one that, while complex, can evidently be supplemented with government funding.