Conference Dates - Nov. 12th to 15th 

Location: Seattle, Washington (USA)

Session Overview - In late 2025, the Canadian streaming service Crave launched a six episode television series titled Heated Rivalry, which explores the budding relationship of two professional hockey players, who repeatedly are viewed as rivals yet begin to have feelings for one another. Based on the writing of the romance writer Rachel Reid, the television series has been said to foster experiences of queer joy and hope among diverse viewers. Moreover, this series was picked up by HBOMax and grew in popularity through a strategic social media campaign and word of mouth in online contexts and social spaces. Likewise, the show was picked up by many more providers around the world as people asked for the show to be broadcast in their country. In light of these developments, questions have arisen concerning why this show garnered considerable interest among varying audiences and became a global phenomenon. To make sense of these developments, this panel aims to analyze the show's success from a variety of angles and thus develop greater understanding of why the film has resonated with not only LGBTQ+ people, but many more audiences including heterosexual women. Similarly, this panel will likely address topics such as - How might this show speak to the desire for queer romance and relationships on screen? How does this show relate to the politics of our moment including policies that create exclusion? What does this show's success reveal about the potential of media to create change and push boundaries? How might this show connect sexualities with personal experiences of culture, ethnicity, nation, race, and sport? Hence, this panel will explore this show's varied meanings and discuss why viewers from varied walks of life have taken to this show. If you are interested in submitting an abstract, please submit your work by May 15th to the conference website at - https://pamla.ballastacademic.com - All submissions will be considered carefully and receive a response from the organizer. Please note - This is a fully in-person conference, and so virtual sessions will not be possible. For more info on the conferenec, see below - 

*PAMLA website - https://www.pamla.org/pamla2026/ 

Thank you,

Dr. Edward Chamberlain

University of Washington