Heated Rivalry's Creator Was An Absolute Menace On His Canadian Sitcom

Before Jacob Tierney's sultry sports drama "Heated Rivalry," he created and starred in a show that could not be more different. The Canadian sitcom "Letterkenny" followed the odd residents of a small rural Canadian town. Tierney starred as Glen, a chaotic evangelical Christian preacher with a Southern U.S. accent and knack for sexual innuendos (especially within his passionate sermons). Glen's flamboyant personality and clear admiration for men were often used to hint that he might be gay, although the series never divulged his sexuality. In an interview with The Queer Review, Tierney described Glen's sexuality as "madness," continuing, "He thinks he's a femme fatale in a thriller, and he treats everybody accordingly."

Much of Glen's unhinged behavior comes from his over-the-top flirtations with various characters. In Season 1, Episode 5, characters Wayne and Daryl arrive at Glen's church to help him remove a possum nesting below the organ. Glen steps out from behind the podium completely pantless due to the "heat" and totally not as an attempt to flirt with the possum wranglers. 

Throughout the show, Glen's stark personality isn't something that's judged by other characters in the small town. Tierney made this a point with all of the queer characters on the series, telling The Queer Review, "It's a show which allows people to live their sexual identities out loud and not be ashamed of them ... and they live in a place where nobody judges them for it."

Jacob Tierney's show "Letterkenny" placed several queer characters in a town where people were referred to as "hicks" if they were farmers and "skids" if they dressed alternatively. The humor found in the 5,000-person town was worlds away from the dramatic tone of "Heated Rivalry." Tierney discussed this vast difference with Toronto Life, explaining, "I stepped back from the 'Letterkenny' universe to do something different. I loved working on those shows, but I feel like I've put in my time [doing frat-boy humor]."

"Letterkenny" actually explored the concept of queer hockey players, but in a different way than "Heated Rivalry." Characters Ron and Dax are queer gym rats who often frazzle dude-bro hockey players Riley and Jonesy during their workouts. "We wanted to explore the idea that there were gay people in sports," he told The Queer Review in 2021.

When Tierney began working on "Heated Rivalry" after discovering Rachel Reid's "Game Changers" book series, the vision for the series was meant to be "something extremely joyful," he told Toronto Life. "This 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." "Heated Rivalry" has confirmed its new and returning cast members for Season 2.