What time does Heated Rivalry come out?

The Heated Rivalry episode 3 release time was set to 12 a.m. ET this Friday, December 5 — which means that the episode is now streaming on HBO Max.

A full Heated Rivalry episode guide, with release dates for each new episode, can be seen below.

• Episode 1, "Rookies": Friday, November 28
• Episode 2, "Olympians": Friday, November 28
• Episode 3, "Hunter": Friday, December 5
• Episode 4, "Rose": Friday, December 12
• Episode 5, "I'll Believe in Anything": Friday, December 19
• Episode 6, "The Cottage": Friday, December 26

Besides the weekly release time and dates above, it's worth noting that Heated Rivalry is streaming on different streaming services around the world.

What is the title for Heated Rivalry episode 3, and what does it mean?

The title for Heated Rivalry episode 3 was hidden from fans ever since the series was first announced. All other episodes received a proper title, except for this mysterious third episode. Now that the episode has been released, official social media pages have revealed that Heated Rivalry episode 3 is titled "Hunter."

In the lead-up to its release, fans speculated that the episode would shift focus away from the overall protagonists of the Heated Rivalry show — Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) — to explore the story of Rachel Reid's first book in the Game Changers series of novels. For context: The Heated Rivalry book is the second installment in Reid's series of novels, so paying homage to book 1, Game Changer, not only felt fair, but was also a cute idea.

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And the fans were right, as the title is a clear reference to Scott Hunter, another character who is a closeted hockey player in this universe. Even brand-view fans of Heated Rivalry will probably be familiar with the character given that actor François Arnaud had already been starring as Scott in the first two episodes of the show.

Heated Rivalry episode 3 takes a complete turn to focus entirely on Scott and his love interest, Kip Grady, played by Robbie G.K. on the show.

Meet François Arnaud, the actor who plays Scott Hunter on Heated Rivalry.

François Arnaud plays Scott Hunter, a closeted hockey player who's the captain of the New York Admirals, on Heated Rivalry. Beyond a few casual appearances in the first two episodes, Scott is one of the two main characters in episode 3, which explores the events of Rachel Reid's first book, Game Changer, in her overall literary series of queer hockey players. The character of Scott, just like Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), is a closeted gay man. Arnaud, the actor, came out as bisexual in 2020 through a social media post shared on Bi Visibility Day.

Born in Montréal, Québec, Arnaud delivered a breakout performance as Cesare Borgia on Showtime's The Borgias in all three seasons of the series. The actor, who spoke Spanish on the period drama along with costars Jeremy Irons (Rodrigo Borgia) and Holliday Grainer (Lucrezia Borgia), subsequently explained on Interview Magazine that he first learned Spanish in high school, picked it back up while having a Chilean girlfriend, and reconnected even deeper with the language while spending time in Argentina when he was 18. He also speaks English and French fluently.

Arnaud displayed his casting chops even further after The Borgias, and truly demonstrated his range as an actor by playing wildly different characters. From the mysterious Oscar on NBC's Blindspot, David's (Dan Levy) eccentric ex-boyfriend Sebastien Raine on CBC's Schitt's Creek, the lead role of Manfred Bernardo on NBC's Midnight, Texas, and a cunning reality TV producer named Tommy Castelli in the fourth and final season of Hulu's UnREAL, this is an actor who always understands the assignment.

In recent years, Arnaud was celebrated as an Out100 honoree and went on to play characters like Harrison on Surface, Patrick Landry on Plan B, Paul on Yellowjackets, Jean-François 'Jeff' Sauvageau on Mr. Big, and Sammy in Twinless. Now, he's officially entering the live-action canon of Heated Rivalry with his performance as Scott Hunter.

Follow François Arnoud on Instagram.

It's also worth noting that, as seen in the teaser above, music fans will also remember that Arnaud as the love interest in between Orville Peck and Noah Cyrus in the music video for "How Far Will We Take It?" from May 2024.

Fans can follow François Arnaud on Instagram at @francoisarnaud.

Scott Hunter character overview.

Scott Hunter is the protagonist of Game Changer, Rachel Reid's first book in her literary series that includes the Heated Rivalry novel. The latter, which has now been adapted into a live-action TV series, features Scott as a mainstay, recurring character.

Overall, fans know Scott as a towering hockey star who's basked in the spotlight for several years. Throughout the books in the Game Changers series, Scott is the poster child of discipline and perfectionism as a well-known hockey player, team captain, and even sports celebrity in New York City.

Unwavering routines are what Scott clings to, such as his pregame ritual of stopping at a smoothie shop, which becomes a turning point in his romance when a particularly well-prepared smoothie by barista named Kip Grady gets him out of a scoring slump.

Meet Robbie G.K., the actor who plays Kip Grady on Heated Rivalry.

The Heated Rivalry show also features an exciting appearance from Kip Grady, the main love interest in Game Changer (Reid's first book in the series) whose romance with Scott Hunter is the main focus. Here, the character is brought to life by actor Robbie G.K.

Unlike François Arnaud's presence as Scott Hunter in the first two episodes of Heated Rivalry, G.K. makes his debut as Kip Grady in this third episode of the show. G.K.'s character isn't a hockey player, nor is he in the closet, thus having no links to the story that had been told up until this moment.

Previously credited as Robbie Graham-Kuntz in certain projects, G.K. grew up in Port Credit, Ontario and reportedly went to Etobicoke School of the Arts high school, "where his mentors fostered his singing, acting, and dancing talents." The same bio from G.K. notes that his passion for the craft and professional acting career started in a production of The Sound of Music when he was just 13 years old.

Prior to starring as Kip on the Heated Rivalry show, G.K. was best known for his roles as Charlie in two seasons of The Next Step, Adam in the 2015 film Full Out, Tempo 3 on the TV show Utopia Falls, Simon Carpenter in Marry F*** Kill, and Riley on Overcompensating.

Follow Robbie G.K. on Instagram.

G.K. is actually quite active on social media and shares pretty regular updates on new projects that he's working on, as well as casual pictures traveling the world and spending time with his loved ones.

Fans can follow Robbie G.K. on Instagram at @robsgk.

Kip Grady character overview.

Kip Grady is an underemployed college graduate working at a juice bar named Straw+Berry. Even though he has an undergraduate degree in history and dreams of working at museums in New York City, he's having a hard time finding employment in his field, which leads to his current job as a smoothie barista.

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The biggest difference between Kip and the other three lead characters introduced in the Heated Rivalry TV series so far is that Kip is an out and proud gay man. He is not a hockey player, nor is he closeted. He goes to gay bars, has a social life of a gay man in his mid-20s, and all of his friends know his sexual orientation. But then he meets Scott, who isn't out and cannot come out at this point in his life, prompting Kip to live a secluded, closeted life in the name of love.

Do Scott and Kip end up together in Game Changer?

Scott and Kip do not have a happy ending at the end of Game Changer, Rachel Reid's first novel in her series of books.

While there are a few similarities between Kip and Shane in terms of being shier and less commanding than their love interests, it's worth noting that both Shane and Ilya are closeted hockey players with sponsorship deals and superstardom at their feet. Neither of them can or wants to come out of the closet even as they meet each other and fall in love. This is never a disagreement between the two main characters of Heated Rivalry: They both agree that they must both stay in the closet for the time being.

However, that isn't the case for Scott and Kip. After spending so much time and effort in his life working to become the hockey player that he is today, Scott feels similarly to Shane and Ilya about staying in the closet. He isn't ready to give up his sports career and risk everything he's worked for, which could very much be the case if he were to come out when the story takes place.

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Upon meeting Scott, having the hots for him, and falling in love, Kip seems willing to completely uproot his life and make things work for their relationship. And yet, Kip's friends, Kip himself, and even Scott start to question if that is a fair thing for Kip to do.

Scott is very much still standing firmly inside his own closet… A closet that Kip hasn't been in for several years. In fact, his life as an out and proud gay man doesn't affect him negatively in any way. Kip is a happy person, with lots of friends, goals, dreams, and ideas, but his life begins to feel rather claustrophobic as he tries to abide to Scott's limitations.

It takes a while, but Kip eventually sees that his relationship with Scott is unsustainable.

What does Scott and Kip's love story mean to the overall Heated Rivalry show?

Some viewers of Heated Rivalry have questioned why Shane and Ilya's story had to be interrupted by this one-episode arc between Scott and Kip. In many ways, Scott being older than both Shane and Ilya spells out that this secret affair between the two star hockey players isn't anywhere close to being done.

After two explosive and steamy episodes of Shane and Ilya as forbidden lovers who must meet in hotel rooms to live out their fantasies, Scott's story is a bucket of ice-cold water that establishes how actually difficult and risky it is for a hockey player to come out of the closet under this set of circumstances. It highlights to fans, more intensely than before, why the idea of coming out seems so distant from reality for both for Shane and Ilya.

Where to watch Heated Rivalry online?

Heated Rivalry is streaming weekly new episodes every Friday on HBO Max for U.S. viewers.

Meanwhile, the gay hockey series will be available on different streaming services around the world, such as Crave in Canada, HBO Max in Australia, NEON in New Zealand, and Movistar Plus+ in Spain.