The Business of Heated Rivalry: How a Canadian Hockey Romance Show Built a $2 Million-Per-Episode Miracle

The Canadian television series *Heated Rivalry*, a steamy romance about two professional hockey players, was produced for roughly $2.2 million US per episode—a fraction of the $4–10 million typical for American hour-long dramas—yet it became a global hit streamed by HBO. This episode of *Planet Money*, drawing on an interview from Kara Swisher's podcast *Pivot*, explores how the show's creators, Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady, navigated Canada's radically different economic system for producing television and film, where government subsidies, tax credits, and producer-owned intellectual property replace the studio-dominated American model. The conversation reveals not just a scrappy production story, but a fundamental contrast between two entertainment economies, with lessons about efficiency, creative control, and what happens when creators own their work.

1:42The Canadian Production Model: Government Subsidies, Tax Credits, and Producer-Owned IP

The central economic difference between Canadian and American television production, as explained by Tierney and Brady, lies in how shows are funded and who ends up owning them. In Canada, the system relies on a three-part funding structure. First, a broadcaster like Crave (owned by Bell Media, Canada's equivalent of a Comcast-Disney merger) provides a license fee that typically covers 20–30% of the budget. Second, provincial and federal tax credits contribute another 20–30%. The remaining 30–40% must be raised from other sources.

For *Heated Rivalry*, the creators secured a distribution advance from Sphere Abacus, a UK-based distribution company recently acquired by Bell Media, which covered an additional 20% of the budget. The final 10% came from Tierney and Brady themselves, who reinvested nearly all of their producer fees into the show. This meant they were personally betting on the project's success, but with a crucial upside: under Canadian rules, producers retain ownership of the underlying intellectual property. As Brady explained, "The broadcasters can't own the IP—the producers get to." This stands in stark contrast to the American system, where studios typically own everything, and creators work for a fee with little to no backend participation.

The tradeoff is clear: American productions offer much higher upfront payments, but Canadian producers get long-term ownership. "For 100 years, this business was run on the idea that creators and the people who made it got to own and benefit from what they did for their entire lives," Brady said. "I think that that's something worth fighting for."

12:14The Anti-Fascist Production Philosophy: Efficiency Through Restraint

Beyond the funding model, *Heated Rivalry*'s production process itself was radically different from Hollywood norms. The show shot all six episodes in just 36 days, with Tierney directing every episode. They "block shot" the entire season like one giant movie, which required having all episodes fully written before production began—a practice that Brady noted often confuses American studios, who are accustomed to writing episodes as they shoot.

Tierney described his approach as "anti-fascist," a rejection of the Hollywood tendency toward endless takes and obsessive perfectionism. "If you're doing 25 takes of a scene because you don't like the perfect performance of the actor... the problem is the scene, it's not the actor," he argued. "By torturing people into repeating and repeating and repeating, I don't know what you're gaining." This philosophy translated into concrete cost savings: the show would often stay on one character's face during a scene, requiring fewer takes, less coverage from different angles, and fewer extras in the background.

The production also kept shoot days to 10 hours, avoiding the 12–13 hour days that trigger overtime costs. This wasn't just about budget—Tierney noted that the departments most affected by long pre-call times are hair, makeup, and wardrobe, which are "primarily run by women." His wife, five months pregnant during production, served as assistant costume designer. "We need to change this mentality of endlessly shooting 15, 16 hour days," he said. "Which is where the costs balloon."

16:26Owning IP: The Merchandise Windfall and Long-Term Value

The decision to reinvest their producer fees paid off spectacularly when *Heated Rivalry* became a cultural phenomenon. Because Tierney and Brady retained all intellectual property rights, they were able to launch a merchandise line that has become a major revenue stream. Official replica jerseys of the fictional Montreal Metros hockey team sold for $150 and are completely sold out, along with every other item on the official merch site.

This model was inspired by the creators' experience working on *Letterkenny* and *Shoresy*, Canadian shows that built robust merchandise businesses. "We made the decision to reinvest our fees because we knew that if this goes really well, we're going to benefit for the next 25 years off of this," Brady explained. "That is the difference."

Kara Swisher, who has covered Hollywood extensively, noted that owning IP has become increasingly rare in the American system. She shared her own experience: "At some point I wasn't going to make something for someone and I said, 'You just have to give me IP.' And they said, 'Why do you have to have it?' I said, 'It's none of your business. Because I want it. Because it's mine.'" She compared it to the music industry's lesson about owning publishing rights: "Why would you let somebody else administer your work and take all the profit from it?"

20:32Streaming's Impact on Storytelling: The Phone Problem and the Value of Attention

The conversation turned to how streaming has changed the creative process, prompted by a clip of Matt Damon on Joe Rogan's podcast. Damon described how Netflix now demands a major action set piece in the first five minutes to hook viewers, and wants plot reiterated multiple times because "people are on their phones while they're watching."

Tierney and Brady acknowledged this pressure but noted that *Heated Rivalry* has so far avoided it, partly because Crave (their Canadian broadcaster) didn't impose such demands. In fact, the show's success has been attributed to its demand for attention. "This is a show you have to pay attention to," Brady said. "If you're on your phone, you're not going to get it because it's so much about what is not being said, about catching looks between people." The show's dialogue functions as "avoidance and obfuscation," with the sex scenes serving as the only moments of honesty between the characters.

Tierney pushed back against the idea that streaming's demands are entirely new. "Everybody wants an opening that captures you—that's not new. That's been a note since the dawn of time with stories." But he acknowledged the frustration of shows that explain plot points repeatedly, adding with self-awareness, "I am on my phone when I look up and realize you've said it to me for the third time." The key, he argued, is that there should be room for both "popcorn-y fun stuff" and shows that require full attention.

23:44The HBO Relationship and the Threat of Mergers

*Heated Rivalry* streams internationally on HBO, but the relationship is unusual: HBO is not creatively involved in the show. Instead, it acquired the series after production, buying distribution rights territory by territory. The show has been picked up by HBO outlets globally, including Sky in the UK and Ireland and in New Zealand. HBO holds options for subsequent seasons with a right of first refusal, but at a predetermined price increase—meaning no renegotiation and no creative input.

This arrangement exists because Crave and Bell Media have exclusive rights to HBO's entire catalog in Canada. As Brady explained, "If we don't have HBO on Crave, does that affect Crave? That's a big part of why people go there." The potential merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. (which owns HBO) raised concerns about reduced competition. "We just want more competition in the marketplace," Brady said. "It's a scary time as we see more and more mergers happening."

26:13AI and the Value of Friction in Creative Work

When asked about AI's threat to the entertainment industry, both creators expressed cautious optimism about its potential as a tool rather than a replacement. Brady saw the most immediate applications in scheduling, budgeting, and data input—"those moments of friction when you're trying to explain something to someone and they don't get it" are hard to replicate with AI. "We underestimate the importance of friction in the creative experience," he argued.

Swisher agreed, noting that tech companies always promise "seamless, frictionless, convenient" experiences. "No, friction's critical for you being here," she said. Tierney was more dismissive: "It's not gonna write for me. I don't want that either. I love what I do. I don't need that kind of help."

28:14What's Next: The King Is Dead and the Future of Canadian Production

With *Heated Rivalry*'s success, Tierney and Brady are now fielding numerous offers. While they couldn't discuss one "dream come true" project in detail, they did promote their next show: *The King Is Dead*, an action-adventure comedy set in the 1700s, written by Indigenous Canadian writer Tim Fontaine. The premise: a group of Indigenous people, tired of European colonizers, take a boat back to England to kill King George III. "It's like Monty Python energy," Brady said. Crave has already signed on for development, and the producers are seeking additional partners.

The show exemplifies the Canadian model they've championed: creator-owned, government-supported, and built on IP that the producers control. As the industry faces consolidation and disruption, Tierney and Brady's approach offers a counter-narrative to Hollywood's despair.

Conclusion

What stays with the listener is the clarity of the contrast between two entertainment economies. The Canadian system, with its government subsidies, tax credits, and producer-owned IP, enabled a show that would likely never have been made in Hollywood—both because of its explicit queer content and because its budget was too small for American studios to take seriously. Yet that small budget, combined with an efficient production philosophy and the incentive of long-term ownership, produced a global hit. The episode matters because it challenges the assumption that bigger budgets and studio control are necessary for quality, and it offers a concrete alternative model that prioritizes creator ownership, efficient production, and the kind of storytelling that demands—and rewards—full attention.

Key takeaways

• *Heated Rivalry* was produced for under $3 million Canadian (about $2.2 million US) per episode, compared to $4–10 million typical for American hour-long dramas.
• The Canadian funding model relies on three sources: broadcaster license fees (20–30%), government tax credits (20–30%), and distribution advances or producer investment (the remainder).
• Canadian producers retain ownership of their intellectual property, unlike the American studio-owned model, allowing them to profit from merchandise and long-term licensing.
• The show's "anti-fascist" production philosophy—fewer takes, shorter shoot days, all episodes written before filming—saved money while maintaining quality.
• The creators reinvested their own producer fees into the show, betting on future IP ownership rather than upfront payment.
• HBO acquired the show after production with no creative input, holding options at predetermined prices—a relationship that could be threatened by media mergers.
• Both creators see AI as a useful tool for scheduling and data management but not as a replacement for human creative friction and collaboration.