Bell Media chief says Heated Rivalry gamble put Canada on global stage
Bell Media president Sean Cohan says the company's gamble on Heated Rivalry has paid off and put the broadcaster on the global stage.
Speaking at the Access Canada Summit in Toronto, in a session moderated by The Hollywood Reporter editor-in-chief Maer Roshan, he called the hockey romance "the biggest global hit that Canada has ever produced," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The three-day summit ran 14 to 16 September.
Heated Rivalry is a six-part first season drama based on the novel series by Rachel Reid. It was brought to Bell Media by Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady through their production banner Accent Aigu Entertainment.
Tierney, best known as the director of the comedy Letterkenny, directed the series. In the United States, the show was picked up by HBO Max, meaning American viewers watch it there while Canadian viewers watch it on Crave, Bell Media's streaming service.
That split is common in television. A Canadian broadcaster funds and airs a show at home, then licenses it — sells the right to show it — to a US buyer for that market.
For fans, this means more is on the way. A second season of Heated Rivalry is now in production. Bell Media had first confirmed a six-episode order for the opening season when it was in production as part of its 2025/26 original slate, and it later listed Season 2 among its returning Crave Original series for 2026/27.
Cohan took over Bell Media in late 2023 after relocating from New York City to Toronto. He had previously held executive roles at A+E Networks and at Nielsen, the audience measurement firm.
What makes this stand out is how quickly one commission changed the conversation around him. He arrived as an incoming manager. He is now the executive tied to an international breakout.
Cohan also pointed to what comes next for Crave and CTV, Bell Media's streaming service and free-to-air channel. That includes a revival of The Littlest Hobo for Crave in Canada, developed with Seth Rogen and Point Grey Pictures alongside Lionsgate.
The original Littlest Hobo followed a wandering German Shepherd dog. The new version is being rebuilt for a streaming audience.
Bell Media is also working with Elliot Page and Pageboy Productions under a deal to create content for CTV and Crave. The first project under that deal is Slo Pitch, a comedy from the Toronto-based producer Shaftesbury.
No premiere dates or episode counts for those new projects were disclosed in the summit report. Season 2 of Heated Rivalry does not yet have a confirmed launch date either, beyond its place on the returning slate.
