As every good fan of Heated Rivalry knows, it’s going to be a while before showrunner Jacob Tierney comes out with another season of the hit horny hockey romance series (in his words: “I don’t have details. I have not started writing.” Sigh.). But for one fan club in Cebu City, the long wait only means more time to host screening parties and keep the local fandom alive while patiently waiting for the second season.
Meet Hollanov PH, which takes its moniker from the official ship name of Heated Rivalry’s Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Led by superfans AJ Han, John Marick Castillo, and Tess Dimataga, Hollanov PH has been organizing episode watch parties since late last December, when the fifth episode, “I’ll Believe in Anything,” became the highest rated in the series. For reference, the episode received a perfect 10/10 score on IMDb, tying with Breaking Bad’s “Ozymandias.”
“We were just planning on watching Episode 5 alone, but then we were like, ‘No, this needs to be a watch party,’” Han told Rolling Stone Philippines. “We were already seeing all these watch party TikToks and Reels from abroad, so we thought, why not experience something like that in Cebu?”
From there, all the planning for that first Hollanov PH event fell into place. Han, Castillo, and Dimataga, all three of whom work at Cebu’s Asmara Urban Resort, coordinated with the hotel owner to rent a function room for their casual watch party. “The original plan was very small, maybe 15 to 20 people lang,” said Han. “But when we posted the invite, everyone went crazy. All the BL (short for Boys’ Love) fans just kept sharing it. We had to close registration after 24 hours. We even got people flying in from Manila, Cagayan de Oro, [and] Bohol.”
“We really didn’t expect anything,” said Castillo. “We panicked. But we tried to make everything immersive. We even served ginger ale and tuna melts, like on the show.”
Spoiler warning for major plot points from the show:
That first watch party more than delivered for fans looking for a safe community to show their love for their favorite show. The Asmara function room was packed to full capacity, with attendees crowding around the large projector screen to watch Connor Storrie’s Ilya whisper “I love you” to Hudson Williams’ Shane, or François Arnaud’s Scott pick up Robbie Graham-Kuntz’s Kip and kiss him out on the hockey rink. The room screamed at Ilya’s “I’m coming to the cottage,” and fan reactions have since been immortalized on the club’s Instagram page.
“Everyone’s family na,” said Han. “We’re just all exchanging vocal stims from the show. We memorize all the lines.”
“We’re always asking fans, ‘Are you an Ilya or a Shane?’” Castillo added. “Which I guess is another way of asking if you’re a top or bottom.”
The only real rule to joining a Hollanov PH event is that attendees must be 18 or above (because, I mean, it is a very horny hockey show). But otherwise, according to Han, everyone’s welcome at their version of the cottage.
Staying the Course
When asked whether they’re worried that interest may die down, especially now that the show’s first season has ended, the club founders don’t seem overly concerned about fan passion waning.
“Even though Season 1’s finished, we’re already planning on how to grow the community,” said Han. “We need to keep the momentum going. We’ve planned events. We’re doing a morning run, like what [Scott] does on the show, and the [registration fee] includes a blueberry banana smoothie, plus an extra banana.”
All three founders emphasized that the Hollanov PH community is bound together not just by Heated Rivalry but also by the safe, welcoming space that the club has created for its members.
“It’s not just the romance that connects us, although that’s great,” said Dimataga. “It’s also those themes of self-discovery, transitioning from young adults to [maturity], making big decisions.”
“You can just see the impact the story has had on fans,” continued Castillo. “Honestly, it’s the perfect show for Filipinos. Culturally, we’re very Christian and very conservative. But this show… it’s like an eye-opener. It’s opening the eyes of people to [be] more accepting, and it’s an inspiration for those who may still be in the closet.”
“The fans are incredibly passionate,” added Han. “But it’s because they’re so invested in the show’s story. I think it’s inspired a lot of people to be themselves.”
