{"id":485,"date":"2026-06-12T15:37:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T15:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=485"},"modified":"2026-06-12T15:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T15:37:48","slug":"power-play-behind-the-music-of-heated-rivalry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=485","title":{"rendered":"Power Play: Behind the Music of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d is a wildly popular television show\u2014based on a series of books by Rachel Reid\u2014about two young, closeted hockey stars who fall in love. It\u2019s written and directed by Jacob Tierney.<\/p>\n

Read more The Hell-Raising Rocker Who Conquered Country Radio<\/a><\/p>\n

Naomi Fry has noted, in this magazine, that \u201cto talk about \u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019 is to talk about the sex in \u2018Heated Rivalry,\u2019 which is plentiful, quite explicit, and, I\u2019ll say it, pretty hot.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what struck me just as much as the steamy love scenes was the show\u2019s soundtrack\u2014an eclectic assortment of songs that spotlight independent Canadian artists, paired with an original score by the Quebec singer-songwriter Peter Peter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The soundtrack has been the subject of exhaustive analysis among fans and the show\u2019s success has relaunched bands into renewed stardom. Musicians are clamoring to be featured in the next season, per Tierney, with whom I chatted at the home of his writing partner, Michael Goldbach, on a quiet street in Toronto\u2019s Trinity-Bellwoods neighborhood. Tierney wore a red hoodie and jeans, and had a scruffy beard and tousled, bleached-blond hair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Down the hall, in the living room, was a makeshift writer\u2019s room for Season 2 of \u201cHeated Rivalry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tierney was born in Montreal and began his career as a child actor at age six, working out of Montreal, Toronto, and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Read more A World-Class Omakase in America\u2019s Most Landlocked State<\/a><\/p>\n

He has always written scripts to a playlist and often asks the artists he listens to on repeat to write music for his projects. This includes Malajube, who scored Tierney\u2019s 2009 film \u201cThe Trotsky,\u201d and Peter Peter. At the time, they were both up-and-coming Montreal musicians who had never written music for TV or movies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tierney previously co-wrote and directed \u201cLetterkenny\u201d and directed the first two seasons of its spinoff, \u201cShoresy.\u201d These shows featured a similar Canadian musical backdrop, curated with Tierney\u2019s collaborator Jared Keeso.<\/p>\n

Over time, the pair learned to pick the songs they wanted before shooting began.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s convenient that songs by independent Canadian bands tend to be cheaper, but, in reality, Tierney chooses the music because it\u2019s just what he likes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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His Apple Music Replay paints a wider picture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d doesn\u2019t just feature a lot of Canadian music\u2014it\u2019s a Canadian story, through and through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I can\u2019t remember the last time that a TV show permeated so many aspects of my life.<\/p>\n

Read more Lizzo in the Age of Backlash<\/a><\/p>\n

So, what is he listening to now?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Zoe Si and the director and showrunner Jacob Tierney on the making of the \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d soundtrack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sketchbook"],"yoast_head":"\nPower Play: Behind the Music of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d - City Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=485\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Power Play: Behind the Music of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d - City Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Zoe Si and the director and showrunner Jacob Tierney on the making of the \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d soundtrack.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=485\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"City Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T15:37:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=485#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=485\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3e7ce0c0c60d21e12a5ac61fb2b786d4\"},\"headline\":\"Power Play: Behind the Music of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T15:37:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=485\"},\"wordCount\":436,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=485#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6cd558682c3ce53a58907b4c9a6185e.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sketchbook\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=485#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=485\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=485\",\"name\":\"Power Play: Behind the Music of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d - 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