If You Loved Heated Rivalry, Here Are 10 Other Shows That Put Queer Sex Front and Center

Unless you jump-started your New Year’s resolution and have been in a deep social media fast, you’ve certainly heard about Heated Rivalry, the sex-forward, gay hockey romance that has taken the internet (and my TikTok feed) by storm. The Canadian drama, currently streaming on HBO Max, stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as rival hockey players hiding a passionate (and gif-friendly) off-ice love affair. 

The series, based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, premiered in November and quickly flooded the internet with thirst traps, fan art, and memes of the stars in various states of undress. Unfortunately for the show’s thirsty fans, however, Season 1 will wrap its six-episode run on December 26 (just in time for you to watch unadulterated fucking while hidden in your childhood bedroom). While there is a Season 2 in the works, all of us newly minted hockey fans will likely have to wait at least a year before things heat up once again in the penalty box. 

Luckily for you, though, Heated Rivalry isn’t the first TV show to feature plenty of steamy queer love-making. Gay people have been getting it on on TV for quite some time if you know where to look. So while you’re waiting for Heated Rivalry to return and waiting for your latest Grindr crush to text back, here are ten other sex-forward, LGBTQ+ shows to get you hot and bothered. 

Dante’s Cove (Here TV)

While Dante’s Cove may not be a title familiar to you, if you were on a certain side of Tumblr back in the early 2010s, you’ve definitely seen a few screenshots from this “supernatural soap opera.” Dante’s Cove, which ran for three seasons on Here TV from 2005-2007, starred Gregory Michael and Charlie David as a young gay couple battling mystical, evil forces. Think Supernatural, but with loads of gay sex. While the scripts weren’t always the strongest, Dante’s Cove makes Heated Rivalry look like C-SPAN when it comes to nudity. 

‍Elite (Netflix) 

Spain’s answer to Gossip Girl, Degrassi, and Skins, Elite focuses on a group of (very dramatic) teens who attend an “elite” high school for the children of the rich and famous. While the show always featured plenty of sex, things really heated up in Season 4 when Patrick (played by the swoonworthy Manu Rios) appeared, quickly becoming the lover of both gay characters on the show. While yes, you’ll need to read subtitles, there’s also plenty of body language for you to enjoy as well. 

Fellow Travelers (Showtime) 

Before he was the star of Jurassic World Dominion or Wicked, and before he was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, Jonathan Bailey was getting freaky on Showtime’s historical romance, Fellow Travelers. Bailey plays Tim, a young congressional staffer in the 1950s, who begins a passionate affair with Hawk (Matt Bomer), a closeted State Department suit. The drama spans a 40-year-long romance and includes one scene where Bailey puts Bomer’s whole foot in his mouth. 

‍Interview with the Vampire (AMC+)

Unlike the 1994 film adaptation, which largely erased the queer elements of Anne Rice’s book, this AMC series, starring Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid as fanged bloodsuckers, leans hard into the gay vampires of it all. Forever young and beautiful, the pair share an over-100-year-old epic romance while still managing to keep things interesting in the bedroom. But never fear, after 100 years, they’ve also opened their relationship to new partners, although some don’t survive the night.

The L Word (Showtime) 

When it comes to queer television, there’s nothing quite as iconic as The L Word, Showtime’s groundbreaking drama about a group of lesbian and bisexual women living in West Hollywood. Running from 2004-2009, The L Word was one of the first shows by queer women to depict queer female sex. While it may not always be quite as horny as Heated Rivalry (although it certainly can be), the emotional connections here will leave you gasping for air just the same. 

Looking (HBO Max) 

No show thrust Grindr quite into the public zeitgeist quite as much as Looking did. The HBO series, which only ran for two seasons, followed a group of gay men navigating life in 2010s San Francisco. Dating, cruising, and of course Grindr, lead to plenty of hook-ups, but it’s Patrick’s (Jonathan Groff) relationship with Kevin (Russel Tovey) that yields some of the hottest scenes in the series. 

Orange Is the New Black (Netflix) 

Before 2013, most Americans seemingly had little clue as to just how gay jail can be, but then came Orange Is the New Black, a dramedy set in a women’s prison, where seemingly everyone was down to be a little fruity. The Netflix original series not only launched the careers of Uzo Aduba, Samira Wiley, and Danielle Brooks but also reminded the world that sex will find a way. People are gonna get off, even if they’re trapped in a 6x8-foot cell. 

Queer as Folk (UK) (Prime Video)

While there have been several iterations of Queer as Folk over the years, the original British version (which ran for only 10 episodes) is still the one to beat. Starring Aiden Gillen, Craig Kelly, and Charlie Hunnam, the show focused on gay life in Manchester in the late 90s, with plenty of gritty, pre-Grindr hookups taking place. You can easily polish this off in a weekend. 

Sex Education (Netflix) 

If you’ve ever had sex questions, Sex Education is here to answer them. The British teen comedy focuses on Otis (Asa Butterfield), a teen who becomes his school’s underground sex therapist in an attempt to woo his crush Maeve (Emma Mackey). The show tackles plenty of sexual topics, from douching and masturbation to asexuality and STIs, with plenty of sex scenes (scaling from so cringe you have to shut your eyes to so hot you need to rewind) along the way. 

Shameless (Netflix) 

‍Shameless, which follows the unruly antics of the Gallagher family on the South Side of Chicago, offers many things, but perhaps the best part of the show is “Gallavich,” an epic, slow-burning love story stretched over 11 seasons. Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) and Noel Fisher (Mickey Milkovich) don’t start as lovers, but by the time the show wrapped in 2021, their enduring (and extremely hot) romance had become a fan-favorite. Oh, and this show also includes gay prison sex.