[title]
No, the world's collective Heated Rivalry horniness has not waned in the months since we said a fond farewell to Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and their steamy cottage shenanigans. And it looks like that obsession will only continue into summer as NewFest has officially included the queer hockey romance among its stacked programming for Pride 2026: On Sunday, May 31, the smash-hit Crave original will have its open-air debut at Pier 17 at South Street with an outdoor screening event, and it's free to attend.
RECOMMENDED: Where to eat like the 'Heated Rivalry' boys around NYC
Event timing and further details are still to come (you can submit a form on the NewFest site to receive intel as it drops), but it does seem like the episode in question will be the famed fifth installment, "I'll Believe in Anything," seeing as how organizers have teased that the Pier 17 event will give "fans the chance to relive Scott Hunter’s championship moment." (IYKYK.) That penultimate episode of the Peabody-winning drama received widespread acclaim from both critics (the ep has a perfect 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) as well as casual viewers, who gave it a rare 10-out-of-10 rating on IMDb, tying it with Breaking Bad's "Ozymandias" as the highest-rated television episode of all time in December 2025.
Off the ice, there will be plenty of other hot titles among the fest's Pride 2026 lineup, including the Opening Night film STOP! THAT! TRAIN!, directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray) and starring such Drag Race luminaries as Jujubee, Ginger Minj, Symone, Marcia Marcia Marcia and RuPaul herself. There will also be the New York premiere and an outdoor screening of The Brittney Griner Story, which chronicles the basketball star "from her playing career and harrowing imprisonment in Russia through the extraordinary geopolitical battle to secure her freedom," per the festival.
Other high-profile titles include narrative films like Mike Doyle's Bookends and Adrian Chiarella's Leviticus, and gripping docs like Amy Jenkins's Adam's Apple and Brydie O'Connor's Barbara Forever, about the pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. And sports fans can turn out for a New York Liberty Pride Night Watch Party on May 29, "inviting New York City's enthusiastic queer WNBA fans and the wider community to celebrate and cheer on the much-loved NY Liberty team (and their iconic mascot Ellie, obvs)."
NewFest's Pride 2026 programming will take place in person and via streaming from May 28 through June 1. Check out the full lineup here.