“And it shows things?”: Grandmother loses it over getting “Heated Rivalry” as a “Christmas present”

TikToker Margaret (@margarettiktokgod) shared her grandmother’s reaction to receiving Heated Rivalry as a Christmas gift.

Before the gift was revealed to its recipient, Margaret explained what she was doing for her audience. “Okay, for Christmas, I decided that I’m gonna give my grandma the gift of Heated Rivalry. She doesn’t know the show yet, and I’m about to present her with this card, and she’s gonna be obsessed,” she said.

Heated Rivalry is a Crave Original series produced and filmed in Canada, streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. Director Jacob Tierney adapted the show from Rachel Reid’s six-part Game Changers book series. The focus of the first season was the second book of the series, Heated Rivalry, of two rivals growing in their careers together while also falling in lust and then, eventually, love. 

The final episode of season one aired on Friday, Dec 26, but fortunately, season two was greenlit and announced the same day the fourth episode dropped, so fans have something to look forward to in, reportedly, early 2027.

Grandma’s reaction to Heated Rivalry

After Margaret’s explanation to viewers, the video cut to the main event. Margaret handed her grandmother a handmade card and asked, “Do you know anything about this?” “When her grandma said no, Margaret explained, “It’s a gay hockey show, and you see stuff.”

She added more context right away. “You get five episodes today, and the finale comes out on Friday night.” Her grandma reacted instantly, exclaiming, “This is the best!”

@margarettiktokgod It’s a Heated Rivalry Christmas. Merry Christmas grandma. #heatedrivalry #shanehollander #ilyarozanov ♬ All The Things She Said – Harrison

Margaret leaned into her grandmother’s excitement, telling her, “Grandma, you’re gonna be so obsessed. The guys are so hot in it,” she said. Her grandma followed up with a clarifying question, asking, “And they’re gay?”

“Yes. And they’re closeted on a hockey team,” Margaret replied.

Then came the line that had people cracking up. “And it… shows things?” her grandma asked.

Margaret laughed and answered, “Yeah, it shows a lot of stuff.”

“This is beyond Merry Christmas. Thank you so much,” grandma said, clearly thrilled.

Responses to the TikTok video

People on TikTok responded fast, and the comments were filled with jokes, theories, and admiration. One person wrote, “She’s reacting like you made the show. 😭😭” Another added, “I need to know her lore to understand why she reacted this way. 😭😭😭”

Others built a full backstory. “The concept of your grandmother being a fujoshi,” one user wrote. Another joked, “Grandma had to have been in the yaoi mines writing Beatles or Star Trek fanfic back in the day.”

Several viewers called it the funniest video they had seen all year. One person joked, “She threw the first brick at Stonewall.” That being said, there is a history of women, especially lesbians, being the staunchest supporters of queer men throughout the AIDS epidemic, so this joke may not be far off the mark.

The clip also traveled beyond TikTok. On X, @fearorlove_ tweeted, “Hudson Williams, I hope you see this and show the Heated Rivalry cast cause this is genuinely the funniest video I’ve ever seen.”

Meanwhile, @earthtolovers added, “I’ve seen my future, and I like it,” echoing a common mood in the replies.

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