Heated Rivalry’s Latest Casting Has Me Hyped, but Why Is TV Allergic to Intersectional Diversity?

Two ideas can be true at once.

It tends to be a lost concept these days when it comes to discourse, and Heated Rivalry’s latest casting announcement is a prime example of this ideology. Because the series just cast Troy and Harris, and it’s game-changing.

Make no mistake, Justice Smith is excellent casting, but it still left me wondering why television so often swaps one form of representation for another instead of embracing intersectionality.

It’s the most exciting and frustrating news for the series these days all at once.

It’s exciting to know that the next season will feature some prominent characters in the universe in the form of Troy Barrett, the reformed bad boy who emerges as a major player and close friend to Ilya Romanov in the course of the book series.

And much of the character’s reform is centered around the man he falls in love with, Harris, one of the most well-defined, endearing love interests in the course of the book series.

One of the many reasons Heated Rivalry skyrocketed to megastatus is its ability to land incredibly fresh talent, whose meteoric rise to stardom could not be more deserved.

It made Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie household names, even when there was trepidation about their initial casting, when Heated Rivalry was just whispers and relatively unknown.

And therein lies a big issue with the course of the casting thus far. One of its strengths was casting relatively unknowns and making them stars.

It’s such a rarity in the industry now that watching the likes of Williams and Storrie become sensations in front of our eyes is just part of the thrill of the phenomenon.

To me, watching two people I had no familiarity with transform into these characters and put on such remarkable performances moved me beyond measure.

It’s seeing the craft of acting on display in the most delightful of ways, something you don’t see anymore when every other role seems reserved for Nicole Kidman, or whatever other major star or their offspring.

This latest casting does provide us with familiar talent. Justice Smith is easily one of the biggest names the series has cast so far, and anyone who’s watched his work knows what an incredible get this is.

He has this ability to truly embody quirky, relatable, compelling characters and steal every scene he’s in. I’m also particularly fond of his ability to play men of color who aren’t restricted or boxed into stereotypical roles.

It’s why I can completely envision him bringing the likes of Harris to life onscreen.

A character who is exuberant, so positive that it’s infectious, and brightens every room he walks into, who is unapologetic, and unabashedly, totally, refreshingly himself… Justice Smith is tailor-made for a role like that.

Similarly, Charles Gillespie, of Julie and the Phantoms acclaim, can bring Troy Barrett’s rough edges and softness to life onscreen.

Heated Rivalry’s strength is in the chemistry of its leading romantic characters, whether it’s the insane chemistry between Ilya and Shane or the equally passionate chemistry between Scott and Kip.

I can trust that if Smith and Gillespie were cast, it’s because their chemistry is out of this world, which will work for inarguably one of the most coveted stories in the universe outside of Hollanov.

The series has also taken this opportunity to expand on its racial diversity with the casting of Justice Smith.

It’s an exciting move — especially for a series that’s set in a predominantly white hockey world where they touch on race but barely scratch the surface of its depth.

Harris being a queer man of color is a great move that adds more depth and texture to the story. It also makes things a bit risky.

Troy Barrett’s plot point is essentially narrowed down to him being a closeted bigot who only enables the homophobia and bigotry of his former friend and teammate because of the culture of toxic masculinity he faced both on the ice and off via his father.

It’s a compelling story on its own, one that could have potentially gone off the rails in a way reminiscent of Glee‘s Kurt/Karofsky fiasco, but doesn’t.

Troy, as a closeted queer man who was deeply steeped in the harmful bigotry around him, whether he actually believed it or not, takes on new layers that Heated Rivalry could meaningfully delve into.

It can really address things head-on now that his love interest is a proudly, openly, unapologetically queer Black man.

Layers that the book didn’t delve into as much could be explored more meaningfully onscreen. Or, the season could just speedrun through the meat of it all in a way that happened for better and worse with Skip.

Reimagining Harris as Black diversifies the show in a way that keeps working to its advantage and potentially enhances the specific story of Troy and Harris.

Where the casting choice gets frustrating is the fact that it feels like Heated Rivalry trades in one type of diversity for another.

Harris’ race was never central to his story. His body, however, absolutely was.

In a universe full of sculpted hockey stars and near-perfect physiques, Harris stood out as a character because he wasn’t built like everyone else, and the books celebrated that rather than treating it like something to overcome.

Even better, he was desirable.

A character so often referenced as soft, husky, and a bear not being that way changes the impact of the story. It changes a pivotal part of what he represents and how meaningful that representation actually is.

Ultimately, it’s not so much that the series chose Justice Smith for this role. I’m excited to see him bring such a lovable character to life, and at the risk of sounding punny, I know he can do it justice.

But it left me wondering: why is the default when it comes to diversity this idea that we can have one or the other but not both?

Where’s the intersectionality? Queer Black men exist. Chubby Black men exist. Queer, chubby Black men exist. Representation shouldn’t force us to choose between those identities when real people embody any and all of them every day.

What’s frustrating is when diversity is treated like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” wherein there’s no coexistence, as if it’s simply impossible to give us everything.

Diversity shouldn’t feel like checking one box while erasing another.

Now, maybe the svelte Smith will bulk up for the role, and it’ll make observations about this moot. It’s possible.

But at a time when body diversity is at the pinnacle of conversations — where the pendulum around weight has swung back to dehydrated, muscley men and women so thin you can see bones– it feels like a missed opportunity not having one of the book series’ most overt celebrations of body diversity pushed aside.

It also feels like another case of treating diversity like a zero-sum game, one that invites averse responses for one thing because of something else entirely.

Justice Smith’s casting is far from a problem. Hell, it’s an elevation to the series.

And a Black Harris is a freaking bonus; that too can only enhance the storyline.

The frustration is that television still seems to treat diversity as if it’s transactional — as though one kind of representation has to replace another instead of allowing multiple identities to exist within the same character.

And pitting two different types of diversity against each other and potentially subjecting a talented actor to vitriolic backlash is certainly worrisome too.

A Black Harris has the potential to deepen Troy’s story in fascinating ways, particularly when it comes to exploring race, queerness, and masculinity in the universe of a sport that has historically struggled with all three.

I’m thrilled about that, and the series landing Justice Smith.

Harris also deserved to remain the body-diverse romantic lead we rarely see.

And those are two ideas that can be true at once.

Over to you, Heated Rivalry Fanatics. How are you feeling about this casting? Let’s discuss!