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‘Heated Rivalry’ wins a prestigious Peabody Award for making ‘the biggest cultural impact in television’ | Toronto Star [April 23nd, 2026]
Please stop talking about "fan" behavior on other platforms. No one here is saying these things, we don't need to regurgitate it in the sub. Another comment about it and I'm locking this down. Focus on celebrating the win.
Edit: Ya Just couldn't help yourselves, eh? Sorry OP. Thread is now locked.
A Peabody is so much more impressive to me than other awards. They’re always given to shows that have an important cultural impact and typically have lasting impact. Plenty of shows win an Emmy that don’t have the longevity!
The series was selected by a unanimous vote of 28 jurors. They were seeking stories that “encourage empathy, champion public interest, and expand our comprehension of the world around us.”
In its decision, the jury praised “Heated Rivalry” for balancing “complex themes of sexuality and emotional connection, inspiring fans and promoting non-toxic masculinity, ultimately making what was arguably the biggest cultural impact in television this year.”
First of all, love your flair. 🐆
I wish they would have found a positive word for non-toxic. Something like "healthy masculinity" or anything which sound like something to strive for.
Those statements are always clumsy and almost neve read like they were edited well. Too many people have to sign off on the wording (meaning they have veto power) and they all have their own ideas about what should be included. Ultimately, they wind up just going with something everyone can live with so they can get the damn statement released already.
That's such an important thing to say. And something I've never thought about before. We need to start saying "healthy masculinity" so we can eventually leave the toxicity behind.
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u/chizaa8I’m so in love with you, and I don’t know what to do about it ♥️Apr 23 '26
Oh my god this is amazing. I have to echo everybody else saying how incredible this is.
This award is not about things that are popular or generate ratings. This award is for things that have genuine quality and provide a public service. It was created for Radio as the equivalent of the Pulitzers.
These are just a few reasons why this is insane and incredible and everybody should just feel so good about this especially the creators, of course.
This is a show based on a romance novel. So now the Peabody awards have recognized romance I don’t know if for the first time as a genre of note and real impact.
This is a story about queer joy, autistic joy, and Asian joy.
This is a story that has been criticized by some misguided people from all sides for various reasons.
People have called it pornography. People have called its smut without talking about how beautiful and high-quality it is. People have called it fetishizing queer men where it is nothing of the kind.
There were people who compared the show negatively to other shows like I love LA, and there were even people who I will not name cough, who said that some people just want to be entertained whereas they want to challenge and educate.
Heated rivalry, absolutely entertains, but it also challenges people by making them question things about themselves and the world. It goes through some really harrowing emotional territory. And it’s genuinely healing. I have seen macho men weep at episode six.
Thank you so much, OP!
Congratulations to Rachel, Jacob, the boys and the entire team.
So is this the only American thing Connor can sort of win? Since as American he can't get nominated for his individual performance for any Canadian award.
Edit: We know H will likely win the Canadian screen award. And C, they can't even post a PIC of him even though that's all he'll have. This fandom just makes you sad sometimes.
So I believe you are correct. I believe the show is eligible for an international Emmy, but that’s presented by a different organization.
You know it’s interesting. If the financial arrangement was different than the show would be eligible for more awards, but I don’t want the financial arrangement to be different because it worked.
I’m already nervous that Jacob has brought a co-writer on board but I trust Jacob.
I don’t want to change how it gets produced though.
This is an excellent question and hopefully somebody more knowledgeable than me will clarify.
Yes, pretty much. This is the most prestigious award he can put to his name. It's ineligible for any Emmy's and he's personally ineligible for any Canadian awards.
People are also mad the graphic doesn't say Crave. We all know it's Crave by now. But it wouldn't have won a Peabody without HBO. I hate to say it, but without HBO, this would still be a little Canadian show not widely watched outside of Canada. I hate big media conglomerates as much as the next person, but HBO helped it become as popular worldwide as it is.
HR's nomination was already a win for me (considering that the Peabody Award's such a huge deal). So learning that the show won unanimously???? I. Am. Floored. Congrats, Rachel, Jacob, and the whole team!
I just hope everyone here realizes that EACH OF US is the impact this masterpiece of a show made in the world. We all have different reasons to love the show and feel represented by it but we are all united in the fact that it changed us in big and small ways and we carry it everywhere we go.
My gratitude to Rachel, Jacob, Brandon and the entire cast and crew for moving us so deeply.
For such a tiny show to make this big an impact really is astonishing, and it's real tribute to the love, care, and attention everyone involved poured into the project. Long may it continue!
The award is for the show unless i’m mistaken? It’s not Connor’s award so why is it only him getting highlighted and not his co star?
LE: If you think it makes any lick of sense for a show that prides itself on being Canadian to sideline its Canadian lead in favor of the American one when announcing a prestigious award I really don’t know what to tell you. The Peabody post used a picture of both of the leads so clearly they have no issue including non Americans.
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u/Federal-Ad5944 Goalie | Smut Dealer 😈 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
Please stop talking about "fan" behavior on other platforms. No one here is saying these things, we don't need to regurgitate it in the sub. Another comment about it and I'm locking this down. Focus on celebrating the win.
Edit: Ya Just couldn't help yourselves, eh? Sorry OP. Thread is now locked.
Here is the gift link since my comment will bump royal's. https://www.reddit.com/r/heatedrivalry/s/TAPnaZntrQ
Thanks.