Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney has opened up about the show’s viral sex scenes and where he draws the line.
As soon as Heated Rivalry debuted on Crave and HBO Max in November, viewers around the world became obsessed with the show’s so-hot-they-look-real sex scenes. From the passion between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov to the romance between Scott Hunter and Kip Grady, there’s an abundance of adult moments in the gay drama.
Now, Jacob Tierney has revealed that he has limits when it comes to what type of scenes you will see in the show.
As it stands, there has been a lot of nudity in Heated Rivalry but Jacob has confirmed that there will never be any full frontal nude scenes in the show. Jacob told Vulture that he doesn’t think that prosthetics would add anything to the series: “These are sex scenes, not nudity scenes.” The sex helps tell the story of the characters.
Discussing Shane and Ilya specifically, Jacob said: “Sex is their language, their way of communicating. Random sex scenes are easy to film.” As for what makes the sex scenes work in Heated Rivalry, Jacob said: “It’s akin to dancing. Both are deeply physical. Both demand practice and exact camera placement.”
To film their sex scenes, stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie wear modesty pouches and they have intimacy coordinator Chala Hunter on hand for any questions or queries they have before, during and after filming.
Before filming, Chala asked the cast: “What levels of nudity are you comfortable with? Is there anything you don’t want the camera to see?”
On top of full-frontal nudity, Jacob has added that he has no desire to show douching on screen. Discussing Shane’s first time having anal sex, Jacob said: “People are like, When did Shane prep? This is not a documentary. You wanna watch them douche? You want me to include Shane in the bathroom for half an hour with the f—ing enema.”
He ended by saying: “That’s not what we’re doing here. We’re skipping that part.”