Can 'Heated Rivalry' Be Nominated For Emmys? Here's Why the Hit Series Can't Compete at TV Awards

Heated Rivalry took the world by storm this past month, with many calling for stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams to receive Emmy nominations for their performances!

Connor, who plays Ilya Rozanov, took viewers by storm in the show’s fourth episode, with his emotional monologue in Russian. Hudson even praised his co-star’s work, saying, “Give my baby that weighty golden winged woman holding the atom statue already.”

While their acting is being praised and the show as a whole, Heated Rivalry is actually not eligible for Emmy Awards – Here’s why!

Keep reading to find out more…

The Crave original series did debut in the 2026 eligibility window, which is from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, BUT, it’s not an American series, which is it’s biggest hurdle in gaining any nominations.

While the show did air on HBO Max in the US, the streamer did not contribute to the production in any way, other than just purchasing licensing rights to air it.

Heated Rivalry was fully funded by Bell Media, Crave’s parent company in Canada. The Emmy eligibility rules state, via Variety, that a “foreign television production is ineligible unless it is the result of a co-production (both financially and creatively) between U.S. and foreign partners, which precedes the start of production, and with a purpose to be shown on U.S. television.”

The show may not be eligible for the regular Emmys, there is a chance for the International Emmys, whose submission deadline is the end of January.

Season two is also less likely to be eligible for the Emmys, as it will remain a fully Canadian produced series. Though HBO Max hopped on board to distribute the series in the US, they are staying out of the creative and will not join as a producer. This means that the original creative team, led by series creator, writer and director Jacob Tierney can oversee the next season without input, as many fans were worried about.

Heated Rivalry and it’s stars could still be nominated for awards, as there are the Canadian Screen Awards, which celebrates Canadian film, television and digital media.

While not an official award, the series did notch the highest rated TV episode of 2025 on IMDb!