I'll Believe in Anything: The Making of Heated Rivalry Season 1

by Jacob Tierney, Rachel Reid (Foreword)

From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I'll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

Based on Rachel Reid's blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I'll Believe in Anything takes readers behind the curtain, showing how Tierney, his producing partner Brendan Brady, and the entire Accent Aigu team drew on a deep reverence for Reid's work, impeccable casting, clever sets and costume design, and thoughtful sex scene choreography to both rewrite the playbook for adapting romance novels to the screen and obliterate the long-held misconception that queer love stories have limited appeal.

I'll Believe in Anything answers all the questions fans of this groundbreaking series have been asking. How did Tierney interweave Ilya and Shane's rivalry with Scott and Kip's love story to create the ultimate television moment? Where did the idea for that incredible Canadian Olympic fleece originate? And what does it look like for a full team, led by Tierney and Brady, to plan, choreograph, and film some of the best sex scenes in television history? Featuring annotations on scene directions, intimacy choreography, costume insights, and more, alongside Tierney's never-before-seen scripts, this book gives fans a brand-new way to come to the cottage!

Genres: Nonfiction, Hockey, LGBT, M M Romance, History, Pop Culture, Tv

384 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 13, 2026

About the author

Jacob Tierney is an acclaimed film and television creator and co-president of Accent Aigu Entertainment, the production company he co-founded in 2023. A visionary showrunner, he created, wrote, directed, and executive produced the internationally celebrated, award-winning Crave original series Heated Rivalry . The series has earned 18 Canadian Screen Award nominations, including Best Writing, Best Direction, and Best Drama Series. It has also been nominated for a Peabody Award and won the GLAAD Award for Outstanding New Television Series, among others. Tierney is next set to write, direct, and executive produce Alexander for Netflix. He also served as an executive producer on The Traitors Canada for its first three seasons.

Tierney co-developed, co-wrote and directed every episode of the hit series Letterkenny and directed the first two seasons of its spinoff Shoresy , earning him 10 Canadian Screen Awards and cementing his reputation as a defining voice in television. Before his rise as a powerhouse in TV, Tierney wrote and directed four feature films, including Twist (Venice Film Festival premiere), The Trotsky (Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay) and the cult classic, Good Neighbours . He also executive produced the 2023 feature War Pony , which won the prestigious Caméra d'Or Award for Best Feature at the Cannes Film Festival.

Recognized for both his creative impact and cultural influence, Tierney is the recipient of the Cultural Innovator Award from the Departure Festival + Conference and the Cultural Impact Award from The NYC LGBT Community Center.

Jacob Tierney co-founded Accent Aigu Entertainment with writer, director, and producer Brendan Brady. The company leverages their extensive experience in the Canadian television and feature film industry to deliver content with broad appeal across the U.S., Canada and International markets.

Prior to starting AAE, Brendan and Jacob worked together for four years on over forty episodes of the hit television series Letterkenny and its spinoff show, Shoresy . Through harsh winter nights and long summer days, they realized they had complementary abilities and a shared sense of creative and professional ethos, making Accent Aigu Entertainment a natural next step.

Reviews

[Courtney]

🎵Life is worth living🎵 Am I unhealthily obsessed with this show? Yes. Is it a problem? No.

A problem is something you can fix.

[Nott]

Me, plotting 6 month in advance about how I'm going to acquire this book, while being in Russia

[Lance]

you have no idea the things I'd be willing to do to have this in my hands

[haddy ｡⋆୨୧˚]

never been a nonfiction girlie till now

[Eve]

gimme🫴

[lana]

the cover was just revealed and it's so sweetie pie i need to take a nap on a highway

[Samantha]

GIMME THIS RN AHHHHHH

(I have an unhealthy obsession with Heated Rivalry)

[Anna Panozzo]

oh i love my job

[marioncoin | coin.reads]

most anticipated release of october 🫵

[melhara]

I still haven't read the book series (oops), but I loved the show! This book will definitely make me want to rewatch Season 1 😍

[★—jay—★{🍉🇵🇸}]

my babies