Heated Rivalry went into the Canadian Screen Awards as one of the year’s most talked-about shows, and closed out Canadian Screen Week, unsurprisingly, as a record-breaker.
The Crave hockey romance picked up three major trophies during the televised ceremony in Toronto on May 31: Best Drama Series, the Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award, and Best Lead Performer, Drama Series, which went to B.C.–born star Hudson Williams.
Those wins came after an already huge showing at Saturday’s scripted television gala, where Heated Rivalry collected 13 more awards, including Best Direction, Drama Series and Best Writing, Drama Series for creator Jacob Tierney! Together, the two nights brought the series to a record-setting 16 Canadian Screen Awards from 18 nominations, breaking the previous Screen Awards record held by BlackBerry, which won 13 awards in 2024. The show won every category it was nominated in, the remaining two nominations being in categories where two Heated Rivalry actors were nominated for the same award.
Williams, who plays hockey star Shane Hollander, used part of his acceptance speech to shout out Connor Storrie, who plays his rival and love interest, Ilya Rozanov. Because Storrie is American, he wasn’t eligible for the Canadian Screen Awards, but Williams said he wished he could split the award with his “honorary Canadian” co-star, and honestly, it was a moment.
The show’s awards haul also included wins for Sophie Nélisse (Best Supporting Performer, Drama) and Nadine Bhabha (Best Guest Performance, Drama Series). Nélisse was also honoured during Sunday’s broadcast with the Radius Award, which recognizes Canadian talent whose work helps raise Canada’s profile internationally. Williams took to the stage to introduce Nélisse for the award, heartwarmingly referring to her as a “dear friend.”
The acclaimed Arctic series North of North (one of our top 10 bona fide Canadian TV shows) also had a major Canadian Screen Week, winning Best Comedy Series, while star Anna Lambe won Best Lead Performer, Comedy! The Nunavut-shot series, about a young Inuk woman trying to build a new future for herself in a small Arctic town, entered the awards as the year’s most-nominated title and finished with nine wins, including awards for Best Ensemble Performance (Comedy), direction, writing, hair and original music.
On the film side, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, which follows two bandmates on a chaotic quest through time to land a gig at a local venue, took home the night’s top film prize, winning Best Motion Picture. The post-apocalyptic feature 40 Acres was another major winner, taking home nine film awards, including Achievement in Direction and the John Dunning Best First Feature Film Award for R.T. Thorne.
It was also elbows-up for Mike Myers during Sunday night’s broadcast. The Scarborough-born actor accepted the Academy Icon Award, thanking family, creative heroes and, in very Canadian fashion, the Canadian taxpayer.
But one of the evening’s most emotional moments came before the in memoriam segment, when Eugene Levy paid tribute to his longtime friend and collaborator Catherine O’Hara, who passed away in January. Levy reflected on more than 50 years of working with O’Hara, from SCTV to Schitt’s Creek, and called her “simply the best.”
You can find the full list of winners here.
