The Canadian TV show “Heated Rivalry,” based on a series of romance novels, has become an unexpected global phenomenon in recent weeks, with its newly famous stars presenting at the Golden Globes, thronged by fans in Manhattan and serving as Olympic torchbearers in Italy.
And now, the franchise has received the endorsement of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday as a major snowstorm swept into New York City, Mr. Mamdani urged people to stay at home and gave recommendations for how they could spend their time indoors.
“The snow is coming down heavily across our city, and I can think of no better excuse for New Yorkers to stay home, take a long nap, or take advantage of our public library’s offer of free access to ‘Heated Rivalry’ on e-book or audiobook for anyone with a library card,” he said.
According to the New York Public Library, thousands of New Yorkers took the mayor up on his suggestion.
The number of downloads of “Heated Rivalry,” the second book in the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid, surged by 529 percent after Mr. Mamdani’s news conference, according to Lizzie Tribone, a spokeswoman for the library. She said 86 percent of the downloads on Sunday happened after Mr. Mamdani’s endorsement.
The library had made an unlimited number of copies of the series available on its app on Saturday, and since then “Heated Rivalry” has been downloaded more than 5,000 times, she said. Altogether, the six books in the series have been downloaded more than 13,000 times.
“We expect this number to continue to climb,” Ms. Tribone said.
Mr. Mamdani has not read or watched the series, according to Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman. But she added that he was “very excited to see so much enthusiasm about using the resources of the public library.”
“Heated Rivalry” tells the story of two closeted gay professional hockey players on competing teams and their secret yearslong romance. The racy show, which combines parts of the books “Heated Rivalry” and “Game Changer” and stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, was produced on a modest budget by Crave, a Canadian network.
It was acquired at the last minute by HBO, which secured the rights to air it in the United States less than two weeks before its scheduled premiere in Canada. Since then, it has become a runaway word-of-mouth hit, and was one of HBO’s most watched shows of 2025.
Before the New York Public Library’s promotion was announced, there had been 3,000 people on a waiting list to access a limited number of e-book copies of “Heated Rivalry,” Brian Bannon, the chief librarian, said.
“This idea hits a number of different notes,” he said. “It is freezing cold outside, there is a snowy quality to the books with the hockey theme, so stay inside and read. We figured we’d give it a shot, and it really worked.”
Ms. Tribone, the spokeswoman, said almost all of the 3,000 people who had been on the waiting list downloaded the e-book on Saturday.
Mr. Bannon said 2,000 people applied for a library card over the weekend, roughly twice as many as had applied by this time last year. The New York Public Library system includes libraries in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island (Queens and Brooklyn have separate systems), but anyone who lives, works, attends school or pays property taxes in New York State can apply for a card.
“Heated Rivalry” is currently the most popular romance novel in the country, according to the library, which said unlimited access to the book would be available until Valentine’s Day.
Liam Stack is a Times reporter who covers the culture and politics of the New York City region.
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