Nadine Bhabha, who plays Elena Rygg on Heated Rivalry, says she clocked the show’s size at the Toronto premiere—four days before it aired—and reveals she was the first person cast by creator Jacob Tierney. She also argues queer TV needs “gargantuan love,” and
Nadine Bhabha didn’t have to wait for viewer numbers to feel the momentum building around Heated Rivalry.
At the Toronto premiere—four days before the show aired in Canada. the U.S. and Australia—she says the room already held fans of the books at the venue. an unusual sight for an event like that. Then. after the first two episodes dropped. she noticed something else: the level of press coming in for a series that didn’t have the usual ramp-up buzz. “It was insane,” she told a new interview, describing how quickly everything started to move.
For Bhabha, the real shift came after episode 3. She remembers thinking, “Oh, we’ve really done something here.” She pointed to what Jacob Tierney, the series creator, said in response to the sudden surge. “Jacob said, ‘I’ve never been watched in real time by real people. What is happening?’”
Bhabha, 35, plays Elena Rygg in season one, the best friend of Robbie G.K.’s Kip Grady. Her performance has already earned major recognition: she recently won a 2026 Canadian Screen Award for the role.
In the same conversation, she also looked back at how Heated Rivalry started assembling its cast. “I was the first person cast. ” Bhabha said. adding that she’ll never forget the day Tierney called to ask if she’d join his new show. “I immediately said yes, and it was so cool to watch them build this world.”.
She has a built-in connection to Tierney as well, since she previously worked with him on Letterkenny, which he co-created.
Beyond the show’s growth, Bhabha shared what she believes queer storytelling fans are most eager for: “Easy: gargantuan love. So much queer storytelling is wracked with strife.” She noted that while strife reflects realities many people live with. she thinks “aspirational queer TV is necessary. too.” Her comparison was direct: “If straight people get The Notebook. we need the queer version.”.
As for what’s next, Heated Rivalry season two is set to begin filming soon, and Bhabha’s comments land right as fans keep circling back to what might return—and what’s in the works—after the breakout of season one.
Nadine Bhabha Heated Rivalry Elena Rygg Jacob Tierney Kip Grady Robbie G.K. Letterkenny Canadian Screen Award 2026 queer storytelling Seventeen every fandom has its favorite