Heated Rivalry' wins best drama, 'North of North' wins best comedy at Canadian Screen Awards 'Heated Rivalry' dominates "Heated Rivalry" dominated the Canadian Screen Awards on Sunday night, taking home three awards at the televised ceremony: audience choice, best drama series and best lead performance for star Hudson Williams.
Fans of the B.C.-born actor were eager to see him at the awards show and receive the honour for portraying the reserved hockey player Shane Hollander, who is caught up in a whirlwind romance with a rival.
Williams said he wished he could split the award down the middle with his co-star, "honorary Canadian" Connor Storrie.
Sunday night's wins added to the 13 statuettes the Crave series won at a gala dedicated to scripted TV on Saturday, including best direction and best writing for a drama.
Because Storrie is American, he didn't qualify for the Canadian Screen Awards, but neither will "Heated Rivalry" be eligible for Emmys.
That's because it was entirely produced in Canada.
The show's creator Jaocb Tierney said that's fine with him — he always knew they wouldn't qualify.
"It's like asking if you want to go to a thing you know you're not going to get invited to: it's fine.
God bless them.
They're great," he said on the red carpet.
The show is an international hit, and its success shot Williams and Storrie to the A-list in short order after its debut last winter.
It follows the yearslong love story of two closeted professional hockey players.
Meanwhile, the Arctic sitcom "North of North" won best comedy series and its star Anna Lambe won for best lead performance in a comedy.
The Nunavut-shot series led all the nominations this year with 20, and its nine wins include best ensemble performance in a comedy, as well as best direction, writing and original music.
The show follows a young Inuk mother who craves more than her predictable life in the fictional town of Ice Cove.
On the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Lambe said her show and "Heated Rivalry" were both series that producers may have considered risky in years gone by.
"A queer hockey drama and a story about a very complicated family from the Canadian Arctic sounds like maybe people might have a hard time relating to it or a hard time diving into it," she said.
"But it shows the humanity of these shows, of these characters, of these stories is what people want." Several special achievement awards were handed....
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