Composer Peter Peter is just as surprised by the runaway success of “Heated Rivalry” as everyone else.
“It was an honor and it went so fast,” the Canadian singer-songwriter and producer told Variety about his experience working on the show. “But you can never know. I thought it was very edgy and very cool, but I didn’t know it would be the biggest show in the world. And I’m very honored by that.”
Created by Jacob Tierney, the Crave original series was a quick hit and has only continued to rise, garnering millions of views and thousands of fans for its passionate portrayal of a relationship between closeted gay hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).
At the center of the conversation, too, has been the show’s “sexy, connected and ambient” original score, as Peter describes it. And though he’s released five solo albums (his most recent, “Éther,” inspired Tierney to invite him to score the series), “Heated Rivalry” was his debut scoring effort, culminating in a 34-track album reminiscent of his signature electronic soundscapes. The album is now available to stream in its entirety, with a CD and vinyl also due out later this year.
Here, Peter spoke with Variety about getting invested in Shane and Ilya’s relationship, his favorite music moments and how he created the buzzy, synth-driven score.
This was the first time you’ve composed a fully original score. When Jacob Tierney approached you, did he have a direction in mind?
It was pretty open. When he wrote to me on Instagram at first, he was like, ‘I’m working on the script right now and I’m listening to your latest record. Are you interested in screen composing?’ And I was like, ‘Yes.’ I didn’t have anything in mind. I did some research — I even watched “Youngblood” [and] hockey movies, but I wasn’t really inspired, so I was composing in the open and gathering cool synth patches while reading the script.
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I was envisioning something with a more fast-paced rhythm for the intimate scenes and when I received the first footage [it was] way different than I expected. It was way more sensual and way more delicate. So I changed the way I was picturing the music for that. I got inspired by the raw footage once I had it.
The score works so well with the editing of the show. Did you do most of the composing once you saw the actual footage?
I kept a few ideas here and there, but when I received the [footage], I threw basically everything down the drain from what I had composed. I saved maybe two or three melodies. When I had the picture lock, I started composing. I had about two months to write the whole show — It was my first experience. But I really felt connected to the series right away… I got attached to [the characters] just reading the script.
Did you have any specific inspiration points during this process? Some fans have been comparing it to the “Challengers” score.
Trent Reznor is one of the biggest [composers] out there and I really like his work. I watched “Challengers,” but I wasn’t inspired [by it]. I’m not someone who tries to draw inspiration from anything in particular. I jam on things. I play things over and over. And when it sounds good, I just commit to an idea. But, of course, everything can be an inspiration. Anything good is very inspiring.
The score also really mirrors where Ilya and Shane are emotionally with one another.
[That] was intentional and sometimes beyond what I thought I could give. It was just a connection with the actual footage and the images and the characters. [The score] was built and composed with sincerity. I had the episodes in my digital workstation and it was all synced to my setup and I was just playing along to the characters with everything. So I was improvising live to images and sometimes it was based on a very specific tempo. For the songs, like the four different “Heartbeat” titles, the tempo is fluctuating, so I didn’t impose any tempo. I thought it could be cool if it built with their heart’s racing because of their connection together.
Do you have a personal favorite moment from the score?
It’s really hard to choose one. Definitely “Inferno” — I really like the dark, sexy vibe of [Shane and Ilya] in the penthouse. And on the lake, “One Soul” is beautiful. It was an honor for me to compose the music. It’s really hard for me to pick because I’m so satisfied by everything. This whole show was magical in the making and it’s still obviously magical right now.
Have there been any early conversations about Season 2 from a music perspective? Jacob had talked about wanting Carly Rae Jepsen involved and Miley Cyrus said she wants to do music…
I don’t have any updates. We’ve discussed a few things, but it’s not something I can disclose.
Was the plan always to release the score, or was that something that came after seeing fans’ reactions?
I remember in my contract, there was something stipulated about the original soundtrack, but we didn’t talk about it while we were working. When we were done, the producer was like, let’s talk about an original soundtrack early next year, in 2026. But the reactions were so out of this world that we had to start during the holidays. So yeah, we weren’t anticipating anything like that. And it was great. As soon as the show came out, people talked about the music a lot, so it was a very nice surprise for all of us, really. We’re still very happy. So we rushed things because the fans really wanted it now, so we had to push things forward.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
From Variety US