Canadian TV series Heated Rivalry is helping push gay romance stories further into the mainstream, with women emerging as the genre’s largest audience across television, books, and film. HBO said about two-thirds of Heated Rivalry viewers were women, while Nielsen data shows nearly seven in 10 viewers of Call Me By Your Name in early 2026 were women. Female audiences also made up 61% of viewers for Red, White & Royal Blue. Experts say the show’s popularity has sparked renewed interest in male-to-male romance, a genre long known in parts of Asia as “yaoi” or “boy love.”
Google searches related to the fandom surged in the U.S. late last year, while TikTok now features more than 900K videos using the hashtag “fujoshi,” a Japanese term that refers to female fans of gay male relationships, or Boys’ Love. Industry analysts say the success of Heated Rivalry is encouraging studios to invest in more queer love stories.
However, advocates caution that broader LGBTQ+ representation remains in decline. According to GLAAD, LGBTQ+-inclusive scripted films fell by about 14% between 2023 and 2024, while the number of queer characters on television dropped roughly 23% over the past three years.
