Despite the romance genre thriving in both books and movies, romance has not historically been a tv genre. While romantic storylines are dime-a-dozen, the genre of romance never really worked for traditional network tv because (1) romance storylines inherently require serialization because they are centred on character growth, ie. internal rather than external conflict and (2) because romance stories are not meant to be continuous (most romance book series follow multiple couples—it's rare for a couple's story to stretch over multiple books) which is a problem when network tv was all about longevity.

Of course, this changes somewhat with streaming, where limited series' thrive and storylines no longer need to stretch over 5-10 seasons. But even then, the only romance show that has truly lived in the public conscious in recent years is Bridgerton, a show that while certainly a romance (and adapted from a books series much like Heated Rivalry) embodies the tv industry's concerns about romance as a genre. Bridgerton does not allow its romance storylines to breathe on their own—season 3 was particularly at fault for this, where side characters and plotlines were added in a way that completely distracted from the supposedly central romance. This is not to say that Bridgerton is necessarily a bad show, its creators just clearly does do not believe that romance is a genre that can captivate audience for a significant about of time, at least not without exciting side plots.

But Heated Rivalry is different. Jacob Tierney and everyone who worked on the show clearly know the romance can stand alone (sex does, in fact, sell) and the construction of the show is rooted in this understanding. With the exception of episode 3, the entire show is solely focused on Shane and Ilya. There are side characters, but they are only there to exist within the single love story being told. Even episode 3 exacerbates this point, because a lesser show would have interwoven Scott and Kip's story throughout Shane and Ilya's instead of letting it breathe on its own. Many people were jarred by episode 3's departure from the main story, but this choice allows for the audience's focus to remain on the main plot—Shane and Ilya—for the majority of the show, exactly the way that romance books do.