Summer catch-up: The 20 best TV shows of the year so far 

Aoife Barry includes Heated Rivalry, Tommy Tiernan and Rivals among her TV highlights for the first half of 2026 

Any Given Day was set in Cork University Hospital, while other TV/streaming highlights this year have included Heated Rivalry and Uncharted.

Heated Rivalry, HBO Max/NOW

This steamy queer romance about two rival hockey players falling in love (based on the Game Changers book series by Canadian author Rachel Reid) saw its talented but unknown stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams catapulted into fame in the space of weeks. The magnetic, on-off relationship between Canadian star player Shane Hollander and Russian bad boy Ilya Rozanov is a love story for the ages. Smitten fans call their fervent rewatching ‘reheats’, because it’s a show that rewards repeated viewing.