‘Heated Rivalry’ May Be Over, But This Sexy Netflix Show Should Fill the Void

A promising new Netflix show was shaping up to be another win for the platform — and then, this week, it was canceled.

Netflix is often too eager to dole out cancellations like candy, and unfortunately, Olympo was its latest victim.

The Spanish-language show follows young athletes at the Pirineos High Performance Center, and the swimming captain who believes some athletes are going to extremes to be the best.

Olympo has plenty of competitive intrigue and steamy sex scenes, and fans of Heated Rivalry in particular may find it to be their next favorite binge. Watch With Us has three reasons why you should check it out.

It’s a Great Show If You Like Seeing Beautiful People Have Sex

Perhaps, the plot of Olympo isn’t the most well-executed thing you’ll ever see, but that’s probably not why you’re watching it anyway, is it? The YA sports series follows the athletes at an elite performing center in Spain, where they face enormous amounts of pressure to stay there — and see how far they’ll go to do it. Toned, athletic bodies, huge amounts of stress and wildly competitive streaks. What do you think that’s a recipe for? Well, if you’ve seen Heated Rivalry, then you know exactly what.

Olympo really does have a surprising amount of borderline softcore sex scenes for a purportedly “YA” show, but that doesn’t mean we’re complaining. It does mean that a coherent plot and more complex, nuanced character gets tossed to the side a little bit in favor of showcasing ambitions, beauty and hormones. It helps that the young actors portraying these attractive athletes are giving it their all and looking good doing it, too. We don’t need every show to be Apple TV’s excellent sci-fi and thematically heavy show, Pluribus. We’re only human after all.

It’s Not High Art, But It’s Fun to Watch

Again, while the plot of Olympo isn’t the most thoughtfully developed, don’t think for a second that the show is only entertaining in its sex scenes. The series is incredibly energetic, propulsive and surprising, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. While the athletes at the Pirineos High Performance Center are pushed to their physical and mental limits, some athletes seek unethical ways to push themselves even further than that. That’s where the central conspiracy of the show comes in.

However, the show also looks good, too, even beyond when the camera is focused on sex and skin: it boasts immersive production design and cinematography that make it easy to slip into the highly competitive world of the show, further carried by an infectious electronic score and some recognizable needle drops. Basically, Olympo has everything you’d want in a salacious teen drama.

The Cast Is Phenomenal — With One Particular Standout

The young cast of Olympo is genuinely great, believable as the athletes they’re portraying and convincing in their relationships with one another. They’re also probably not widely known to American audiences: fans may recognize Augustín Della Corte, who made his acting debut last year in Netflix’s Society of the Snow, and he’s accompanied by Nira Oshaia, Clara Galle, Nuno Gallego and María Romanillos.

However, it’s Della Corte who is handily the show’s standout performance. He portrays controversial rugby player Roque Pérez, who has been mired in scandal due to his sexuality and receives a suspicious amount of attention from a shady sports apparel brand. Yet while everyone around Roque makes consistently toxic decisions, it is Roque who is the easiest to root for, while Della Corte portrays him with necessary internal conflict and empathy. He could be the next Connor Storrie or Hudson Williams if enough Heated Rivalry fans flock to Netflix and make Olympo an unexpected streaming hit.

Stream Olympo now on Netflix.