'Heated Rivalry' Director to Next Tackle Alexander the Great
The 'Heated Rivalry' effect continues with the greenlighting of 'Alexander,' delving into the relationship between Alexander the Great and Aristotle.
The Heated Rivalry effect continues, and not just on the bookshelves. The out-of-the-box success of the "gay hockey show," as it's been dubbed, has pushed LGBTQ+ romance to the forefront of producers' minds, with streaming services that aren't about to be bought up by Paramount (aka American State TV) hurrying to mine the new vien of storytelling, since HBO won't be around much longer to push the boundaries of what kind of TV can be shown in the U.S. While most production companies are scouting the LGBTQ+ romance sections of their Kindles, Netflix is going big by bringing Heated Rivalry director Jacob Tierney aboard for a new TV adaptation of a best seller, greenlighting the series Alexander.
Tierney's new show doesn't explicitly say it will be an LGBTQ+ love story, but it doesn't need to. The series will be based on the 2010 novel The Golden Mean by Canadian novelist Annabel Lyon. The novel delved into the relationship between young Alexander the Great and his tutor, Aristotle, and the upcoming series has been confirmed to be a period-set piece that will cover the majority of the novel's storyline.
It's rare for shows to be set before the Common Era, and those that are are usually either focused on the rise/fall of the Roman Empire, Christianity, or King Arthur. Despite the massive impact Aristotle's philosophical works have had on humanity – many of which still reverberate millennia later – he's not a character usually depicted on screen, unless it's a film about Alexander the Great, like the 2004 feature starring Colin Farrell, with Christopher Plummer as the famous philosopher. (Even Bill and Ted skipped meeting him in favor of Socrates in their Excellent Adventure.)
One could argue that's because so little is known about his life, but that's not stopped anyone before. Instead, it's more a product of life in ancient Greece being so utterly different from our modern belief systems that it might as well be an alien culture. Moreover, the technology for adapting stories to the screen emerged during an era of repression and prohibition, when anti-queer laws were prevalent.
With the passing of the 1934 Motion Picture Production Code, anything that smacked of sexuality was forbidden. Despite some headway in that space in the 1960s and 70s, it wasn't until this decade that queer culture finally became more than a once-a-decade event on television. Considering the wording of the series synopsis, it seems like this series won't be shying away from it.
Here's the series synopsis:
Based on Annabel Lyon’s novel The Golden Mean, the drama begins as the Athenian empire is crumbling and the world’s greatest mind, Aristotle, arrives in Macedonia to tutor a volatile young prince, Alexander. Amid palace intrigue, forbidden love, brutal war, and ruthless ambitions, their unlikely friendship shapes an empire and alters the course of history.
No cast has been confirmed as yet. Tierney is set to write and direct all episodes. He also executive produces alongside his Heated Rivalry partner, Brendan Brady of Accent Aigu Entertainment, and Michael Costigan & Jason Bateman of Aggregate Films.
Alexander is not expected to start filming until later in 2026 and probably will not debut until at least 2027, if not 2028.
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