Impact of TV Productions: 1)’Not their story to tell’: Broncos families angry over Netflix hockey tragedy series; 2) TV hit Heated Rivalry reflects Canadian values as LGBTQ rights threatened: Carney [Note: + netflix & other payments for canadian content]

1)’Not their story to tell’: Broncos families angry over Netflix hockey tragedy series

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Bill Graveland, January 29, 2026

The story of a small-town hockey team reeling after several of its teenage players are killed in a bus crash would probably seem familiar to Canadians, but Netflix says its new series has nothing to do with the Humboldt Broncos.

Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured when a truck driver went through a stop sign and into the path of the junior hockey team’s bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask., in 2018. 

The truck driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, was sentenced to eight years in prison for dangerous driving offences. Last week, Sidhu, who had permanent resident status, was ordered to be deported to India. 

The new eight-part Netflix series takes place in the small working-class town of South Dorothy, Minn., where hockey is everything and the high school hockey team has been churning out state championships.

A news release from the streaming giant says when a bus crash claims the lives of several players and the coach himself, the town looks to his widow to coach a new team of “battered and broken young men.” 

“I can confirm that the show is fictional and not inspired by any real-life event,” said a Netflix official in an email.

There is no release date or a name for the series yet, she said.

Some of the Humboldt families are angry and say it hits too close to home.

“It does seem to sensationalize our own tragedy, but in a truly Hollywood fashion, they’re making it about them — their heartbreak, their loss, their rebuild,” said Michelle Straschnitzki, whose son Ryan was paralyzed from the chest down in the crash. 

“They’re just out to make some money and make it their story, which is garbage.”

She said she isn’t buying Netflix’s claim that the story is fictional.

“If you have been alive in the last eight years and you haven’t heard what happened on the grand scale that it was, across the world, then you’ve had your head in the sand,” Straschnitzki said.

“I’m not saying people only have to care about what happened in Humboldt, but they have to realize this is not their story to tell.” 

The Humboldt families weren’t consulted about the series or weren’t told that it was going to happen.

Tom Straschnitzki, Ryan’s dad, said Netflix should have reached out to all the families.

“They’re taking advantage of our grief because the creator even said it was his idea and he was so proud of it,” he said. 

“It’s not a Netflix original. It looked like typical Hollyweird there — they changed it around and made in the States, and are taking full credit for it.”

He said he has no intention of watching the new series. 

“Not at all. I kind of relive it every day.”

In the Netflix release, writer and producer Nick Naveda said making the series “is nothing short of a dream come true.”

Tyler Cameron’s son Graysen suffered a broken back in the Humboldt crash but has recovered. He was surprised the series is being made.

“It is hurtful. It brings back a lot of things. I was a little bit triggered,” Cameron said. 

“You’d think if they wanted to tell that story, they would have told our story and maybe ask us first.”

The upcoming series stars actress Michelle Monaghan. 

The series is from Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps production company, which has hits such as “Stranger Things,” “All the Light We Cannot See,” “The Perfect Couple” and “The Adam Project.”

2)TV hit Heated Rivalry reflects Canadian values as LGBTQ rights threatened: Carney [and payments for Canadian content)

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Anja Karadeglija, January 29, 2026

The Canadian TV show about two professional hockey players who fall in love reflects Canadian values in a world where LGBTQ rights are under threat, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

“The world knows that Shane and Ilya are rising hockey stars who fall for each other as they face off in one of the greatest rivalries the game has ever known,” Carney said in a speech at an industry conference in Ottawa, after he walked the red carpet with star Hudson Williams.

“But they’re also two young men who are terrified of being their fullest self. And we live in an increasingly dangerous, divided and intolerant world. And the hard-fought rights of the 2SLGBTQI + community are under threat, including in many of the countries where the show has record-setting audiences.”

Carney said “a fundamental Canadian value is that people should be able to be whoever they want to be. To love whoever they want to love.”

“Heated Rivalry” has become a global phenomenon in the past month. The show was developed for Bell Media’s Crave streaming platform before being picked up by HBO Max. Its lead actors have appeared on stage at the Golden Globes, on U.S. late night talk shows and on the runway at Milan Fashion Week.

It all brought an unusual dose of star power to this week’s Prime Time media production conference in Ottawa, which added a red carpet event to its programming.

On Thursday evening, dozens of people surrounded the red carpet as they waited for producers, actors and government officials to arrive. The crowd cheered as Carney and Williams stepped onto the carpet.

Williams looked excited as he stepped over to hug the prime minister. After taking a group photo with another one of the show’s cast members, Sophie Nélisse, as well as creators Brendan Brady and Jacob Tierney, Carney was presented with the white fleece Williams wore in the series.

Williams clapped as the prime minister showed off the jacket to the crowd. Carney then joked that the sweater was “true soft power.”

Carney also made plenty of jokes in his speech, including that as a politician, he’s not “above taking credit” for the Canadian government’s support in getting the show made.

“I might not have been here, but… I’m here now,” he said, to laughs in the crowd.

Earlier in the day, Tierney spoke at the conference and defended the Online Streaming Act, which the U.S. has identified as a trade irritant.

“People have got to negotiate the way they’ve got to negotiate, but I think it would be really, really bad … if we lost it,” said show creator Jacob Tierney.

Tierney said requiring large foreign platforms to make a five per cent contribution toward Canadian content is not a “huge cost of entry.” Large foreign streamers are currently challenging that contribution requirement in court.

“I don’t think we’re asking for anything unreasonable here,” he said.

Brendan Brady, executive producer of “Heated Rivalry,” said he has told streamers they have an opportunity.

“We want more competition in this country. You’re coming into our system,” Brady said. “Enjoy what you can do because what’s going to happen is you’re going to have a global platform to create more Heated Rivalries and that’s a really cool thing. So stop acting like it’s going to be a negative.”

The annual industry conference is taking place as global streamers challenge Canadian content contribution and disclosure rules implemented by the CRTC through the Online Streaming Act.

The legislation updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms like Netflix.

The CRTC has ordered large foreign streaming companies to pay five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to funds devoted to producing Canadian content, including local TV news.

Some streamers are fighting that order in Federal Court, which in late 2024 put a pause on the payments, estimated to be at least $1.25 million per year per company.

In December, a group of large foreign streaming companies also launched a separate challenge of a CRTC decision made under the legislation that would require them to disclose financial information.

That same month, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pointed to concerns about the legislation ahead of the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal. Greer cited the impact of the act on U.S. digital service providers.

The conference also heard Thursday from Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon and Culture Minister Marc Miller in separate addresses.

Solomon told the audience he had spoken with creators about the Online Streaming Act, while Miller acknowledged the U.S. position.

“I hesitate to speak publicly about this” given the ongoing negotiations, he said. “But there are red lines in and around culture, arts, protecting artists, that we can’t and shouldn’t cross.”

Miller did not specify what those red lines would be, or whether sticking to the five-per-cent contribution requirement would be one of them. He noted the CRTC hasn’t completed the full regulatory process to finalize how much streamers should be required to contribute, adding: “I hesitate to pick a number.”

Miller also spoke about the show, calling it “amazing.”

“I had some American friends reach out to me and their reflection was, this is an awesome show, but at the end you see a government of Canada sign, and they’re like, our government would never support (that),” he said. “I think we can be proud of that.”