We all love a good "Stars, they're just like us!" moment that makes us feel closer to the celebrities we admire, but we probably wouldn't anticipate how many of our favorite actors are also completely obsessed with the new show everyone is currently talking about.
During a "heated" social media exchange over political differences, The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan responded to a fan who applauded him for clapping back at a user who was fighting with him over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show. In doing so, Morgan referenced the breakout hockey romance series Heated Rivalry and revealed that he's just as big a fan as we are.
"I mean...you saw what I was working with! I was ready to go all Heated Rivalry! (Great show btw. Still recovering from ep 5!)," Morgan wrote in a post. In a follow-up post, he responded to another fan who expressed excitement and slight disbelief that the actor was also watching the new hit series. He offered them a warning that's completely relatable: "Get ready. 5 will break you."
I mean… you saw what I was working with! I was ready to go all heated rivalry! (Great show btw. Still recovering from ep 5!)
— Jeffrey Dean Morgan (@JDMorgan) February 10, 2026
Morgan's referring to Heated Rivalry season 1 episode 5, titled "I'll Believe in Anything," in which professional hockey player Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) is finally honest with his years-long lover and on-ice rival Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) about his feelings for him. They open up to each other emotionally in ways they hadn't before, especially after Shane's shocking injury during a game.
The end of the episode, which was universally acclaimed and briefly held a perfect 10 rating on IMDb, ended with fellow professional hockey player Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) publicly coming out after winning a championship Cup and kissing his boyfriend Kip (Robbie G.K.) on the ice. This televised moment, watched by Shane and Ilya, inspired them to take the leap to be together.
If you haven't watched Heated Rivalry, then you have probably heard about this moment online. You should take Jeffrey Dean Morgan's lead and watch the series (available on HBO Max in the United States) and see the moment that will make you misty eyed for yourself. The entire episode manages to break your heart, put it back together, and break it again in whole different way.
Not to mention, as someone who has starred in hundreds of television episodes throughout his career, Morgan knows a thing or two about breaking our hearts. Beyond The Walking Dead franchise, we're talking about Denny from Grey's Anatomy here. Talk about still recovering! It's been nearly 20 years since Izzy cut the LVAD wire in the season 2 finale. Now that broke us.
Morgan didn't offer further thoughts about Heated Rivalry during the exchange, but hopefully he will circle back with fans with his thoughts on the season finale, the show as a whole, and its cast soon. Who would have thought that we were at the cottage, Negan was there too?