SKATE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

Fake dating leads to real feelings during the 2026 Winter Olympics.

It’s the first time Great Britain’s women’s hockey team has made it to the Winter Games, but when an injury means their star player will have to sit it out, Arikoishe Shumba is expected to take up her mantle. At a New Year’s Eve party in London, Ari retreats to the roof and meets Drew Dlamini, an American photographer and recent college dropout. Expecting they’ll never meet again, they share their biggest relationship red flags and ring in the new year with a kiss. But when the Games begin in Switzerland, they run into each other. Ari wants her snowboarder ex-boyfriend to leave her alone and Drew needs insider access among the athletes to prove himself as a photojournalist during this gig, so they agree to a fake-dating scheme—just until Ari’s final game ends. They know the attraction between them is real, but they also agree they wouldn’t work as a couple, so pretending is a simple, mutually beneficial business transaction. The line between fake and real quickly starts to blur as the Games get underway, but there’s a secret connection between them that could tear them apart before they get the chance to make a real go at a relationship. Ari and Drew are endearing characters with fun, sparkling chemistry. Their honesty and vulnerability with each other about their emotions make them relatable and easy to cheer for, while their professional growth throughout the Games adds excitement. Both also deal with realistic family drama which plays into their insecurities and creates additional tension. The back-and-forth about whether this relationship is real or pretend gets a bit tedious as the story progresses, but their happy-for-now ending is refreshing and satisfying.

A delightful, warm romance with an exciting, sports-filled, wintry setting.