Rival Hearts

starring: NICOLE MATTOX, ANTONIO ANDRES ROSELLO & SAM MYERSON

When a fearless sports journalist covers the explosive rivalry between two elite soccer stars - a disciplined golden boy and a volatile prodigy - she becomes dangerously entangled in a war of love, legacy and betrayal that threatens to destroy them all.

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh I like this version of the future

A new story
A new app
Writers with something to say
And a horribly relevant fake AI video

Plus the story is by one of the leads, @aa_antoni, who came up with a great idea for a football Vertical and then @marccotter and @bilellaphone created a super script from it

@nicolemattox_ is ever dependable, and it is great to get to see her so something different here, an excellent journalist who detests that she has become part of the story herself. And I am sorry but no one does a better narrowing of eyes that Nicole. And she has a brilliant effing soccer players that is also echoed by @rachelpetsiavas as Adrienne

2 powerful women on screen. How novel for a vertical! And then we have Cara, the iconic @beccabjerg finally getting a role and vertical worthy of her talents. She is the tabloid journalist, happy to do whatever to get a story, fake social accounts to promote her own stuff, and then turning on her evil mentor Victor Novak @willford who gets to chomp on a few cigars but never goes to pantomine villain

It turns out @sammyerson is rather good at playing an ambivalent character, with flaws, but ultimately a heart in the right place. More roles like this please

And then @aa_antoni is super as volatile Nico, again not perfect, but learns from his mistakes, owns them and tries to do better.

Plus we have some good football shots, a messy flight on the floor, dramatic press conferences and more

It's very well put together and a bit of a triumph from @michaelverticalromance and @rivr_films proving that you can tell interesting new stories

Available to watch on @watchveyou

Now there are a few kinks in the VeYou system, smoother transitions between episodes rather than the V always showing would be nice. And would like some more opportunities to earn free popcorn

BUT overall this is the type of app to give your money to now, one that is championing better storytelling and making stories that vertical stars themselves have come up with

More please from everyone involved.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

Proper love triangle here, but I think we know Maya is a goner when Nico plays with the kids from the orphanage, and then drags himself out of hospital to check she is OK. Also love that there is a bit of a temper flare here - these are two brilliant, ambitious people, of course there are going to be some clashes. But then Nico apologises as he should. But not before he gets an epic Nicole Mattox EXCUSE ME where her eyes narrow and you know you are in trouble.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

Well Victor Novak is a perfect cypher for everything wrong in football today, money has taken over from caring about the sport, and Victor has worked out feeing the algorithm is worth more to him.

Cara gets away with it all, which is hilarious - I need a spin off just about Cara please and her future dodgy exploits.

And great to see Sam Myerson get to play a more interesting character, Leo isn’t all bad and he isn’t all good. Guess what that makes him more real!

But the biggest villain is AI - and that fake video. A relevant topic shall we say.

😂 Comedy gold:

I present to you the comic genius that is Rebecca Berg. And also the whole team at Rivr for going for it when Rebecca broke her toe. Because actually some of the funniest moments are when Cara is trying to make a stylish get away and then dragging that boot.

But also every single line - from the eye roll that it was just a Google search, to the ‘awkward’ she is the best thing in it. She is so good she makes it all look easy - it isn’t, I have seen a lot of forgettable villain performances recently. You have to sell it and Rebecca knows exactly how to maximise the delivery of every line and look.

🎺 Unsung hero:

Okay multiple people could be mentioned here but I have to go for Adrienne. I want to be Adrienne when I grow up. Drinking whiskey so the men will take her seriously, telling Victor to f off, telling off Leo and Nico in her office, dressed in her signature blue power suits.

It is SOOOOO GOOOOOD seeing a powerful woman on screen who isn’t a b*tch, holds her own with every male character, and doesn’t have a love interest. My word we are finally making some progress in verticals. There are some brilliant lines here about women and the workplace, thank you writers Marc Cotter and Joe Bilella.

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director: Michael Reich | 2026

Available on VeYou