“Did not expect this”: Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams opens up about life after the HBO Max drama’s success

HBO Max's Heated Rivalry has quickly become one of the most talked about shows of the year, thanks to Rachel Reid's novels and Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie's intense chemistry. Already looking ahead towards a second season, the show is a sports drama that doubles down as a steamy queer romance between two ice hockey players who are rivals on the field and something else behind closed doors.

The success of the show has been overwhelming for the stars as Williams, who plays Shane Hollander opened up about the show's reception in an interview with The Hollywod Reporter. Speaking to the outlet, the actor talked about his life after the show's success and said,

"I didn’t think it would blow up to this. I thought it’d be more of a niche fan base. Not that I think of Instagram followers or anything, but unfortunately it is sort of a metric of relevancy in actors. I thought I’d maybe get 100,000 [followers] by episode six release. Episode six drops, five months go past. There’s a climb. I’ll maybe cap out 100,000 followers, and that’ll be the level, so this already is like, oh, fuck, did not expect this."

He then talked about why he hinks the show got so popular as he credited the writing and Jacob Tierney's work on the show and added,

"I think the writing is brilliant..I always thought from the moment I read [them], they are Emmy’s quality scripts, and Jacob is a brilliant writer. I’m honored to be a part of this."

More details about Heated Rivalry

Written and directed for television by Letterkenny alum Jacob Tierney, Heated Rivalry arrives already vibrating with intent. More than just another sports drama flirting with romance on the sidelines, it is a slow burn, decade spanning emotional knife fight disguised as a hockey series. The show examines how fear, ambition, and social expectations repeatedly pull the two men apart even as they continue to seek each other out in themidst of a sport that is highly challenging.

At the center are Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Shane, played by Williams a Canadian prodigy with too many feelings and nowhere safe to put them. Ilya, his Russian rival, played by Connor Storrie, is disciplined, closed off, and raised inside systems that punish vulnerability.

What begins as something casual and combustible stretches into a near decade long situationship as they continue to be rivals on the field. The show tracks them across draft nights, international tournaments, championships, hotel rooms, and a secret relationship that just stretches out. If you love slow burn romances with sports as a backdrop and a lot of yearning, then Heated Rivalry is definitely for you!

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Heated Rivalry is available to watch on HBO Max.

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