Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie have officially found their next project together — the 2026 Olympic Torch Relay.
The breakout stars of the queer hockey drama that has become a phenomenon have been selected as torchbearers for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, HBO Max announced Wednesday morning. The games will be airing on the steaming service to customers in Europe.
Wednesday’s news is just the latest feat for the two newcomers, who shot to stardom in the Jacob Tierney-created series. Last week, Williams made his runway debut, walking in Dsquared2’s Milan Fashion Week show. Earlier that week, Storrie appeared on both Late Night with Seth Meyers and Today.
The pair were the talk of the Golden Globes, despite only attending to present an award. Hollywood couldn’t get enough of the actors at pre-Globes parties, as well.
Heated Rivalry, hailing from Canadian streamer Crave and airing on HBO Max in the U.S., centers around a fictional hockey universe based on books by Rachel Reid. The show focuses on two rival professional players — Canada-born Shane Hollander (Williams) of the fictitious Montreal Metros and Russia-born Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) of the fictitious Boston Raiders — as they navigate a near-decade-long situationship turned relationship. The
Crave renewed Heated Rivalry for a second season and HBO Max confirmed it will continue to air the series. Earlier this week, Reid announced that she’ll be publishing her seventh book in the Game Changers series, which Heated Rivalry and its sequel The Long Game belong to. The book, Unrivaled, will be the next chapter in Shane and Ilya’s story.
