‘It Happened Very Fast’: Hudson Williams on the unexpected rise of Heated Rivalry
When Heated Rivalry arrived on HBO Max in late 2025, it did so without the fanfare usually reserved for prestige television. A hockey romance adapted from a popular novel, centred on two male athletes navigating desire and vulnerability, sounded like a niche proposition - until it wasn’t.
CREDIT: CNN NEWS CENTRAL
When Heated Rivalry arrived on HBO Max in late 2025, it did so without the fanfare usually reserved for prestige television. A hockey romance adapted from a popular novel, centred on two male athletes navigating desire and vulnerability, sounded like a niche proposition - until it wasn’t. Within weeks, the series had become a cultural talking point, fuelled by word of mouth, viral clips and a fanbase that seemed to appear overnight.
For Hudson Williams, who stars as Shane Hollander, the scale of the response has been both thrilling and unsettling.
“It definitely feels like an overnight rapid success,” Williams said during an interview on CNN News Central with anchors John Berman, Kate Bolduan, and Sara Sidner . “There was a sense of, oh, maybe it’ll do well… but the level of the stratosphere it’s reached is a little overwhelming. The privacy feels weird. The relationship with fans is such that you have to draw the line at certain points.”
Fans, after all, have seen plenty of him. The show’s explicit intimacy has attracted no shortage of attention, but Williams believes viewers are staying for something far more emotionally grounded.
“The spice definitely draws people in,” he said, “but I think they stay for the really tender romance at the centre. There’s a lot of yearning, and these men are forced to communicate with each other, which isn’t always something you see.”
Casey Chiang
That emotional specificity guided Williams’ preparation for the role, particularly as he portrayed a queer athlete within a series that intersects with broader LGBTQ+ representation. Heated Rivalry includes a cameo from Harrison Browne, the first professional hockey player to come out as trans, a moment that resonated deeply with audiences.
Williams did speak with Browne on set, though he only later fully grasped the significance of his presence. “I found out retroactively what he means to the community,” he said. “And then I was like, oh - but he was just a lovely person to talk to.”
Rather than attempting to shoulder the weight of representation as a whole, Williams chose to focus on the individual story he was telling. “Trying to comment on or understand everything - trans, gay, bisexual - felt too overwhelming,” he explained. “So I focused on just this one character.”
That consideration also shaped how he approached the show’s most talked-about scenes. While Heated Rivalry is unapologetic in its portrayal of intimacy, Williams says his primary concern on set was not his own comfort, but that of the crew around him.
“You’re in a vulnerable position,” he said. “Things can be exposed. I didn’t want to be lying there and have someone come over to adjust a light and see something no one should be subjected to. My fear was making someone else uncomfortable.”
The self-awareness and humour Williams brings to the role mirrors the tone of the series itself. Despite its high-concept premise - two male hockey stars falling in love - the relationship between Shane and Ilya often unfolds in quiet, almost mundane moments. CNN anchor John Berman described it as “boring” in the most affectionate sense.
Williams agreed. “You’ve got this very square, boring person in Shane, and then this unexpressive Slavic guy in Ilya,” he said. “Somehow they find a way to exist together, even when they’re not talking. That’s what drives the relationship.”
As for what comes next, Williams is as eager as the audience. A second series has yet to be confirmed, but the demand is constant.
“People keep shouting at me, ‘We need season two,’” he laughed. “I’m like, OK - let’s just film it tomorrow.”
For now, Heated Rivalry continues to stand as one of the year’s most unexpected breakout hits, anchored by performances that make its love story feel not just provocative, but profoundly human. And for Hudson Williams, the challenge ahead is not simply sustaining success - but learning how to live within it, while knowing exactly where to draw the line.
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