Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams Reveals Closeted Athletes Have Reached Out Since Series Release

Heated Rivalry has become a global sensation and, according to star Hudson Williams, even encouraged closeted athletes to reach out.

Heated Rivalry has become one of the most popular series of 2025. Centered on two rival hockey players, Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), who are in a secret relationship. The HBO sports drama has exceeded its expectations and resonated with more people than one would expect.

In an interview with Andy Cohen Live, Williams revealed that the TV series was a lot more realistic than people realize. According to the actor, the events of the show mirror real-life experiences of professional athletes who have not come out of the closet just yet. He said that ever since Heated Rivals season 1 was released, he has received messages from players across many sports, such as hockey, football, and basketball.

These are usually sent through Instagram to the author of the novels the series is based on, Rachel Reid, and she relays them to the actors. The athletes reportedly send messages of affirmation, letting them know that the series is very relatable. The reactions from real-world professional athletes further validate the storytelling and performances of the actors, proving that the entertainment industry can and should represent the LGBTQ+ community properly.

They’re reaching out to like Rachel, our author, who will then relay these lovely anonymous emails. Sometimes they’re just reaching out privately through Instagram, and those ones are the ones that really just kind of hit you: ‘This is a fun show and it’s celebratory, but also sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerve.

Williams added that he hoped Heated Rivalry could challenge homophobia by normalizing physical and emotional intimacy between men in mainstream media. He and Storrie have also been praised for being very open and supportive of each other in interviews.

The actor attributed his comfort with expressing emotion to his parents, which he said helped him develop confidence in showing care and admiration for others. He said that in today’s culture, hesitancy around physical affection among men is outdated, and he hopes the series can encourage audiences to keep an open mind.

What’s always been something that’s frustrated me, not even with like other men but also like just there’s a lot of taboos around exploring physical intimacy with just people you admire and love, without people, especially in like western culture [thinking] , ‘Oh, they’re they’re f—ing, they’re doing this. I just was always frustrated by these kinds of notions. Especially with Connor, who I love dearly, there was something I was always kind of adamant that no matter what people think or want to infer, I’m always going to just physically express my love.

I feel like if you’re still biased or jaded or uncomfortable with expressing physical love for people in 2025, you’ve got to f—ing just get over yourself.

All episodes of Heated Rivalry season 1 are available to stream on HBO Max. There is no confirmed release date for season 2 at the time of this article’s publication.