If this story has found you, chances are, “Heated Rivalry” is on your mind. It’s not in a way that’s fleeting either but, rather, all consuming. You’re still at the cottage. You haven’t stopped thinking about all the things she said, all the things she said. Your psyche keeps replaying its own version of a TikTok edit, a kaleidoscope of phone calls in Russian, shoes touching under tables, stupid Canadian wolf birds, room 1221, blueberry smoothies with extra banana and “you look pretty.”
If you know, you know. And, if viewership numbers are any indication, a whole lot of you know.
But for those who don’t, here’s the gist: “Heated Rivalry,” a steamy TV show that debuted in November about a romance between two rival hockey players, birthed a phenomenon so big and so fast, even executives at its U.S. streamer, HBO, are bewildered. It’s not just the show, either; its lead actors, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, have discovered the type of superstardom in two months that others in Hollywood take years and years to obtain.
So what is it about this show that’s made it so sensational? Why can’t we quit it? Why don’t we want to? These are among many questions we at TODAY.com have been tormented by. So, in search of answers, we reached out to a handful of people familiar with the material who could provide varying expertise and points of view. Here’s what they told us.
Hudson Williams is opening up about how he’s handling fame after the massive success of his show, “Heated Rivalry.” The 24-year-old was on the Jan. 20 episode of Evan Ross Katz’s “Shut Up Evan” podcast.
Meet the voices
- Jen Prokop is a romance critic who co-hosts the podcast “Fated Mates” alongside romance novelist Sarah MacLean.
- R.K. Russell is a former pro athlete who in 2019 became the first out active NFL player to identify as bisexual. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills and published a memoir, “The Yards Between Us,” in 2023.
- Dylan and Isabelle are two fans in their early 20s who lined up at 30 Rock in the wee hours for a chance to see Hudson Williams on “The Tonight Show.” Their last names are omitted to protect their privacy.
- Gayle Stever is a professor of psychology at Empire State University of New York who authored several books on media, celebrities and their fans, including 2018’s “The Psychology of Celebrity” and 2024’s “Parasocial Experiences.” She spoke to us via email.
- Kelly, aka K, host of the podcast “K, Let’s Talk” whose TikTok account has gone viral thanks to her videos with insightful analyses of “Heated Rivalry” scenes and characters. She’s just shy of 100,000 followers and has 81 videos “Heated Rivalry” playlist alone. Her last name is omitted to protect her privacy.
Questions and answers were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Let’s discuss
Why do you think “Heated Rivalry” has such a significant and lasting stronghold among its fans?
Jen Prokop: “Romance is the reason. Romance is the most popular genre of books published. A romance TV show that really hits the ‘cinematic beats’ of a romance novel — I don’t think we’ve ever seen it. This feels to us in the romance genre what we get every time we read a romance novel. Welcome to the club. The thing about this adaptation is it never shies away from the idea that the feelings of Shane and Ilya are what’s really important. Romance readers are not ashamed of the idea that the people you fall in love with can change your whole life. When I see a romance adaptation that’s a little too cool for feelings … you have to really lean in to the idea that there is nothing shameful about love, and the people you fall in love with being important to your life and your happiness.”
Isabel: “People are looking for a TV show that depicts true romance. Women like to see nontoxic masculinity in a (romantic) relationship and you’re not forced to put yourself in that relationship. It’s not just straight women. I’m gay myself. You’re able to view it as a beautiful love story.”
Dylan: “I know there’s a big fanbase who are women, but for me, as a gay Asian man, I see myself in Shane. He wanted to depict queer joy. Seeing that on TV hit home for me.”
R.K. Russell: “It’s a story we don’t get to see and celebrate. Not just in TV but in real life. At this time there are no male professional athletes in the big five sports here that are out. That representation, and that taboo of male athletes being queer, vulnerable and soft, we don’t see and root for. ‘Heated Rivalry’ allowed for this subject that we have great intrigue of but little representation.”
Kelly: “I uniquely also played hockey, so I think that that’s another angle that I’m coming at the story from. Obviously it’s a love story — but at its core, I really identified with the pressure aspect of it. … There’s a lot to unpack in terms of how, as a hockey player, and specifically a female hockey player, you’re expected to show up in those spaces. But even if you’ve never played hockey or (a sport) in general, I think everyone understands some version of that pressure or a deep desire to be seen or understood or loved for who you actually are and not a version of yourself that you create in order to conform to the environment.”
Connor Storrie is still grasping how successful “Heated Rivalry” is. The 25-year-old actor chatted with Access Hollywood after announcing the nominees for the 2026 Actor Awards, previously known as the SAG Awards, and revealed he was actually looking at a “plan b” in case acting didn’t work out.
Why do you think so many women are so drawn to this story?
Gayle Stever: “I think that women are attracted to relationships that are between two social equals. The way society is structured currently, it is often the case that a relationship between a man and a woman has a power imbalance (not always but often). So when women enter a ‘fantasy’ scenario, part of the ideal is to remove that imbalance. Two men are social equals. … One of the features (my friend who watches this tells me) is that the confidants for these men are woman. Women like being in this role.”
Russell: “It’s a representation that we want from men. You can be all the things as a man, and it doesn’t discredit you or make you less masculine. You can be a top athlete and performer in a physical presence and you can also, you know, be lovesick over a guy. Two things can exist. You can be both hard and soft. I think that’s really big. And I think we’re all looking for some love.”
Kelly: “I think for women, we identify with that feeling of otherness or exclusion that the two characters, even though they’re men, are experiencing. It draws a parallel to how women are supposed to conform to the world that we’re in. … The other part of it: You do have to give credit to the fact that women love romance stories, and this is a really well crafted book, and the show itself is so intentionally made. … That’s what a lot of people talk to me on my review videos about — the craft that went into the show feels different than a lot of the romance genre adaptations we’ve seen recently.”
Is there something about certain characters or actors?
Kelly: “The actors themselves, when they were doing a lot of the promotional run, are just so unfiltered and pushing up against that hyper-masculine world. It’s everywhere, but hockey in general, you don’t see that level of vulnerability or unmasking of what masculinity is traditionally associated with. I feel like that definitely resonates with everyone who feels constrained by expectations society places on them. It’s a very universal experience.”
Russell: “A lot of conversations that I’m having personally with queer athletes, both out and not out, is the the Scott Hunter and Kip story. It’s very close home for a lot of athletes. For most of us, we were athletes in the closet, having to date other people and explain our situation. Not wanting them to come into the closet, but to know that to interact with us is to be your half-self at times, especially publicly. That’s one example where the social conversation and the actual lived experience frayed at times, because a lot of people didn’t see the purpose of Episode 3 until they got to Episode 5. But for me, Episode 3 is really what made me lean in more to the show, because I saw myself in a lot of ways.”
Can you recall another show, movie or book that drummed up the same type of frenzy? Can you clock any through lines between those pieces and “Heated Rivalry”?
Prokop: “‘50 Shades’ had a similar impact. ‘Bridgerton.’ As romance readers, we’re always kind of dumbfounded why people don’t look to us more for great stories, because clearly, like, we’ve got the juice. For many people, emotions and figuring out who you want to be with is a story that consumes people’s lives and young years. These are great stories. We can tell them without ruining them.”
Kelly: “A lot of people that I interact with online draw a lot of parallels to the show ‘Normal People.’ I don’t know if ‘Normal People’ had the same global impact, but the thing that people are drawing parallels to, at least on my end of social media, is the the very raw portrayal of isolation, feeling less-than, not meeting expectations. Those feelings are very much the same as how ‘Heated Rivalry’ is discussing that, even though ‘Heated Rivalry’ is a queer story. I think that for a lot of people that are around the age of these characters — because in both shows the characters are around the same age — that’s just a universal reality that everyone quietly deals with.”
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