The lead actors from the well-known Canadian hockey series “Heated Rivalry” have been selected as torchbearers for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympic Games in February. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who portray characters Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov respectively in the Crave-produced show, will be participating in carrying the Olympic flame. Williams hails from Kelowna, B.C., while Storrie is of American descent.
The characters Hollander and Rozanov, depicted as top hockey players and fierce rivals on the ice, grapple with their emotions for each other off the rink in the series. The show “Heated Rivalry” is scheduled to debut in Italy on Feb. 1 on HBO Max, an official broadcaster for the Milan Cortina Games, while Canadian viewers can continue watching it on Crave.
As the torch makes its way towards the Olympic opening ceremony on Feb. 6, there are 16 days remaining in its journey. Following its tremendous success on streaming platforms in Canada and the U.S., “Heated Rivalry” has already been greenlit for a second season.
The six-episode series is an adaptation of Canadian author Rachel Reid’s gay hockey romance series “Game Changers,” with the screen version penned by Canadian Jacob Tierney for Crave. Tierney, known for his work on the sitcom “Letterkenny” and as an executive producer and director on the hockey comedy “Shoresy,” holds multiple roles in the production.