HEATED RIVALRY’S HUDSON WILLIAMS AND CONNOR STORRIE ANNOUNCED AS OLYMPIC TORCHBEARERS
HBO Max today announced that Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, stars of the Crave Original series HEATED RIVALRY, have been selected to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay as official torchbearers for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
With global distribution led by Sphere Abacus, HBO Max in the US, Australia, Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Macau, Sri Lanka, Nepal), Latin America, and Europe (excluding UK and Ireland, Spain, and Turkey) have secured the rights to stream the series for two seasons.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be available to all HBO Max customers in Europe - including Italy and Germany for the first time - as well as discovery+ in various territories. Created by award winning Canadian writer-director-producer Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Shoresy), HEATED RIVALRY chronicles the story of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).
Shane and Ilya are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling between two fresh-faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, the pair chase glory on the ice while struggling to navigate their feelings off it. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there is room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and as powerful as real love.
Produced by Accent Aigu Entertainment in association with Bell Media’s Crave, HEATED RIVALRY is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus. The series also stars François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh, Sophie Nélisse and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova.
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