Plenty of HBO shows got the world talking, and those with a HBO Max subscription were recently treated to another megahit: Jacob Tierney's Heated Rivalry. The book to screen adaptation went viral shortly after its premiere, thanks to its touching LGBTQ+ narrative and those steamy sex scenes. It's also made the cast into household names, and Shane Hollander actor Hudson Williams recently spoke about that overwhelming attention, and trying to set healthy boundaries with fans.
I was hyped when Heated Rivalry gave queer fans their own smutty show, but its popularity has expanded past the community and into the mainstream. The internet is pretty obsessed with both Ilya actor Connor Storrie and Williams, including discourse about their sexualities IRL. While speaking with CNN about the show's success, the latter actor got honest about the "crazy" nature of his sudden fame. In his words:
It's crazy. It definitely feels like an overnight rapid success. You know, there was kind of a sprinkle of like, oh, maybe it'll do well, or maybe it'll sell, you know, overseas. And the kind of level of the stratosphere it's reached is -- it's a little overwhelming and definitely the privacy feels weird. You know, the relationship with the fans is like, you know, you have to kind of draw the line at points.
Honestly, this makes sense. Scrolling through social media there are countless posts thirsting over the cast of Heated Rivalry, as well as folks wondering about their sexuality. Williams and Storrie haven't disclosed how they identify, and are now dealing with the sudden megafame that came with the show's success. Finding a way to set boundaries seems like a healthy way to approach this lifestyle change, especially since Season 2 of Heated Rivalry is already on the way.
Later in the same interview, Hudson Williams spoke more about the challenges of filming Shane and Ilya's sex scenes. On top of how vulnerable it is to shoot this type of work, he spoke about nudity, and trying not to expose any crew members to part of his body. In his words:
I'm in some vulnerable position, someone might say, and things can be exposed. And I just approached it like I didn't want to be there, say, on something exposed where someone like goes to fix a light and then they see something that no one should be subjected to. So it's more like my fear of just like, oh, I don't want to make someone just adjusting the light uncomfortable.
It sounds like, despite how free the sex scenes look on Heated Rivalry, they're far more technical than it might appear to audiences. And Williams had to be very specific about the angles and positions he was in to keep some sense of modesty, as well as not making any crew members uncomfortable.
One can only imagine how much more famous Hudson Williams and the rest of the Heated Rivalry cast will get, especially once the show returns for Season 2. Hopefully he's found some ways of establishing boundaries, despite all the chatter about him and Connor Storrie.
Heated Rivalry is streaming in its entirety on HBO Max. It's currently unclear when Season 2 will happen, but there are plenty of fans hoping that production starts soon so that it'll arrive as part of the 2026 TV schedule.
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