“Heated Rivals” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Story carried the Olympic torch in Feltre, Italy, on Sunday as part of the Milan-Cortina 2026 relay.
A video posted on social media shows the two wearing pink and white jerseys holding the torch, smiling and waving to the crowd. At one point they held each other’s hands over their heads.
On Thursday, it was announced that the actors had been selected as the relay’s official torchbearers. The relay will conclude in Milan on February 6, ahead of the opening ceremony. Participation dates and locations were not announced in advance.
Heat Rivalry, based on Rachel Reid’s queer hockey romance novel series Game Changers, became an overnight hit when HBO Max released the first two episodes of its six-part premiere season over Thanksgiving weekend.
Hudson and Williams play professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who fall in love after a decade-long secret and passionate relationship.
Story and Williams became world celebrities. They made their awards ceremony debut as presenters at the Golden Globe Awards in early January. Shortly thereafter, Hudson flew to Milan for Men’s Fashion Week, attending the Dsquared 2 show and Giorgio Armani’s runway presentation.
HBO Max has acquired programming from Canadian streamer Crave. Both will be greenlit for season 2 in December.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be available to stream on HBO Max for the first time in Europe, including Italy and Germany, as part of the streamer’s expansion. In the United States, the Olympics will be broadcast on NBC and streamed live on Peacock.
