The viral stars will mirror their fictional hockey characters by playing a main role in the upcoming 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
MILAN, Italy — They melted hearts while battling on the ice. Now, they’ll be carrying the flame for the world’s top athletes.
The stars of HBO Max’s viral queer hockey show “Heated Rivalry” will be joining the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, the streaming platform announced in a social media post.
Breakout stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who in the show play Canadian hockey player Shane Hollander and Russian hockey player Ilya Rozanov respectively, were selected as official torch bearers for the lead up to the games. Apart from the confirmation, HBO Max did not share specific details on what day or location Williams and Storrie would be carrying the torch.
The pair will run with the torch at some point between Friday, Jan. 23, and the games’ opening ceremonies, which are set for Feb. 6.
“Heated Rivalry” was originally produced by the Canadian streaming service Crave but quickly became a hit after HBO Max picked up the rights to the show in late November. Its popularity rocketed it to become the top-rated non-animated acquired series since its launch in 2020, according to Variety. The show is based on author Rachel Reid’s popular “Game Changers” book series, which follows a steamy romance between the two pro hockey stars.
Though hockey has been around in the Olympics for decades, the show’s popularity may trigger a spike in viewership for the sport.
U.S. fans may be treated to one of the nation’s strongest teams heading to the Olympics. USA Hockey General Manager Bill Guerin told the team that nothing but gold would suffice after the team fell short of winning at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February.
The U.S. has not won a so-called “best-on-best” international competition at the adult level in three decades, dating to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. It has not won men’s gold at the Olympics since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team. But the overflowing talent and the winning pedigree of the players going to Italy make Guerin’s expectation as realistic as ever.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.