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HBO’s Heated Rivalry is sparking intense conversations with its steamy sex scenes.
Based on Rachel Reid‘s Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry follows two rival professional hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), whose animosity on the ice is just a front for a secret — and very passionate — romance.
The show premiered on Crave in November 2025 before becoming available to an even wider audience through HBO Max. Shortly after the first few episodes were released, book fans took to social media to show their support for the adaptation — specifically when it came to the chemistry between Storrie and Williams.
“We’re both pretty tactile people in terms of love languages and how you express yourself,” Storrie told Swooon at the time. “We both like physical touch, whether it’s with friends, family, partners.”
He continued: “When these characters are feeling good towards each other, I think we knew consciously to allow that to come out. The fun of that ends up being what it looks like [for Shane and Ilya], and how it is different from us, personally. That’s an impulse that is kind of naturally within us. We also became super close, super quick, so that makes it even easier, too.”
As the show blew up, Storrie and Williams started to speak up more about the overwhelming focus on their onscreen romance — and their personal lives. Creator Jacob Tierney even had to shut down a question after being asked about Storrie and Williams’ sexualities off screen.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to get into that stuff,” Tierney told LGBTQ+ magazine Xtra in December 2025 when asked about the relevance of Williams and Storrie’s personal lives. “I’ll tell you something about the casting of both of these roles. You can’t ask questions like that when you’re casting, right? It’s actually against the law. So what you have to gauge is somebody’s enthusiasm and willingness to do the work.”
Keep scrolling for the cast and crew’s most candid quotes about stripping down for the show:
Heated Rivalry’s Attempt to Be Authentic
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in ‘Heated Rivalry’ Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max
“We talked about how every time these guys aren’t touching, they want to be,” Tierney told Swooon in December 2025. “So the act of not touching should be more difficult for them than touching. They would want to be physical with one another, and that’s part of the public/private dance that they do, and the frustration of being in public.”
He continued: “There’s a magnetism because there are two characters that essentially have this chemistry immediately. This magnetic electric thing is happening between them, and they do not get to satisfy it because they’re not allowed to be physical with each other the way that they would like to be in public.”
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie Working Together Behind the Scenes
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max
Williams previously broke down the intense sex scenes.
“Just with friends, I don’t feel like I am fully able to be earnest with them if I don’t establish a touch barrier with them — consensually, of course!” Williams joked to Swooon. “But the similarity for me and Shane is that, especially when we’re in love, there needs to be constant touching even when the scene isn’t intimate in that sort of way.”
The actor elaborated on exploring the intimacy in subtle ways, adding, “Sometimes, a rough sex scene might be easier than just a conversational scene where you want to kind of touch a leg or touch a shoulder. It can feel like a 10-mile drive to brush a cheek. But we had such a good relationship that I was able to express myself in that way through Shane and with Connor. That was really lovely.”
How Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams Developed Their Onscreen Chemistry
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in ‘Heated Rivalry’ Courtesy HBO Max / YouTube
“Hudson was the third actor that I read with. The first two I was like, ‘OK, this is cool,’ and then Hudson came on. Jacob actually texted me directly and was like, ‘What do you think?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, Hudson, for sure.’ Instantly,’” Storrie recalled to Out Magazine before Williams added, “I read with one other possible Ilya, and it was good. But something about Connor … There was an inexplicable X-factor that just felt realer than what I thought it could possibly be. And that was something. I had a quote I told Jacob, at one point, about my read with Connor in particular.”
Tierney recalled the conversation, saying, “Hudson told me, ‘The other guy was good, but Connor felt like he was going to pin me down and f*** me.’ That is literally what he said. And I was like, ‘Well, I think I cast this right.’”
Breaking Down the Vision for the Sex Scenes
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams in Heated Rivalry Crave/HBO Max
“Here’s the thing about smut,” Tierney told GQ. “You can watch two guys have sex anywhere, anytime. I think what you’re getting out of this is intimacy and horniness. There would be no show without them. This chemistry, this is it. That’s what we’re here for. That’s what the popcorn’s for.”
