LGBTQ+ Sports Drama Stars Named 2026 Winter Olympics Torchbearers

HBO Max announced on Thursday that two actors from the show Heated Rivalry have been picked for a very special job. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will get to carry the Olympic torch for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

On the show, they play two hockey players named Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov who are secretly in love. Their show is based on books by Rachel Reid and it has become a huge hit over the last year.

The network put out a statement saying 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. Even though we know they are participating, HBO Max did not say exactly where or when the actors will be holding the torch.

The torch was just in Trieste and is heading to Udine next. The opening ceremony for the Olympics is on February 6, but some sports like skiing and curling actually start two days before that.

The show became much more famous after HBO Max bought the rights to show it in the United States last November. Before that, not many people knew about the series or the actors.

Connor Storrie recently talked to the TODAY show about how surprised he was by the success. He said, I knew it was going to be something. I did not know it was going to be HBO. I think HBO was kind of like a pie-in-the-sky moment for all of us. He also mentioned that the platform is very prestigious and a great place for the story.

Real hockey games start on February 11, and Team USA plays its first game against Latvia on February 12. Latvia is a small country, but they are very good at hockey and have several players in the NHL right now. The writers of Heated Rivalry actually like the Latvian team so much that they wrote a scene where Latvia beats Russia in the show. Now the stars of that show get to be a part of the real Olympic celebrations in Italy.

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