‘Heated Rivalry’ Stars Named As Torchbearers For Winter Olympics

Heated Rivalry frontmen Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie have officially been announced as torchbearers in the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

The duo will carry the Olympic flame during the torch relay as it concludes in Milan on February 6, the same day as the game’s opening ceremony. It’s not yet been confirmed when or where the pair’s leg of the relay will be taking part.

The wildly popular television series follows the love story of closeted ice hockey players, Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) as they balance their relationship and identities with their careers in professional sport.

Williams has already been making himself comfortable in Milan, walking the runway for Dsquared2’s ski-inspired collection at Milan’s Men Fashion Week earlier this week, and later sitting in the front row at the Giorgio Armani Fall/Winter show, making smoking cigarettes look sexy again.

 

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Although Heated Rivalry may be infamous for its steamy sex scenes, the exploration of queer identities in sport is still a hugely important topic for some people. Its real life impacts are already being felt, with Minnesotan hockey player Jesse Kortuem going viral after sharing his coming out story on social media, crediting the show for helping to give him the confidence.

Much more in store for the GCEU (‘Game Changers’ extended universe)

Based off the Game Changers book series from Canadian author Rachel Reid, fans of both the page and screen have been eating well since it took off, with a sixth book announced earlier this month, and a second season greenlit almost immediately.

“I don’t have details. I have not started writing, so I’m not just trying to be evasive. I genuinely don’t know yet,” said showrunner Jacob Tierney last month.

“I’m so lucky to have a whole world of books here to grab things from, to use, to add color, to add context, to add story. I can tell you I’m really excited to get back to writing. I’m excited to get back into this world with them, and I’m looking forward to it.”