
The Heated Rivalry press tour continues as the show emerges as the internet’s biggest obsession since the Coldplay kiss cam, and its stars are booking premium promo slots. Last night, Hudson Williams (a.k.a. Shane Hollander) hit a milestone on every emerging actor’s checklist with his late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. (Next week, Connor Storrie—a.k.a. Ilya Rozanov—will be on Late Night With Seth Meyers).
Williams chose an oversized black suit for the occasion and is generally a lot less nerdy and inhibited than his character. By the end of the eight-minute appearance, he had Fallon down on all fours doing groin stretches on The Tonight Show’s slippery stage.
Below, the biggest revelations from Williams’s interview, presented in ascending order according to spice level.
Related: “We deserve a gay show that is sexy and horny and fun”—Jacob Tierney on his new queer hockey romance, Heated Rivalry
Sweet but tame: It was hard for Williams and Storrie to act like heated rivals since they developed a close friendship off the jump
“That was one of the harder elements because we became besties right away,” Williams told Fallon, describing how the instant bond between him and Storrie made the more antagonistic exchanges harder to pull off.
Sweet but tame: The guy loves his ginger ale
It’s unclear if the can of Canada Dry that Williams cracked at the beginning of his Fallon appearance was meant as a gimmick or was just part of his rider. On Heated Rivalry, his character’s love of ginger ale is a running joke. It’s also a flick at his buttoned-up ways (whereas bad boy Ilya prefers beer and Russian vodka).
Medium spice: Ilya isn’t the only one with a commanding Russian accent
For obvious reasons, it’s Williams’s co-star who has been getting all of the attention for his accent, but it turns out that Williams can do a pretty perfect (and undeniably hot) Rosanov impression.
It’s getting hot in here: Season two will have more “meanies”
We already know that Heated Rivalry has been renewed for a second season. And now we know a little bit about the direction. If season one was about the internal battles face by two closeted athletes coming to terms with their authentic selves, season two will be about external battles, explained Williams. “There are some meanies. There are some big baddies,” he said, which could be the hockey establishment—or maybe Shane’s needy friend with all the kids will emerge as an unlikely nemesis.
It’s getting hot in here: He knows about boy aquariums
Fallon asked Williams about the millions of horny Heated Rivalry stans who are suddenly tuning in to NHL games after watching the show. “I would assume it would be very disappointing,” he answered. “There’s so little sex when I watch hockey…on our show, there’s so little hockey.” Williams went on to explain “boy aquariums,” the term coined on BookTok to describe the way fans of the hugely popular hockey smut subgenre watch hockey games. It’s certainly a bit objectifying, but we’re pretty sure NHL stars can handle it.
Cold shower: Technically, it’s called an intimacy garment
There’s been a lot of discussion around Heated Rivalry’s very, well, heated sex scenes. And now we know how the sausage is made (or, rather, concealed). Colloquially, it’s called a “cock sock,” a term that caused Williams to get bleeped on prime time television (and Fallon’s eyes to pop out of his head). “It kind of grabs the berries,” Williams said, using some helpful hand motions to further clarify how everything fits into place.
Related: Shane and Ilya will bring their Heated Rivalry to the Golden Globes
Next, both Williams and Storrie will appear at Sunday’s Golden Globes show. The annual awards event has yet to include a best supporting simulated-sex garment category—but there’s always next year.
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”