The Winter Olympics just got a little more interesting.
HBO Max, which will be streaming the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in the U.S. and Europe, announced Thursday that the stars of the TV sensation known as “Heated Rivalry” will be torchbearers during the Olympic Torch Relay, which ends Feb. 6 in Milan before the opening ceremony.
Actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, whose portrayal of closeted professional hockey players on “Heated Rivalry” has captivated viewers, join previously announced torchbearers Andrea and Franco Antonello, Dario Pivirotto, and Lucia Tellone. HBO Max did not say when and where Williams and Storrie will carry the Olympic torch.
The success of “Heated Rivalry,” a gay romance described by GQ as “boldly smutty,” has turned Williams and Storrie into wanted men. The actors are very much in demand, presenting the best supporting actress award together at the recent Golden Globes Awards and sitting down with Seth Meyers. After Williams appeared on “The Tonight Show‚” host Jimmy Fallon likened the crowd’s reaction to Beatlemania.
“The whole show was great,” Fallon said. “But Hudson was the reason everyone was in such a hype mood. I mean, people were going crazy. Even just mentioning his name, they went wild, and I said it’s almost deafening. It’s almost like seeing those black-and-white videos of the Beatles or something, and you go, ‘How could it be that loud in one room?’”
Mark Shanahan can be reached at mark.shanahan@globe.com.