Hudson Williams is opening up about what it was like to return to the set of Heated Rivalry for the highly anticipated second season, revealing that stepping back into the world of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov initially felt surprisingly surreal.
The 26-year-old actor discussed the experience during a conversation at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he reflected on reuniting with co-star Connor Storrie and returning to the hit queer hockey romance drama after the success of its first season.
“It was surreal to step into it,” Williams told the crowd, recalling the moment he and Storrie realized they were going to have to become their characters all over again.
Williams joked about the experience by recalling what Storrie might have been thinking when they returned to work. “We’re going to be kissing each other, brother. I’m going to be doing my fucking Russian accent to you,” he said, mimicking his co-star.
Despite their familiarity with Shane and Ilya, Williams admitted that both actors were initially concerned about whether they would be able to immediately return to their characters. For Williams, the experience was particularly new because it marked the first time he had returned to a character on such a large scale.
The challenge was not simply remembering how to play the characters. Williams explained that their memories of the first season had become intertwined with everything that happened after filming, including watching the finished episodes, seeing the audience’s reactions and experiencing the show’s growing popularity over the following 10 months.
That made returning to the characters feel different from simply picking up where they had left off.
Ultimately, however, Williams and Storrie decided to approach the second season with confidence. Rather than overthinking whether they could recreate the performances that had connected with viewers, they chose to trust their understanding of the characters.
“We’re going to show up and it’s just going to be Ilya and Shane right back,” Williams said, explaining that they knew their characters inside and out.
Storrie actually returned to set before Williams and had an opportunity to experience the strange feeling of stepping back into the production on his own. When he later spoke with Williams about his first day, he reportedly questioned whether he was truly back in character.
Williams recalled Storrie describing the experience as strange because everyone around him seemed so comfortable and talented that he began questioning his own performance.
“He was like, ‘It was sort of weird. They were all so good that I was like, am I good? Am I in it? Am I doing the thing? Am I doing an impression of Ilya?’” Williams recalled.
Williams initially believed he would not experience the same uncertainty. But when he eventually returned to set and began filming a scene, he found himself facing a similar problem.
Some of the extras on set were clearly fans of the series, and their excitement made Williams suddenly self-conscious about his performance.
“Then I showed up. I was doing the scene and there was some extras, who were clearly fans, and they’re just so perky. I was like, ‘Oh God. Oh God, am I doing a Shane impression?’” he said.
Fortunately, the two actors were able to find their footing quickly. Williams credited the production’s familiar environment with helping them settle back into the roles. In particular, he praised creator Jacob Tierney for maintaining the same small and intimate atmosphere that had defined the first season.
Having many of the same crew members return also helped make the transition easier. Rather than feeling like an entirely new production, the set still retained the familiarity that Williams and Storrie had experienced while filming the first season.
While discussing the return to production, Williams also offered some insight into what viewers can expect from the upcoming second season.
The next chapter will primarily draw from Rachel Reid’s follow-up novel The Long Game, which continues the story of Shane and Ilya while introducing a different set of challenges for their relationship.
According to Williams, the tone of the second season will differ significantly from the first. He described the first book and season as being centered largely on yearning, while The Long Game focuses more heavily on external adversity and communication problems within the relationship.
“It’s a sad book,” Williams said. “If season one/book one is the yearning season, book two is external adversity and relationship communication problems that feel very real and human.”
For Williams, that shift will provide a new challenge as an actor. Playing Shane through relationship struggles means having to inhabit moments of frustration and uncertainty rather than simply focusing on the romantic tension that defined much of the first season.
The actor acknowledged that some of those unresolved conflicts may even make filming emotionally frustrating. “To be able to play those as Shane, it’s going to be frustrating and annoying to leave set when things are left unsaid,” he said.
Williams believes those difficult moments could ultimately strengthen the series. The communication problems and external pressures facing Shane and Ilya are intended to feel grounded and human, giving the characters room to evolve as their relationship becomes more complicated.
While Williams did not reveal major plot details, his comments suggest that Heated Rivalry season two will move beyond the initial excitement and uncertainty surrounding Shane and Ilya’s relationship and explore what happens when a romance has to withstand real-world pressure.
For fans, Williams’ comments also offer a glimpse into the unusual experience of returning to a role that has become closely associated with both the actor and the audience. After the first season’s release and the intense response from viewers, stepping back onto the set meant confronting not only Shane’s story but also the cultural impact the series had made in the months since filming.
With Williams and Storrie now comfortable in their roles again and the original creative team returning, season two will continue the story of Shane and Ilya while taking their relationship into more complicated and emotionally challenging territory.
