“Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” and 1956 western epic “The Searchers” also make Shane’s list.

Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams reveals Shane’s favorite movies — and a beloved rom-com takes the top spot

"Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" and 1956 western epic "The Searchers" also make Shane's list.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 29, 2025 9:11 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander in 'Heated Rivalry'. Credit:

When it comes to his character's hypothetical favorite movies, *Heated Rivalry* star Hudson Williams says, "I'll have what she's having."

Responding to a Letterboxd Instagram query asking fans what they think the favorite movies of *Heated Rivalry*'s Shane (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) would be, Williams jumped in on the conversation (he has some pretty good insight, after all). He thinks his character's top pick would be the classic romantic comedy *When Harry Met Sally*, starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.

Next up was Pixar's 2008 animated film, *Wall-E*, which is also quite the romantic tale, albeit between two adorable space robots. *Lord of the Rings: Return of the King* and 1956 western epic *The* *Searchers* round out Shane's list, which also features an honorable mention for gay coming-of-age film, *Moonlight*, the reasons for which Williams claims are "Issa secret." (Storrie does not appear to have weighed in yet on Ilya's picks.)

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in 'When Harry Met Sally'. Columbia/Courtesy Everett Collection

This is all very fitting, of course. In the smash hit TV series, which is based on Rachel Reid's *Game* *Changers* novel series, Williams and Storrie play professional hockey rivals by day, who develop a steamy secret love by night.

The series received critical acclaim and became the Canadian streamer Crave's most-watched original series to date and HBO Max's top debut for an acquired, non-animated title since 2019 when it debuted on the platform in November. Unsurprisingly, the show was renewed for a second season earlier this month.

Series creator Jacob Tierney previously provided a timeline for new episodes to *Entertainment* *Weekly*. "It will not be the same time next year, but it'll be pretty soon after that," Tierney says. "It's not gonna be two years. It's not even gonna be 18 months, I don't think. So we're gonna go as fast as we can, while ensuring that we're doing as good a job as we possibly can."**

'Heated Rivalry' withdrawals? Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams to play fae princes in spicy romance

Inside the 'Heated Rivalry' finale: Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams go behind the scenes

When asked if any plans have been fast tracked in light of the show's success, Tierney responds, "There's only so fast a track to go down when the show is written and directed by one person. I haven't started writing yet. I'm going to. We are aware. We want to get the season out as soon as we can, as well, while also making sure that we give people a good second season."

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie on 'Heated Rivalry'.

Season 2 will focus once more on Shane and Ilya's relationship and be presumably based on *The Long Game* book in the series, all of which excites Storrie. "I'm interested to play at the dynamic that develops in *The Long Game*, which is, now that we've established we're together and we're choosing this, what does that look like to consistently choose through new obstacles, new self-realizations?" he tells EW. "We're in the real leagues now, and it's cool to watch these people that have been in this heightened reality for so long. The other shoe drops that deepens the love, but that also tests some of their personal limits."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

All episodes of *Heated Rivalry* season 1 are now available to stream in the U.S. on HBO Max.**

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Drama”