“Heated Rivalry” star Hudson Williams says he’s received anonymous messages from closeted professional athletes, including hockey players, in the wake of the show’s recent success.

“Hockey players, football players, basketball players,” Williams told Andy Cohen in an interview on Sirius XM Radio that aired Thursday. “They’re reaching out to (author Rachel Reid), who will then relay these lovely, anonymous emails. Sometimes they’re just reaching out privately through Instagram. Those ones are the ones that really just kind of hit you and go ‘Oh, this is a fun show. It’s celebratory.’ But also, sometimes, it’s just hitting people right in the nerve.”

Hudson Williams has been scoring some meaningful private messages.❤️ https://t.co/R7jsrqCDcF (🎥: Radio Andy / SiriusXM) pic.twitter.com/JaYkBiKjWq

— E! News (@enews) January 8, 2026

Williams plays Shane Hollander, a closeted star hockey player who strikes up a romance with rival hockey player Ilya Rozanov in “Heated Rivalry,” available on HBO Max in the United States and on Crave in Canada. The show is based on the book series “Game Changers,” written by Halifax writer Rachel Reid; Montreal writer and director Jacob Tierney adapted it for television. The show is now Crave’s most successful original debut series of all time, and it has already been renewed for a second season. Two of the series’ episodes are ranked among IMDb’s highest-rated television episodes of all time.

There has never been an openly gay active player in the NHL’s history. Defenseman Luke Prokop, who currently plays for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft before coming out publicly in July 2021. The NHL does, however, have an openly gay player agent in Bayne Pettinger.

Days earlier, Williams’ co-star, François Arnaud, told Variety that he was surprised to hear hockey players were watching the show and that the “failing NHL” was using the show as a way to attract more fans.

“I just hope that it brings on actual change in the league and that it has a real influence on how they treat their own players and the possibility of that,” Arnaud said. “Because it’s not, historically, the most open association.”