It’s not often that you see a press tour as full of joy as the project it’s publicizing – even rarer is one that seems to peddle the same crackling chemistry off-screen as it does on-screen.
But that’s what seems to be happening with the Canadian queer romance series Passionate rivalrywhich focuses on closeted hockey rivals Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), and is based on a book series of the same name. The six-episode first season debuted in the United States on HBO Max in late November – and in the weeks that followed, the series that new York the magazine says it makes “Favorite it looks like Teletubbies” has flooded the internet with GIFs, memes and a myriad of swoon-worthy think pieces, as its wide-eyed stars dish out one viral interview after another. (If you haven’t yet watched Williams’ five-minute skincare routine, which somehow lasts 20 minutes, it’s a pure delight.)
“The reason I wanted to do the show is because it’s a love story and it has a happy ending,” creator/director Jacob Tierney recently explained, adding, “I don’t want to traffic in queer trauma; I want to traffic in queer joy.”
The public clearly yearned for the same thing.
Amidst an otherwise bleak news cycle, a never-ending succession of trauma and tragedy, the 2019 book series launched on the New York Times The best-selling and critically acclaimed series was quickly renewed for a second season. (Although viewing statistics are still rare, Passionate rivalry quickly became HBO Max’s highest-rated live-action acquisition.) More recently, that same cheerful spirit has permeated the series’ PR campaign, which doesn’t feel like the contractual obligation it often does on other projects with other stars. Williams joked that he was “uncoachable” when it came to media training, but he and his equally charming, equally off-script co-star provided us with an antidote when we seemingly needed it most.
It turns out that seeing two extremely green young actors be so free and genuinely enthusiastic about the moment they’re having is as refreshing as it is endearing. Neither is above or jaded by what’s going on, as we so often see once fame hits – nor are they dismissive or embarrassed by the quality smut they’re promoting. In fact, when asked about the many explicit sex scenes in their hockey drama, Williams and Storrie — ages 24 and 25, respectively — always offered honest and tender answers, and both said they were much more comfortable filming those scenes than the emotionally charged ones.
“To me, it doesn’t seem spicy at all,” Storrie said. “Like, it’s me and my best friend.”
There is no doubt that their immediate success has a relevant or at least ambitious aspect which also fuels our collective interest. After all, Storrie was still working late nights as a waiter at Culver City’s Laurel Grill until he landed the role of Ilya. And thank goodness, he said, because the West Texas native (who learned Russian for the role) wasn’t a particularly good waiter. In fact, he had received a final warning, because, as he put it, he had done “a damn bad job.” Further north, Williams said he was also living “paycheck to paycheck” as a waiter at The Old Spaghetti Factory — Canada’s equivalent of the Olive Garden — when he landed the role of Shane.
But it’s arguably Storrie and Williams’ chemistry, on and off screen, that’s been doing the heavy lifting lately. The two not only love each other, which is evident here and here And here – they are extremely comfortable with each other, both physically and emotionally, and they seem to have taken the plunge. According to Tierney, Williams told him after his chemistry reading with Storrie: “The other guy was good, but Connor felt like he was going to corner me and fuck me.”
To date, the press tour-turned-cultural moment has offered fans plenty of opportunities watching and swooning over the couple laughing, teasing, dancing, caressing, grabbing and declaring themselves soul mates, or at least cosmically linked. “We’re both pretty tactile people in terms of our love language and the way we express ourselves,” Storrie said. Both men acquired matching “sex sells” tattoos after filming ended, which they showed off in interviews; Earlier this month, Williams crashed with Storrie while in Los Angeles promoting the show at bars, malls and swanky parties.
“We were like, ‘Oh, my God, if people saw us getting ready in the morning, giving each other big hugs, just to say we’re proud of each other,’ people would go crazy,” said Williams, who added, “If just one fan had access to it, God forbid. But yeah, we love each other very dearly.”
Inevitably, there’s a good portion of the show’s rabid fan base who would like to believe the actors are a couple off-screen as well. But in reality, neither of them have revealed anything about their sexuality in real life and, frankly, it’s none of our business — even if staying mom has upset actors like I love Los AngelesThey include Jordan Firstman, who blasted the duo for not being gay, among other things; or if they are, not reveal them publicly. (He faced severe backlash and later backtracked, then took an “anything goes” selfie with Williams at an HBO Max event in Los Angeles. If there was a lesson to be learned, it’s the mess with the Passionate rivalry fans at your own risk.)
François Arnaud, who came out as bisexual in 2020 and now plays the (spoiler!) newly out Hunter on the series, has been fiercely protective of his young co-stars as they navigate the new terrain. “It’s a lot to ask two young actors to give so much – and they’ve given so much to the show, but they don’t have to give it all… being an actor doesn’t require you to share your private life with people,” he said recently, noting that he was speaking on behalf of the actors because they “have been famous for nine days. Can we just give them a break?”
That seems about right, given the fun these two have given us over the past month. Alternating between the show and the press tour has been a joyful respite from so much ugliness in the world – one can only hope that the next nine days, and well beyond, remain so. We need it. Maybe we even deserve it.
