Connor Storrie's upcoming SNL hosting debut celebrated

Actor Hudson Williams is celebrating a major milestone for his Heated Rivalry co-star Connor Storrie after news broke that Storrie will make his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live.

Williams shared his excitement on social media, writing, "MY BABY BOY ON SNL WHOOOOOO!!!!! ," a message that quickly drew attention from fans of the rising stars.

Williams and Storrie currently lead the Canadian sports romance series Heated Rivalry, portraying rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov whose on-ice tension hides a secret relationship. The show, created by Jacob Tierney and based on Rachel Reid's novel series, premiered in 2025 and has already generated buzz for its performances and chemistry between the two actors.

Born in Kamloops, British Columbia, Williams is a Canadian actor, writer, and director best known for his role as Hollander in the series. His enthusiastic congratulatory post reflects the close professional bond the duo formed while working together on the show.

Saturday Night Live remains one of television's most influential comedy platforms, often signaling a performer's arrival in mainstream entertainment. Landing a hosting gig is widely viewed as a career-defining opportunity, particularly for emerging actors transitioning into broader audiences.

Fans reacted warmly to Williams' message, praising the supportive friendship between the co-stars and expressing anticipation for Storrie's appearance on the long-running sketch show. The moment also highlights the growing visibility of the Heated Rivalry cast as the series continues to expand its fan base.

With Storrie preparing to step onto the iconic Studio 8H stage, industry watchers see the hosting role as another sign that the young actor's career is on a strong upward trajectory — backed, enthusiastically, by his co-star.

Heated Rivalry is based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers novel series (2018-2026), with the second novel, Heated Rivalry (2019), providing the series' title. Reid drew inspiration from the real-life rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin for the book. She also cited Jaromír Jágr, Teemu Selänne, and Ilya Kovalchuk as other inspirations for the character of Ilya Rozanov, as well as Wayne Gretzky and Paul Kariya for the character of Shane Hollander.

Jacob Tierney first reached out to Reid on August 7, 2023, a day after The Washington Post ran an article about hockey romance novels. He had listened to the Game Changers series on audio book and wanted to discuss the possibility of adapting them to a limited television series. Tierney initially had doubts about whether the story could be adapted while retaining the books' sexually explicit content. Though queer romances such as the young adult adaptation Heartstopper had risen in popularity, Tierney said "the thing that is so fundamentally different in Heated Rivalry is sex. And so I was like 'okay, will anyone want this with that?' And the thing that was very obvious to me is that they were inseparable. Sex is character development; it's not just a random sex scene in every episode. [The lead characters] learn about each other and they learn about themselves through this". When meeting with potential financiers for the show, Tierney and co-producer Brendan Brady said they were met with studio notes that wanted to "fundamentally change the story, or fundamentally change the tone".

In January 2025, it was first announced that Crave picked up the show off a spec script by Tierney. This was confirmed by Reid on her blog.