Fire and ice: ‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to be torchbearers for Winter Olympics
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams attend the premiere of ‘Heated Rivalry’ at TIFF Lightbox on Nov. 24, 2025, in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Harold Feng/Getty Images)
Heated Rivalry is heading to the Olympics.
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play hockey rivals to lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander on the hit series, will be among the torchbearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
The Olympic torch relay begins in Greece, where the first Olympics took place, and makes its way to the host city. The torch is currently in Trieste, Italy, and will visit 13 more cities in the country before the opening ceremony in Milan on Feb. 6.
No word yet on where or when Storrie and Williams will be picking up the torch.
In the show’s second episode, titled “Olympians,” their characters compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Season 1 of the steamy romance is available on HBO Max in the U.S., and the show has already scored a season 2 renewal.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson in ‘One Battle After Another.’ (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Lights, camera, awards season.
Nominees for the 2026 British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs — colloquially referred to as the British Oscars — were announced Tuesday ahead of the awards ceremony next month on Feb. 22.
One Battle After Another leads the way with 14 nominations total, including a leading actor nod for LeonardoDiCaprio.
Other films with multiple nominations include Sinners with 13, followed by Hamnet and Marty Supreme with 11 each.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts also highlighted first-time performance category nominees including Robert Aramayo, Odessa A’zion, Rose Byrne, Chase Infiniti, Michael B. Jordan, Inga IbsdotterLilleaas, Stellan Skarsgård and Teyana Taylor.
See below for a list of more top 2026 BAFTA Awards nominees:
Best film Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sentimental Value Sinners
Outstanding British film 28 Years Later The Ballad of Wallis Island Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy Die My Love H Is For Hawk Hamnet I Swear Mr Burton Pillion Steve
Leading actress Jessie Buckley – Hamnet Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value Emma Stone – Bugonia
Leading actor Robert Aramayo – I Swear Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon Michael B. Jordan – Sinners Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
Supporting actress Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners Carey Mulligan – The Ballad of Wallis Island Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another Emily Watson – Hamnet
Supporting actor Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein Paul Mescal – Hamnet Peter Mullan – I Swear Sean Penn – One Battle After Another Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Director Bugonia – Yorgos Lanthimos Hamnet – Chloé Zhao Marty Supreme – Josh Safdie One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier Sinners – Ryan Coogler
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer The Ceremony My Father’s Shadow Pillion A Want In Her Wasteman
Film not in the English language It Was Just An Accident The Secret Agent Sentimental Value Sirât The Voice of Hind Rajab
Yerin Ha as Sophie and Luke Thompson as Benedict in ‘Bridgerton’ season 4. (Liam Daniel/Netflix)
A certain second son is swept off his feet by a mystery woman at a masquerade ball in Bridgerton season 4.
The first part of the fourth season of Bridgerton has made its way to Netflix. It finds Benedict Bridgerton (LukeThompson) taking center stage as he falls for the resourceful housemaid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).
Thompson told Good Morning America that Benedict has probably been running away from love for a long time.
“He’s someone who’s lost his dad very young and watched his mum mourn his dad. So, you can see why a loving relationship might look like something pretty terrifying to him,” Thompson said. “Because it’s sort of facing … the reality of life and death square in the face.”
Benedict is known for being something of a “rake” at the beginning of season 4. As the Bohemian second-born son, he has been loathe to settle down. But, “like any good coping mechanism,” Thompson said, being noncommittal has started to get old.
Still, the innocent nature of Benedict and Sophie’s coupling, Thompson said, makes for quite a surprising love story.
“He’s a character that, the way it’s written, has constantly got a lot of surprises,” Thompson said. “The innocence of this story, certainly the beginning, is not necessarily [what] I thought Benedict’s love story would look like. But, amazing. Because it really does make sense of his character.”
The first part of Bridgerton season 4 is available to watch now. Part two drops on Feb. 26.
James Van Der Beek arrives at the premiere of ‘Overcompensating’ at Hollywood Palladium on May 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Fans and celebrities alike are supporting James Van Der Beek’s family following his death at age 48.
A GoFundMe page set up to support the late Dawson’s Creek actor’s family shows Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, donated $25,000 to the fundraiser, adding to the more than $1.8 million raised so far.
Along with Spielberg, Wicked director Jon M. Chu donated $10,000 to the fund.
GoFundMe lists a total of more than 35,000 donations tallied so far.
The fund was created by a user account titled “Friends of the Van Der Beek family” and lists Kimberly Van Der Beek, James Van Der Beek’s wife, as the beneficiary.
James Van Der Beek was best known for playing the titular character, Dawson Leery, on Dawson’s Creek, and later took on a number of roles in films, including Varsity Blues, as well as TV shows such as Mercy, One Tree Hill and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23.
James Van Der Beek died Wednesday morning following a battle with colorectal cancer.
His family shared the news on his official Instagram page. He is survived by his wife and their six children.
The GoFundMe page describes the financial strain that the family experienced throughout James an Der Beek’s illness, which he revealed to People in 2024.
“Throughout his illness, the family faced not only emotional challenges but also significant financial strain as they did everything possible to support James and provide for his care,” the page says.
“Kimberly and the children are facing an uncertain future,” it continues. “The costs of James’s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds. They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time.”
