Christina Chang and Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry
Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max
[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Heated Rivalry. Read at your own risk!]
Christina Chang has barely been able to keep up with her DMs about Heated Rivalry. In the two-and-a-half weeks since the Season 1 finale of the smash-hit romantic drama dropped on Crave and HBO Max, Chang has been flooded with messages from global viewers sharing their emotional reactions to the scene where her character, Yuna, apologies to her hockey star son, Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), for making him feel like he could not come out to her.
“I feel so honored … and I feel so sorry for those who need the healing and who haven’t had that [positive coming-out] experience. We know that to be very true in the queer community, and a lot of people did not have that experience,” Chang tells TV Guide on a video call from her home in Vancouver. “What I love about this particular story is that it’s also showcasing what is possible and maybe taking the shock value out of it.”
In “The Cottage,” Shane comes out as gay to his parents after his father, David (Dylan Walsh), accidentally walks in on him kissing his career archrival, Ilya (Connor Storrie). After discovering that there is genuine love between Shane and Ilya, Yuna shares a heartbreaking yet heartwarming private moment with her only child, whose career she has managed for years. For Chang, a veteran Taiwanese-American actress best known to international audiences for her work on The Good Doctor, that “cathartic” penultimate scene between mother and son is what ultimately sealed the deal for her after being offered the role by series creator Jacob Tierney.
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“I was like, ‘OK … I would love to be a part of something that has this kind of messaging,'” Chang recalls. “And then Jacob and I spoke on the phone. It was less about him trying to convince me to do the role, and it was more about how we interacted. He is such a smart, funny guy. And just the back and forth between us — I was like, ‘OK, if I’m going to be in a room with somebody all day filming, this is somebody that I want to do it with.'”
In her first extended interview about the role, Chang opens up about that healing moment between Yuna and Shane, her off-screen relationships with her younger co-stars Williams and Storrie, and what she is most looking forward to exploring in Season 2, which will begin production later this year.
Yuna appears throughout the season as this kind of entrepreneurial “momager” to Shane, but the audience gets to see a different side of her in the finale. What did you think of the way that Jacob Tierney chose to evolve Yuna’s role in this adaptation of Rachel Reid’s novels?
Christina Chang: I loved it. He fleshed Yuna out beautifully. As you might know, that [penultimate] scene is not in the books. I really feel like we were on this ride for that [moment], in a way. That was just the payoff to all of this. And she’s not wicked; she’s not mean. It’s up for interpretation, but I can’t see my own character as a tiger mom, so I didn’t see her that way. Some people do, some people don’t. “Momager,” obviously, is the word that’s been used the most.
But I think when you’re a parent of a child, whether they’re in athletics or the arts, it requires your presence. It requires you to manage the logistics of getting them there and back. Hockey moms are absurdly a different beast. They’re these amazing, strong, powerful, fiercely loyal advocates of their children, so she had to be that. And when they saw very early on that Shane is so talented at what he does, then it just takes off from there. So she remains steadfastly his advocate, [but she] obviously emotionally becomes a much better ally once it’s revealed what he’s been hiding.
There has been a little bit of debate online over whether Yuna knew that Shane had been hooking up with Ilya before they told her. In the book, David appears to tell Yuna right away about walking in on Shane and Ilya kissing, but it’s not entirely clear in the show. Do you think David told Yuna what he had seen before Shane and Ilya arrived at the Hollander parents’ house?
Chang: The idea was that it was a genuine surprise to Yuna, and the way we chose to do it was that he didn’t say anything. David came home, and we just sat on the couch and we were watching whatever. I think he was going to eventually say [what he saw], and to stop the bleeding, the boys showed up relatively quickly, a few minutes later. So we played that moment as genuinely in the dark for Yuna.
Let’s talk about Yuna’s reaction to that confession. She seems to be trying to wrap her head around the fact that her son has been in a secret relationship with his archrival for years, but there’s also the entrepreneurial side of her brain that is trying to figure out how to leverage Shane’s new discovery about himself into getting him more endorsement deals and increasing his level of visibility. Can you give voice to Yuna’s internal dialogue after Shane comes clean to her?
Chang: I think [her reaction] is in two parts. The first part being just trying to wrap her mind around the confirmation that he is gay and not only that — [but] that he’s actually in love with the guy that this entire time she’s been like, “We hate him, right? He’s the worst. He’s our biggest rival.” That’s the conversation at the table: “How did this happen? When were you seeing each other, and for how long?” I think that conversation at the table is a genuine one, meaning [Yuna and David were telling Shane] “You never had any girlfriends. We didn’t ever see anybody. So we wondered.” I think to say, “We always knew,” was probably just their way of saying, “We did wonder. We sort of suspected maybe you were, but also maybe you were so focused on your career.” That was Yuna’s take.
And then [as Yuna], when it sinks in that I have wrapped my mind around this reality, I have to take a step back — that’s the step outside [where Yuna leaves the dinner table abruptly]. I love that it’s just a brief moment for the audience going, “Oh my God, what is she going to do? Is she going to be upset with him?” Of course, we come to find out she needs that minute to take in [the realization] that, “Oh my God, my son had to hide that from me for years. I feel so bad about that, and I’m so sorry.”
So part two is when they have that beautiful moment together outside, and then she’s like, “OK, let’s get this train back on the tracks. How can we take this moment and make it something that is viable? [Laughs.] If you’re going to come out or you’re not going to come out, let’s discuss what we can do. [Let’s discuss] brand deals.” And then she turns into that [“momager” mode]. So I don’t think all the branding stuff comes to her until they’ve had this moment together.
Jacob has revealed that he rewrote the penultimate scene between Yuna and Shane multiple times. How would you say the scene that you read originally, when you first agreed to sign on to the project, differed from what you guys actually shot on the day?
Chang: On the day, we were shooting on location, and Jacob was basically like, “OK, don’t hate me, but I think I’m going to rewrite the whole thing.” And we were like, “What?!” So he doesn’t quickly just write it right there [in front of us], but he gets us the pages as soon as possible. Hudson and I started rehearsing the scene in between other takes of the table [scenes], running lines and things like that.
I will say that [the final cut] was a much more distilled version, and Jacob was trying to get to the heart of what the [original] scene had. The other scene was beautiful, but there were more words. It was a longer scene, and this one just got right down to it and was also a little bit more colloquial, if you will. The other one was beautifully written. This one sounded more like something we would say, maybe.
And then shooting it, what I love about Jacob is he’s very collaborative, but he works quickly and he’s very decisive. He knows exactly what he wants. It’s almost like he’s editing as we’re shooting, which I know a lot of directors can do. So I knew we weren’t going to have to do this a thousand times anyway. That’s not how he works. So we probably did two of the master [wide angle] shots, and then we just were getting pummeled with rain. So we had to stop, and we had to come back the next day and shoot it. So the shooting experience was like, “Oh my God, we’re getting there, we’re getting there.” And then, “Ugh, pause! Just press the pause button for 12 hours and come back.” So we had to finish up the scene the next day.
But it was wonderful. It was like an actor’s dream to be able to film this the way that we got to film with Jacob. And working with Huddy was great — and I want to say easy. It sounds flippant, but it was a very easy process.
Christina Chang, Heated Rivalry
Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max
There have been a lot of queer viewers who seem to be living vicariously through Shane’s relationship with Yuna. What kind of responses have you received to that scene in the last couple of weeks?
Chang: I’ve had a lot, and that sounds crazy, but I have had a lot of messages either through friends, or from friends, or from friends of friends. Lots of DMs. I haven’t even gotten through all of them. So many are sharing their personal story, like paragraphs, and I’m overwhelmed by that. [The success of the show] feels so meteoric, and that’s different and it’s exciting, but what’s more impactful to me and more overwhelming for me is the outpour, just the amount of people coming out and saying that.
I feel so honored, and I feel so grateful that I get to be Yuna, and I feel so sorry for those who need the healing and who haven’t had that experience. We know that to be very true in the queer community, and a lot of people did not have that experience. What I love about this particular story is that it’s also showcasing what is possible and maybe taking the shock value out of it. It’s not to underline that moment. I think it’s more to normalize it. That’s my hope, anyway, for any parent watching the show.
One thing that I think this show does particularly well is that it encourages loving your child or your parents and meeting them where they’re at. That’s a particularly poignant message to be sending to younger queer people who may be watching this show with their parents.
Chang: There’s so much I could say here, but the show validates feeling vulnerable and it honors being brave. It’s not just a love story, but it’s an ode to being yourself. It’s OK to stay the course, and there’s no such thing as perfect, so just love your child or your parent, and show up and stay in the room for the uncomfortable stuff. It’s OK if the way you’re doing it is not perfect. But as a parent — I can really only speak more to the parent aspect — we want to love and protect our children and sometimes we do it the best way we know how. And then we also have to check in, like, “What’s the best way to love and protect this child in the way that they need?”
How do you think seeing Shane and Ilya together in the finale has reframed Yuna’s perception and opinion of Ilya?
Chang: Of course, if you’ve read the books, you know where it’s going. And I think the beginning of solidifying that [opinion of Ilya] is when she says, “Since rookie season? This is real. Look at how much care there is.” And it was the way Jacob wrote that scene — to have Shane start to have a little bit of a breakdown and to see, once again, Ilya step in and be like, “We’ve got this. I’m here. Your family’s here. I’m here. I’ve got you.” And what other moment, as a parent, do you want to see for your child or adult child? [You want] for someone to love them the best way possible. That’s what I want for my daughter. She’s not there yet — she’s younger — but I want her to be loved and to be seen.
On a lighter note, I laughed out loud when I saw Yuna running into Ilya at the hotel in the pilot because, having read the books, I knew that they would have an even more awkward run-in years later. Do you think Yuna realized, at any point during Episode 6, that she had first met Ilya on a hotel elevator around the same time that Ilya started hooking up with Shane? Did that moment ever flash through your mind as Yuna like it did for the rest of the audience?
Chang: Yeah, it didn’t happen at the table. I don’t think it would’ve happened at the table, because how many interactions do they actually have over the course of six years? Probably many. I mean, maybe she did. I saw something on TikTok where somebody was reenacting Yuna remembering the elevator [interaction], and I thought it was really funny. And that’s up to interpretation. As an audience member, you can think that’s what I was thinking at the table or not. But, yeah, 100%, it would come back to her at some point like, “Oh wait, you were going up to the 14th floor. And that’s where my son was…” [Laughs.]
I know you didn’t actually get a chance to shoot at The Cottage —
Chang: No, I didn’t! And I wish I had. That was a gorgeous house! [Laughs.]
But you did get a chance to shoot at the other Hollander cottage. Jacob has spoken about how he intentionally wanted the second-last episode to feel very expansive and the finale to feel very intimate, with just four actors and characters. When you reflect back on the experience of shooting the finale with Hudson, Connor and Dylan, what stands out to you?
Chang: I have so much fun with those boys. They’re like my sons on set, but also my friends off set. I don’t want to make it sound like, “Yeah, it was really easy,” because at the end of the day, we’re all very focused, and we do our work when we need to do our work. But we’re kind of clowns, and it was just the four of us for a couple days, so it was a really wonderful experience. It sounds boring and cliché, but it really was. It was towards the end of the shoot, and I think we all felt like, “We get to do this, finally.” I know for the boys, they had so much tension, and Ilya had to be so closed off all the time, so it felt like a breath of fresh air. Everyone could just be together and shoot these scenes that we were all waiting for. What everyone was waiting to watch, we couldn’t wait to film — [that] is the best way to put it, I guess.
The success of the show is unlike anything I have ever seen before, and the amount of discourse about the first season as well as the lead actors themselves has been dizzying — and even borderline invasive. How do you feel about the way your younger co-stars have been navigating an enormous amount of attention in a very short period of time? And even though you’re not their real mother, do you feel protective at all about Hudson and Connor in particular?
Chang: I do. I do feel protective of them as my castmates and friends and because of my age — [I feel] motherly, I guess maternal love. I think they’ve handled it so well. I have to remind myself that this is the first series they’ve ever done, and that they’re only 25. I’m not saying [their age] is why they’re handling it well. They’re just handling it well, period, regardless of whether they’re 45 or 25. But I’m more impressed that they’re such young men, and they’re so nice. They actually are really nice guys, and fun and funny.
I think they’re exhausted. I know that. We check in via text. [Checks her phone.] In fact, I just got a text from Hudson right now. But I’m always checking in on them, and their schedules are crazy right now, and my hope for them is that they can sleep soon. I want them to rest, and I want to make them chicken soup. [Laughs.] But, really, I’m like, “Hudson, when are you back in Vancouver? When can I have you over for dinner? And you can just chill.”
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To be fair, your last show, The Good Doctor, also hit the cultural zeitgeist upon its debut, so you have a little bit of experience in terms of being on a hit show, even if Heated Rivalry feels like a very different animal. Have you given your onscreen sons any kind of advice about how to navigate this influx of attention, even if their experience is particularly unique?
Chang: I don’t have any advice for Connor and Hudson. First of all, they didn’t ask. [Laughs.] And, really, I’m allergic to unsolicited advice, so I don’t like to give it — or if I have, then I apologize afterwards. But I think Hudson said in an interview and also to me personally — and I think this is the best thing I could reflect back — is to try to stay as relaxed as possible, because then that allows you to be present. I think that is what they’re both doing very well. They’re just checking in with each other and also just slowing it down a little bit so that they can enjoy the talk show experience, enjoy that interview, enjoy the event or the party, or whatever it is that they’re doing right now around the show.
Connor revealed that he has a group chat with you, him, Hudson and François Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter. Connor and Hudson said you are the most fun. Why do you think that is the case?
Chang: I can’t tell you! [Laughs.]
What’s the name of the group chat?
Chang: You know what? We don’t have one!
No?!
Chang: Oh my God. I have to name it! One of us will name it. But we were, yes, on a really stupid, silly group chat, and we just had some fun nights out. Maybe that’s what they’re referring to. [Smirks.]
Your group chat name should be “The Game Changers.” All of you are game changers in the series in some way.
Chang: [Raises eyebrows and laughs.] Maybe! I love it.
Jacob is already in the thick of writing the second season, and it’s anyone’s guess how much we will see of Yuna next season. The Long Game obviously offers a roadmap for the next chapter of this story, but what are you most looking forward to exploring with Yuna in Season 2?
Chang: I think the joke online — well, it’s not the joke. It’s in the books where she says [to Ilya], “Well, yeah, that’s why you’re my favorite son.” So I’m excited about exploring that relationship with Ilya, and I think there could be a lot of humor there. Connor’s funny, and I enjoy comedic stuff. And not that we’re yucking it up, but, yeah, I’m looking forward to that.
All that yearning in Season 1 was phenomenal, and now I’m looking forward to how Jacob is going to take us on the journey of a new love and familial love and bringing everybody together. I’m looking forward to working with everybody. I think [the finale] opens up my character to being in touch with and being in contact with other characters now, so I’m looking forward to that.
The full first season of Heated Rivalry is now streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada.