Heated Rivalry’s François Arnaud Reveals Star Who Slid Into His DMs

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François Arnaud knows he’s running through this celeb’s head.

Following the positive reviews and popularity of his show Heated Rivalry, the actor shared that Helen Hunt had contacted him to compliment his portrayal of Scott Hunter, a hockey player hiding his sexuality.

On the January 19th episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, François revealed that actress Helen Hunt messaged him directly on social media. He said she wrote, ‘I love you in this and everything else.’

I was really taken aback when she said it! It seems Helen Hunt is actually revisiting my old movies – going through my filmography, as she put it. It’s a bit surreal, honestly!

Helen was a big fan of the popular gay hockey show featuring Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, and she wanted to connect with them more than just through François’ email.

The 62-year-old shared her enthusiastic praise for the show on Instagram on January 10th, writing, “This show is incredible. They are so good! What is happening?!”

TopMob News has reached out to Helen’s rep for comment and has not yet heard back.

The Oscar-winning actor isn’t the only celebrity buzzing about the HBO series – many stars, including Hannah Einbinder, Ayo Edebiri, and Pedro Pascal, are big fans. Busy Philipps even shared a video – filmed by her daughter, Birdie Silverstein – of her emotional reaction while watching episode five.

I was completely caught off guard by how deeply the book affected me,” the Dawson’s Creek actress wrote in an Instagram post on December 30th. “I loved Heated Rivalry. It really hit me hard, and I want to thank my teenage daughter for keeping me in the loop!

François thinks the appeal of hockey romance goes beyond just steamy scenes; there’s something more that draws people in.

He described the show’s initial appeal as being driven by its intimate scenes, but explained that the real emotional impact comes from the characters’ vulnerability. He noted that audiences, especially women, are craving more emotionally available characters on television, and this show delivers that rarity by showing people opening up and being genuine.

With fans eagerly anticipating the start of season two of Heated Rivalry – which Connor has said will probably begin filming this summer – here are some other great shows you might enjoy.

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2026-01-21 00:48