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Subject:

How far are you now?

From: Dreamylyfe Find all posts by Dreamylyfe View Dreamylyfe's profile Send private message to Dreamylyfe
Date: Thu, 08-Jan-2026 3:29:56 PM PST
Where: SoapZone Community Message Board
In topic: 📺 Week of Jan 5th TV Post ~~ posted by Leia
In reply to: That's too bad because the hype is well-earned because the show is unprecedented posted by Antwon
There has never been a series that focused on the relationship of professional gay athletes. Hudson Williams (Shane) and his manager have been receiving DMs from real-life pro athletes who are gay or bi and afraid to come out. They are praising the show for its importance and the story they are telling. Hudson said the DMs have been so emotional and have really impacted him--in an amazing way. I think the series is awesome and love the way the story is unfolding. I don't think you have to like hockey because there is very little hockey. We get a minute here and a minute there.

You definitely don't have to know much about hockey -- It can definitely add something (but it can also distract in certain key moments) but like FNL, you don't need to get it to absorb what Shane and Ilya are dealing with. that sports culture is very intense in hockey, but it's there in football, too. Hockey is a really physical game. There's a lot of affection on the ice, but also a lot of violence. It's the only pro-sport, I think, where NO ONE (current or retired) has ever come out. And the Russian players are a big factor in how ugly things about become around pride tape because it's literally dangerous for them to be seen as supportive of LGBTQ+ people because of their government at home. So it is a really good sport to set this story in.

It's also been really interesting to see hockey podcasts watching this and taking it seriously -- the fight to have a romance taken seriously and treated like it matters AT ALL, let alone a queer one is real -- and I've been really interested to see these straight, white hockey dudes moved to TEARS by the story. I was watching a guy today who watched with this wife and is just obsessed and you would not think he was the audience, but it touched him. He loves the characters, he loves their story, and I do think the way the story is so focused on their feelings resonates with men in a way that surprises even them.

Weird about the subtitles. I am fairly certain I had some when he was talking to his dad and when he speaks to his brother. I do occasionally have to turn on CC just so that I catch all the dialogue. Ilya's accent is thick and Shane speaks softly most times.

This is why I can't even get into the performances -- Conor's accent work is incredibly believable. Hudson's performance of neurodivergence is right on the money. They're subtle performances, but they're so rewarding to watch. For me, at least.

The only thing odd to me is the number of years and I believe they are only hooking up when they play each other so what twice a year?

NO! Let me share my hockey knowledge!

Boston and Montreal are in the same division so they would play four games a year. Plus the all-star game, plus the NHL Awards. So it's generally six. And yes, that's wild.

It has already been renewed for season 2 and has a legion of fans. I've never heard of either actor before and now I am seeing them virtually everywhere LOL.

They weren't really known. Hudson is about four years out of school and Conor was apparently in the Joker 2 in a small role -- but a memorable one -- and then the movie tanked. They're both very interesting in that they have a lot interest in artistry, like Conor was studying clowning. I'd almost dispaired that actors like this still existed.

Anyway. I have said. I can talk about this foreeeever. But I do not want to spoil so I will shut up.


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