I first watched Heated Rivalry in January 2026, and since then I can't stop thinking about it! I've rewatched the show, bought the vinyl soundtrack (and subsequently a turntable to justify it lol), created social media accounts just to follow Hudson and Connor, bought skincare because Hudson recommended it, and read so much Hollanov fanfiction 😂
The thing is, this isn't my first 'fandom', but it's the first I've become actively involved in. So I've been thinking about why that may be, with some comparisons to others I've liked in the past:
1. Hollanov is Real: Years and years after Teen Wolf ended, I started reading Sterek (Stiles/Derek) fanfiction despite having never watched the show (probably because it's a popular and still flowing ship on AO3, so a lot to read). But Sterek was never actually a couple on the show, so my interest is more so to do with the characteristics/dynamic the fandom made rather than the very little the show writers actually did. I think with Hollanov, it's been nice to be able to actually enjoy and see them as a couple on the show as well as in fan fiction/art.
2. Amazing Chemistry: I watched Red, White & Royal Blue when it came out, and immediately loved it. So much so that I would say that was sort of the start of my interest in engaging in a fandom and really being a fan of actors enough to stay up to date on what other projects they had going on. At the time, I did enjoy the chemistry in the film between the leads (Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine playing Alex and Henry), but not enough to ever actually rewatch it entirely, only certain scenes. Also again, I enjoyed the fan fiction/art more. It's funny how I actually put off watching HR because I didn't like seeing people compare it unfavourably to RW&RB. But then when I finally watched HR, I absolutely understood the hype and couldn't deny that Hudson and Connor had exceptional chemistry (honestly might be the best I've ever seen in media) and more passion compared to Taylor and Nicholas.
3. More content: Again with RW&RB, because it was released during the SAG-AFTRA strike, the two main leads couldn't do much promo aside from a couple of interviews, so we never got to see them interact on screen much. Then whilst I assume Taylor and Nicholas are friendly enough, they don't seem close beyond just being colleagues, which is obviously just fine. But the lack of contact between them made it easy to lose interest in them as a duo, compared to Hudson and Connor who are clearly really good friends and have provided more content/promo to watch. Also, I was happy to see Hudson and Connor get further projects on the back of HR, which has created even more content to keep up with. On the other hand with RW&RB, there has been a wide disparity in their careers (Nicholas has had multiple projects whereas Taylor has unfortunately not had a single project released since RW&RB in 2023).
4. Romance and a Happy Ending: After watching the TV show Shameless (again years after it ended), I started reading fanfiction for Gallavich (Ian/Mickey). Whilst Gallavich are canon and eventually get a happy ending, the path to get there was difficult, their romantic interactions weren't much (especially compared to the straight characters on the show 🙄) and their story as a whole was cut short on the show due to one of the actors leaving before coming back years later. So again, I find it to be one of those where the fanfiction and art is happier than the reality. In comparison, whilst Hollanov also wasn't/isn't a straightforward relationship, their interactions were definitely a lot more romantic.
Anyway, this wasn't made to put down any ship (I think fanfiction writers and artists in these fandoms are wonderful and the best part about them). I'm just curious to know if anyone else had a similar interest in Sterek, FirstPrince, or Gallavich, and if Hollanov has felt any different?
