The 24-year-old star made his first late-night appearance on “The Tonight Show” Wednesday with a massive crowd waiting outside the studio.

Jimmy Fallon likens fan frenzy for Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams to Beatlemania: ‘One of the hottest audiences we’ve ever had’

The 24-year-old star made his first late-night appearance on "The Tonight Show" Wednesday with a massive crowd waiting outside the studio.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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January 9, 2026 3:18 p.m. ET

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Hudson Williams and Jimmy Fallon behind the scenes of 'The Tonight Show'. Credit:

Todd Owyoung/NBC

Even a longtime TV host like Jimmy Fallon was surprised by the response to *Heated Rivalry* star Hudson Williams making his late-night debut on *The Tonight Show* on Wednesday.

The frenzy began before the 24-year-old actor even took the stage at NBC's 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with footage shared on social media showing lines of fans beginning to form overnight for a chance to see Williams.

"The night before I came into work, someone called and said, 'Hey, there's a line outside 30 Rock that's probably 150 people long,'" Fallon recalled over the phone with **. "I go, 'For, for Hudson?' They go, 'For Hudson Williams!' They were freaking out. [Fans] flew here! I'm like, 'This is so fun.'"

When Fallon made his own way to the building the day of, he remembered walking through the crowd and admitted it was "so cool to see."

Fans wait outside 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on Jan. 7, 2026.

Todd Owyoung/NBC

It definitely wasn't the reaction Fallon and his *Tonight Show* crew expected when they originally booked the Canadian actor for his appearance.

"It's so funny when you get to see these, kind of almost unknowns become household names almost overnight," Fallon noted. "We booked Hudson probably six weeks ago when the show had some buzz, but it wasn't the biggest thing on everyone's minds, you know?"

That's definitely changed as the the modestly-made Canadian series about rival Major League Hockey players in a secret romance has become a global phenomenon on HBO Max. The massive response from fans has led to a swift season 2 renewal and its stars, Williams and Connor Storrie, becoming viral sensations. Both actors have taken to their rise to stardom as ducks to water, which Fallon says was especially fun when meeting Williams for the show.

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"To have him show up and he's excited — he was in the best mood," the host said. "He was like, 'I can't believe this.' Less than two years ago, he was working at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Canada as a server and now people are waiting in line, screaming his name, and going nuts."

The late-night veteran called Wednesday's attendance, "one of the hottest audiences we've ever had," adding that he would "put it up there with BTS or Harry Styles. I mean, they went bonkers."

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Fallon credited his production team for putting on "one of the best shows we've done all year," praising the writers for the monologue with Williams and The Roots co-creator Tariq Trotter, the bits featuring Chelsea Handler, Sophie Turner, and the performance by Sienna Spiro.

"The whole show was great. But Hudson was the reason everyone was in such a hype mood," the *Saturday Night Live* alum added. "I mean people were going crazy. Even just mentioning his name, they went wild and I said it's almost deafening. It's almost like seeing those black-and-white videos of the Beatles or something, and you go, 'How could it be that loud in one room?'"

And the fans went especially crazy during a segment of the show where Williams taught Fallon the much-talked-about hockey stretching exercises that players of the "Boy Aquarium," a.k.a. hockey games, regularly showcase before matches.

Williams got Fallon on the floor of the stage — first on the carpeted section in front of his desk before moving them to the floor where Fallon performs his monologues — crouched down on all fours to stretch their hips.

"This is the best it gets," Williams joked to the host, adding, "[Johnny] Carson didn't do this," before critiquing Fallon's form.

Hudson Williams and Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show'.

Todd Owyoung/NBC

When asked if he had been prepared for the stretch beforehand, Fallon emphasizes that he was only giving a photo before he saw Williams go through the motions on-air. "Let me just tell you something, I did not know what the stretch was going into this. I just knew that he was gonna teach me a stretch," Fallon said.

"And the photo they sent me had a hockey player with two gloves on the ice, and he was kind of squatting like a catcher at baseball. I go, 'Do I need to know the stretch?' And they go, 'I'd rather you didn't know,'" Fallon continued, laughing. "But I just trust my bit! So then when we went to the floor and I'm like, 'What is the stretch?' I saw a little bit. I thought it was like a child pose yoga, you know? He's like, 'No, it's more like this.'

Fallon recalled that Williams was "in a good mood" and feeling confident "because the audience loved him," but the host wasn't so confident in his hip stretching skills. "I don't even know if my kids can see it," the comic joked. "You almost had to blur something out, I'll say that."

"As soon as it aired, I had like 10 people send me the meme and I go, 'Oh my God,'" Fallon admitted. "Could be worse, but, you know, I actually loved it. And I thought it was so good. I loved the response from it because, you know, two years ago, there was no show. Two weeks ago, everyone is talking about *Heated Rivalry.* And now it's all about Hudson Williams, you know?"

Fallon mused that the quick shot to stardom is "how fame kind of goes," adding that he enjoys seeing that happen and giving rising stars that platform. "I'm happy that he had faith in us, you know, and our guests have faith in us to do a good job," he shared.

Reps for *The* *Tonight Show *shared that Williams' interview has already amassed 45 million views across the show's social and digital platforms.

Hudson Williams and Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show'.

Todd Owyoung/NBC

The host said he's proud of how *The Tonight Show *has become the place to celebrate fandoms, from shows like *Heated Rivalry *and *Stranger Things*, to highly-anticipated films such as *Wicked *and even music fandoms like KPop.

"I think they can trust us over these years," Fallon said of how the show has fostered an energy that attracts stars from all over. "We've done it so long and I think there's a trust in our show and hopefully me, you know? I don't wanna see you fall down, I want to see you score. I want everyone to win. So whoever's coming on the show, like, let's do it."**

*The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon* airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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