The Tracker Character Hudson Williams Played Before Heated Rivalry

Audiences love Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander, a professional hockey player, in "Heated Rivalry," the new hockey romance series based on the series of books by Rachel Reid. It thrust Williams into the limelight, with appearances on late night show interviews and even being chosen as a presenter at the 2026 Golden Globes. However, fans of the Justin Hartley-led drama "Tracker" (a series popular enough that it dethroned "NCIS" for a while) might recognize Williams as Brandon Stokes, a man who disappears in the Season 2 episode "The Disciple." 

Brandon appears at the beginning of the episode, where he's attacked outside a grocery store, leading to the case of the week for Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley). As Shaw looks deeper into Brandon's case, nothing is quite what it seems, since Brandon is connected to the "Teacher," a serial killer Colter is trying to track down. The episode reveals the Teacher's identity, and also that Brandon is just one of many young men the Teacher has pulled into the fold. The criminal mastermind sees them as great recruits because of their criminal records, and is causing them to commit more crimes for his own twisted cause.

"Heated Rivalry" definitely put Hudson Williams on the map, and his future projects are sure to solidify his new status. He is set to appear in the Netflix miniseries "The Altruists" alongside star power like Julia Garner, Eugene Young, and Anthony Boyle. The show will focus on the rise of cryptocurrency, by following the story of Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison. The former is currently serving a 25 year prison sentence related to his involvement in crypto fraud schemes. Ellison, his former girlfriend, was released from prison in January 2026 after serving a sentence in connection to those same charges. 

Williams also has two films in the works, appearing as Drifter in "Encore" and as Darius in "8." In "Encore," a classmate gives a monologue about committing a murder, and things seem a bit more real than just a simple creative exercise. "8" is about a man taking his wife on a road trip (a genre popular enough to be choosy about). However, his influence over the people they meet along the way has more consequences than they realize. While release dates have yet to be confirmed, it means audiences will be seeing Williams on their screens again soon.