Margaret Cho still wants a place in Heated Rivalry after revealing that she turned down the first-season role of Yuna Hollander, the mother of Hudson Williams’ character, Shane.
While attending the Los Angeles premiere of I Want Your Sex, the comedian and actress said she would gladly join the show as another member of Shane’s family.
Her new pitch follows an earlier admission that fears about traveling to Canada led her to pass on the series before it became a streaming hit.
Cho Offered to Play Shane’s Aunt in Season 2
When Variety’s Marc Malkin asked whom she could play in the second season, Cho immediately proposed a different place within the Hollander family. “An aunt,” she replied. “I’ll be an aunt. I’ll be anything. You know, I would just love to be a part of it, the world of it.”
Cho said she remains proud of the series’ success and joked that she continues behaving as though she were Shane’s mother despite not appearing onscreen. “I still own it,” she said. “I act like I’m his mom anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” Christina Chang ultimately played Yuna, while Dylan Walsh portrayed Shane’s father, David Hollander.
She Fell in Love With the Pilot’s Queer Hockey Story
Cho said the original pilot script affected her emotionally while also making her laugh. “I fell in love with it,” she told Variety. “I was just so moved, and I was so touched. I was really laughing, also.”
She was particularly drawn to the decision to place a queer romance inside the traditionally hypermasculine world of professional hockey. “I’m just so excited about this hyper-masculine world, the queering of it,” Cho said. “That’s what I want to see.”
Created by Jacob Tierney and adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, the series follows Canadian hockey star Shane Hollander and Russian player Ilya Rozanov, played by Connor Storrie.
Border Fears Led Her to Decline the Role
Cho first revealed the missed opportunity during an appearance on Matteo Lane and Nick Smith’s I Never Liked You podcast. Because Heated Rivalry filmed in Canada, she said she became afraid that her outspoken criticism of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration could create problems while crossing the border.
“I was like, I will get detained at the border and I will be put in ICE detention if I go,” Cho said, describing her personal fear rather than any confirmed warning from immigration authorities. She struggled with the decision, consulted several people and ultimately declined the part despite wanting to participate.
“I was super upset about it, and I said no,” she recalled. After the series premiered, Cho watched it, hosted rewatch parties and contacted people connected to the production about a possible future appearance. “The pilot was beautiful, and I was like, I want to do this,” she said. Cho added that passing on the project still “kills” her.
Production on Season 2 is expected to begin in August 2026, with the premiere planned for April 2027.