Quick summary
- Hudson Williams is the first guest of season 2 of CBC’s The Assembly, which launched on 1 November 2026.
- Neurodivergent and autistic interviewers questioned him about co-star Connor Storrie, ADHD and his family, according to Rolling Stone Canada.
- Canadian Tire has released a glass ornament based on the plaid bag Williams was photographed carrying in August.
- The ornament costs $7.99 plus tax, and fans report that many stores have already sold out.
Hudson Williams has spent the week in two very different spotlights. The Heated Rivalry star opened the second season of the CBC series The Assembly on Sunday 1 November, and a retailer has now turned a cheap shopping bag he carried this summer into a Christmas decoration.
What is The Assembly?
The Assembly is an unscripted CBC and CBC Gem series, adapted from a French format. According to the Surrey Now-Leader, each episode puts one high-profile guest in front of a group of autistic and neurodivergent adults who ask direct, unpredictable questions. Season 2 has an expanded cast of more than 30 interviewers.
Williams was filmed at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Mariah Reitmeier, an opera singer from White Rock, was among the interviewers. She told the paper she appears in two of the six episodes this season, with Williams and Zach Galifianakis. In season 1 she was in four, alongside Arlene Dickinson, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Russell Peters and Howie Mandel.
Producer Stephen Sawchuk of Small Army Entertainment said guests are harder to book than interviewers, because they must take time off, travel to Vancouver and work unpaid. He also said the appeal is an environment not controlled by publicists, away from the usual press-junket questions.
Other guests this season include hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin, actor Jay Baruchel, singer Lights and actor and model Ashley Callingbull.
What Williams said
Rolling Stone Canada describes the conversation as unusually candid. One interviewer, Nate, asked whether Williams had ever developed romantic feelings for co-star Connor Storrie. Williams called the pair “platonic soulmates” who are “just completely in love with each other,” while making clear the relationship is not romantic. We covered the same exchange in our earlier report on Williams and Storrie.
The talk then turned personal. Another interviewer, Julia, asked how his Korean cultural background shaped his experience of ADHD. Williams said the emphasis on discipline can lead people to dismiss their own struggles, and that “a lot of the answer in Asian culture is just more discipline.” He added that this can mean denying yourself understanding and kindness. Rolling Stone reports he also spoke about having been reluctant to take medication for the condition.
He was just as open about filming the intimate scenes in Heated Rivalry. He described a screening for his mother and friends, where the friends brought party horns to blow whenever a sex scene started, giving his mother a cue to cover her eyes.
The episode closes with several interviewers singing an a cappella version of t.A.T.u.’s “All the Things She Said”, a song featured on the show’s soundtrack. Reitmeier sings in that quartet, according to the Surrey Now-Leader. The episode, including an extended producer’s cut, is on CBC Gem.
The Canadian Tire bag becomes an ornament
The second story is lighter. Daily Hive reports that a plaid reusable Canadian Tire bag became a viral accessory after Williams was seen carrying it in Toronto with Storrie in August. The bag reportedly cost $1.99 and sold out at several Greater Toronto Area stores.
A post on X from fan account Hudson Williams Online, dated 14 August, said Canadian Tire would donate 100 per cent of its net proceeds from every bag sold since 1 August to Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, which helps children access sport and physical activity. That is the fan account’s relay of a Canadian Tire announcement, as quoted by Daily Hive.
For the holidays the retailer has released a miniature version, the Canvas Canadian Tire Plaid Tote Bag Ornament. It is made of glass, stands 9.5 centimetres tall and sells online and at select stores for $7.99 plus tax. Fans on X have called it proof of “the Hudson Williams effect”, though several say their local stores have already run out.
What happens next
More of season 2 is still to come, with Galifianakis, Baruchel, Poulin, Lights and Callingbull among the remaining guests. Anyone hoping for the ornament should check availability online first, given the reports of sell-outs. For everything else on the actor, see our Hudson Williams tag page.
Frequently asked questions
When did season 2 of The Assembly start?
It launched on Sunday 1 November 2026 on CBC and CBC Gem, with Hudson Williams as the first guest.
What did Hudson Williams say about Connor Storrie?
He called Storrie a “platonic soulmate” and said the two are completely in love with each other as friends, but that the relationship is not romantic, according to Rolling Stone Canada.
How much is the Canadian Tire bag ornament?
Daily Hive reports it costs $7.99 plus tax, available online and at select Canadian Tire stores while stock lasts.
