While the 2024 Paris kicked off with a parade of nations floating down the Seine, a torch bearer doing parkour through the Louvre, and the literal decapitation of Marie Antoinette, the internet was captivated by a much smaller part of the performance.
“Did I just watch the hotel scene at the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony,” wrote Twitter user , referring to a “steamy” (the words of opening ceremony commentators) scene in which three neon-clad dancers stared longingly at each other and then quickly ran into a private room — getting up to something NSFW, certainly.
The tweet captures what has been months of fervor over director Luca Guadagnino’s tennis , starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist as star-crossed paramours in the world of professional sports. It’s kind of a topical nod, as Paris’s own tennis competitors float on by. It’s also proof that “Challengers Summer” is far from over.
Viewers didn’t get to witness the Parisian apartment goings-on, though, as the dancers embraced, looked knowingly into the camera, and then slammed the door shut. No three-way make out sessions on primetime.
NBC’s hosts, exhaling a quiet gasp as the shot took over screens, closed the segment with a succinct wrap up: “Oh — We are uninvited.”




