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Professional wrestling drama Heels will premiere on Netflix on Monday 7/29.
As previously noted on PWInsider.com, Netflix has licensed the first two seasons of Heels. If viewership is strong, it could potentially open the doors for a third season of the series, which ended on a major cliffhanger before being canceled by STARZ in September 2023.
Showrunner Mike O'Malley made it clear to Entertainment Weekly after the cancellation that they were seeking ways for the series to potentially return, noting, "We did not intend, nor do we intend, for this to be the last episode of the show. One of the things that we're trying to do in this show is honor wrestlers, honor anybody who has a dream and the endurance to pursue that dream. Sometimes that endurance can be misguided. For instance, I used to like tap dancing. I was terrible at it, but when I was in college, to get out of the University of New Hampshire with a theater degree, I had to take tap dance. You have never seen a tap dancer worse than me. And can you imagine if I spent my whole life like, "Hey, man, I have dream! I'm going to bring tap dancing back!" So, one of the things we were trying to talk about in the show, if you want to be a professional wrestler — but you also want to have a family and you want to have financial stability and you want to have a body that still works — these are all sacrifices that you make. And Jack Spade, the sacrifice that happened in this family is that his father [played by David James Elliott] wanted it so badly and was so disappointed, he killed himself. What the show is really about is, how does our humanity get in the way of our own happiness? What happens at the end of that episode is Jack, who has been treated a certain way by his father, sees Ace being praised by the Continuum executive, Jen Lussier [played by Emmy Raver-Lampman]. She's rooting for Ace, and here's Jack, still that boy who wanted to be loved by his dad. He lets his own ego [take over]. He executes the leap. That moment is just him pushing it one step too far because his brother is being celebrated instead of him. And that's the tragedy of it."
When the reality of the cancellation began to sink in, the term "Cancel STARZ" began trending on Twitter for several hours the nex day as fans voiced their displeasure about the story of the Spade family and rest of the Duffy Wrestling League ending on a cliffhanger that might never be resolved.
Heels was a story about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small-town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals, Jack Spade (Stephen Amell, “Arrow”) and Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig, “Vikings”), are at war over their late father’s legacy while working to find their identity and their individual versions of success.
The series starred Alison Luff (“New Amsterdam”) as Staci Spade, Mary McCormack (“Deep Impact,” “The L Word”) as Willie Day, Kelli Berglund (“The Goldbergs,” “The Animal Kingdom”) as Crystal Tyler, Allen Maldonado (House Party, “The Wonder Years,” “The Last O.G.”) as Rooster Robbins, Chris Bauer (“Gaslit,” “Survivor’s Remorse,” and “True Blood”) as Wild Bill Hancock, Trey Tucker (“The Outpost”) as Bobby Pin, Robby Ramos (“Chicago P.D.”) as Diego Cottonmouth, Alice Barrett Mitchell (“The Thing About Pam,” “Billions”) as Carol Spade, and Roxton Garcia (“Reminiscence”) as Thomas Spade, David James Elliot (Trumbo, “JAG”) as Tom Spade, and Joel Murray (“Mad Men,” “Shameless”) as Eddie Earl. CM Punk (“Mayans,” “AEW Dynamite”) as Ricky Rabies, AJ Mendez (“Women of Wrestling,” “WWE”) as Elle Dorado, Josh Segarra (Scream VI, “Arrow,” “The Other Two”) as Brooks Rizzo, and Emmy Raver-Lampman as Jen Lussier.
“Heels” showrunner and executive producer Mike O’Malley (“Survivor’s Remorse,” “Shameless”) also portrays Charlie Gully on the series. Michael Waldron (executive producer of “Loki,” Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and producer for “Rick and Morty”) is the series creator. Christopher Donnelly (By Sidney Lumet), Pete Segal (Get Smart, 50 First Dates, “Tommy Boy,” “Shameless”), Patrick Walmsley (JT LeRoy), and Julie Yorn (Hell or High Water, White Boy Rick) also serve as executive producers on the series. “Heels" is produced through O'Malley Ink and LBI Entertainment in association with Lionsgate Television for STARZ.
The series is absolutely worth watching.
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