Heels (TV series)

Heels
File:Heels TV series poster.png Official poster
Genre	Drama
Created by	Michael Waldron
Starring	Stephen Amell Alexander Ludwig Alison Luff Mary McCormack Kelli Berglund Allen Maldonado James Harrison Roxton Garcia Chris Bauer
Theme music composer	Jeff Cardoni Ben Bridwell
Opening theme	"Love in War" by Ben Bridwell
Composer(s)	Jeff Cardoni
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kyle Patrick Alvarez Eli Jorné Rodney Barnes Christopher Donnelly Michael Waldron Patrick Walmsley Pete Segal Rick Yorn Julie Yorn Mike O'Malley
Producer(s)	Bill Hill
Production location(s)	Georgia
Editor(s)	Jason Gourson
Running time	57–62 minutes
Production company(s)	O'Malley Ink LBI Entertainment Lionsgate Television Paramount Television Studios
Release
Original network	Starz
Original release	August 15, 2021 (2021-08-15) – present (present)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Heels is an American drama television series about professional wrestling created by Michael Waldron that premiered on August 15, 2021, on Starz. In November 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premieres on July 28, 2023.

Premise

Two brothers and rivals, one a villain, or "heel" in professional wrestling, the other a hero, or "face", play out scripted matches as they war over their late father's wrestling promotion and vie for national attention in small town Georgia.

Cast

Main

• Stephen Amell as Jack Spade, a "heel" in the Duffy Wrestling League (DWL) who is Ace's older brother, and the proprietor of the DWL.
  • Jaxon McHan as Young Jack Spade
• Alexander Ludwig as Ace Spade, a "face" in the DWL who is Jack's younger brother.
  • Mason Gillette as Young Ace Spade
• Alison Luff as Staci Spade, Jack's wife.
• Mary McCormack as Willie Day, Jack's business partner.
• Kelli Berglund as Crystal Tyler, a valet and love interest for Ace.
• Allen Maldonado as Rooster Robbins, a star DWL wrestler.
• James Harrison as Apocalypse, an experienced, disillusioned journeyman wrestler.
• Roxton Garcia as Thomas Spade, son of Jack and Staci Spade
• Chris Bauer as Wild Bill Hancock, a former wrestling star turned pro wrestling scout.

Recurring

• David James Elliott as Tom Spade, Jack and Ace's father, a former wrestler who was the proprietor of the DWL. The character appears in flashbacks, having committed suicide about a year before the events of the series.
• Duke Davis Roberts as Big Jim Kitchen, a seasoned wrestler and Ace's best friend.
• Trey Tucker as Bobby Pin, wrestles as a face in the ring, but in the locker room he is an intelligent, funny, encouraging colleague and friend.
• Robby Ramos as Diego Cottonmouth
• CM Punk as Ricky Rabies, a journeyman pro wrestler.
• Bonnie Somerville as Vicky Rabies, Ricky's valet.
• Danielle Gross as Courtney, Staci's best friend.
• Christian Adam as Gabe
• Alice Barrett Mitchell as Carol Spade
• Erica Pappas as Melanie Kitchen
• Mike O'Malley as Charlie Gully, the owner and impresario of Florida Wrestling Dystopia (FWD), a new wrestling promotion more interested in violent spectacle than telling a compelling story.
• Jef Holbrook as Todd, host of a YouTube show critical of DWL

Production

Development

On February 17, 2017, it was announced that Starz had given straight-to-series order to Michael Waldron's series. Production companies involved with the series are Paramount Television and LBI Entertainment. On January 7, 2020, Peter Segal replaced Kyle Patrick Alvarez to direct the series. On May 2, 2021, Starz announced the series would premiere on August 15, 2021. On November 3, 2021, Starz renewed the series for a second season. On an episode of Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast released on January 3, 2023, Stephen Amell mentioned that filming of the second season wrapped in July of 2022, but no further information was available regarding a trailer or release date.

In April 2023, Stephen Amell put up a video on his Twitter profile announcing Heels season 2 will premiere in the Summer of 2023.

Casting

On August 19, 2019, Stephen Amell was cast as Jack Spade. On September 15, 2019, Alexander Ludwig was cast as Ace Spade. On January 7, 2020, Alison Luff was cast as Staci Spade. On March 11, 2020, Chris Bauer, Allen Maldonado, James Harrison, and Kelli Berglund joined the cast. On August 25, 2020, Mary McCormack was cast as Willie, Jack's business partner.

Episodes

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
	1	8	August 15, 2021 (2021-08-15)	October 10, 2021 (2021-10-10)
	2	8	July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)	September 28, 2023 (2023-09-28)

Season 1 (2021)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Kayfabe"	Pete Segal	Michael Waldron	August 15, 2021 (2021-08-15)	0.128
Jack Spade, the owner of the Duffy Wrestling League in Duffy, Georgia, controls everything inside the wrestling ring, but outside "The Dome", he fights to balance his family, his 'real' job, competition from a bloody wrestling promotion. Plus his little brother Ace, who is the new face of the DWL, is interested in bigger organizations, causing former wrestler-turned-scout Wild Bill Hancock to show an interest. Jack's refusal to drop the DWL Championship to Ace in their upcoming match, feeling that him retaining is a better storyline, causes further dissension between the brothers. Jack betrays Ace during the match by beating him within seconds, causing Ace to break down in tears as the fans shower the ring with trash.
2	"Dusty Finish"	Pete Segal	Michael Waldron	August 22, 2021 (2021-08-22)	0.103
As the DWL wrestlers worry about the fallout from the previous promotion, Jack struggles with what direction to take the narrative in and his league, causing interest from his competition, Charlie Gully from the Florida Wrestling Dystopia (FWD) to buy The Dome. Meanwhile, Ace is out of control and wants to quit wrestling after the 'crying' match in what he thinks is an end to his career, and goes on a bender in town. After Jack fights alongside Ace in a bar fight, Ace agrees to return to DWL but states he does not want to ever again get booed by fans.
3	"Cheap Heat"	Jessica Lowrey	Bradley Paul	August 29, 2021 (2021-08-29)	0.094
In an event to drum up more heat for DWL, Jack enlists the help of popular wrestling veteran Ricky Rabies. He intends to set up Ace with a full house for his comeback in the main event with newcomer Bobby Pin. Meanwhile, Rooster Rollins is questioning his worth in DWL with a championship belt, and so is, Jack's wife, Staci who wants to get away from all the wrestling drama. After the DWL fans reject Ace's attempt to rehabilitate his character, he finally agrees to turn heel.
4	"Cutting Promos"	Jessica Lowrey	Daria Polatin	September 5, 2021 (2021-09-05)	0.079
After a house fire forces Jack and his family to move in with Carol and Ace, the two brothers put their differences aside and their heads together to generate a DWL promo to further grow the league's fan base outside Georgia. After exposing himself on an airplane and then verbally attacking his bosses in a drunken rant posted online, Wild Bill is fired from his scouting job and has nowhere to go but back home to Duffy. Meanwhile, Crystal helps Bobby Pin find a new wrestling identity.
5	"Swerve"	Pete Segal	Rachel Sydney Alter	September 12, 2021 (2021-09-12)	0.079
When chair members of the South Georgia State Fair shows interest in featuring the DWL as this year's main attraction, it's on Jack to close the deal with an electric night of matches. However, Wild Bill, Ace and Crystal, who is no longer a "valet", have their own ideas at the expense of Bobby Pin's career.
6	"House Show"	Pete Segal	Eli Jorné	September 19, 2021 (2021-09-19)	0.093
Everyone in town is getting ready for the DWL's premiere at the South Georgia State Fair, especially Jack who's running around prepping and promoting to sell 10,000 tickets. However, not all goes well on a podcast with former wrestler Dick Valentine (Mick Foley) who asked too many personal questions about his father, Tom "King" Spade's death. Meanwhile, 'god-daddy' Ace makes a heart-felt speech at Big Jim's baby's baptism, making him question his character with the people he's been hurting like Crystal and Bobby Pin who has a broken leg and can't wrestle thanks to him. Also, Rooster meets with Gully to discuss a contract in the FWD.
7	"The Big Bad Fish Man"	Pete Segal	Rodney Barnes	October 3, 2021 (2021-10-03)	0.073
With only two weeks left to the main event at the South Georgia State Fair, Jack is doing all that he can to keep his remaining wrestlers healthy and his family happy. In order to get more "bodies" in the DWL, he holds an open tryout, which Crystal sees as her opportunity to get rid of her valet status and become a real wrestler. Gully sets a trap to poach Ace by vandalizing The Dome, causing him to go to Gully's mansion in Jacksonville and defend the Spade name. Staci suspects that Jack played a role in Ace unexpectedly turning heel. After hearing about Ace's decision, Jack pays the FWD a little visit.
8	"Double Turn"	Pete Segal	Eric Martin	October 10, 2021 (2021-10-10)	0.081
It's time for the DWL's main event at the fair, however, there's more on the line than the championship belt. Jack's marriage is in jeopardy after Staci finds out he plotted Ace's Kleenex incident, and fears Jack's heel character is true to life. Gully wants payback and plans to sabotage the championship ladder match, unless the Spade Brothers beat him to it. Crystal is back in the DWL by becoming Bill's valet, Bunny Bombshell, but it's not for long because she has to prove herself as a real wrestler when after Gully and his people turn the crowd and Ace and Jack begin trading blows for real, Jack tells her to claim the belt for herself. Conflict still brewing between the Spade Brothers, Ace walks away, seemingly becoming comfortable in his role as a heel.

Season 2 (2023)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
9	1	"Ten-Bell Salute"	TBA	Mike O'Malley	July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)	N/A
10	2	"The Journey is the Obstacle"	TBA	Mike O'Malley	August 4, 2023 (2023-08-04)	N/A
11	3	"Discord"	TBA	Victor Levin	August 11, 2023 (2023-08-11)	N/A
12	4	"Heavy Heads"	TBA	Blake Masters	August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)	N/A
13	5	"Who the Hell is the Condamned?"	TBA	Bryce Ahart & Stephanie McFarlane	August 25, 2023 (2023-08-25)	N/A
14	6	"Appearances"	TBA	Mike O'Malley & Victoria Morrow & Blake Masters	September 1, 2023 (2023-09-01)	N/A
15	7	"The Things That Matter"	TBA	Victoria Morrow	September 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)	N/A
16	8	"High Flying"	TBA	Victoria Morrow	September 15, 2023 (2023-09-15)	N/A

Release

Heels debuted on Starz on August 15, 2021, and the season 1 finale aired on October 10, 2021.

Reception

Heels was met with a highly positive response from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 96% based on reviews from 25 critics, with an average rating of 8/10. The critics consensus reads, "Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig sell hard in Heels, an impressive new drama that has compelling angles on both sides of the rope." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

External links

• Official website
• Heels at IMDb
• Heels on Twitter