With Arrow coming to an end, series star Stephen Amell is already looking toward the future and that future includes his new, hourlong wrestling-related drama series, Heels. Earlier this month, Amell teased on social media that he was headed back into the gym to begin training for the series complete with the idea that there would be “giant billboards” of the actor in a Speedo as part of the promotion for the Starz series. It sounds like there will be more than just the wardrobe that fans can look forward to, however, as the actor teased “crazy sh-t” in the series.
During an appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Amell explained that he signed on for Heels knowing that it would only be eight episodes and would need a lot of training, but also explained that he isn’t going to have a stunt double for the physical aspects of the series.
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“I’ve got a lot of training to do starting in January, but yeah, eight episodes,” Amell said. “I’m not going to have a stunt double. I can’t. I’m going to be in a Speedo. How the f-ck am I going to have a stunt double? I’m going to wear wrestling trunks, we call them trunks, but it’s ostensibly a Speedo.”
He then explained that his character will wrestle a few times in the first episode and that it was going lead to some interesting times on the series.
“I’m going to have to do some crazy sh-t.”
It was announced in August 2019 that Amell’s next television project following Arrow would be Heels with a report that the actor had signed on to lead the series, a move that led Starz to greenlight and commit to an initial eight-episode order. The series does not yet have an estimated release date, but you can check out the series synopsis as well as details about Amell’s Jack Spade below.
“Written by Michael Waldron (Loki), with Mike O’Malley set as showrunner, Heels is 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 — one of them played by Amell — war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel (Amell). But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.”
In the ring, Amell’s Jack Spade is the charismatic villain, or heel, of the Duffy Wrestling Association (DWA). In the real world, he’s its hard-working owner, a husband and father trying to make ends meet while fighting to realize his impossible dreams. He has the mind of an artist in the body of a warrior, and a Steve Jobs-ian need for perfection — and for control. He says he’ll do whatever it takes to build the DWA into an empire. Will he go so far as to risk his marriage, or his relationship with his brother?”
Production on Heels is expected to begin this spring.
