The Harts. The Samoans. The Lawlers and the Jarretts. The Guerreros, the Gilberts, and the Grahams. Even the McMahons. Professional wrestling is traditionally a “family business” where control of the ring and the business office is passed along bloodlines. In the new series Heels (August 15th premiere on STARZ,) the small fry Duffy Wrestling League has been passed on to two brothers, Jack Spade (Arrow’s Stephen Amell) and his younger brother, Ace (Alexander Ludwig of Midway and Bad Boys for Life.)
Long before Tony Soprano, Dexter Morgan, or Rick Grimes showed us the fluid morality found in the long form drama, wrestling had fan favorite “faces” and hated “heels” switch roles on a moment’s notice. And (as we’ve seen over and again) the heroes and villains we see in the ring can be wholly opposite in attitude and manner once the spandex comes of and the crowd isn’t looking.
The teaser for the series features a voiceover by Jack Spade invokes the story of Cain and Abel, outlining the in-ring storyline he has planned for the brothers. It also foreshadows the tension between Jack, who juggles the responsibilities of the DWL and his family, and the talented by still-maturing Ace. Ace is the main attraction of the struggling promotion and local pastime. He’s got his shot at the big time on the horizon but whether Jack’s working to hold him back or rein him in remains to be seen.
Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig offered insight into these dynamic and more in a roundtable interview:
-Threading the needle between flawed hero and sympathetic villain
-Training under Chavo Guerrero to prepare
-How experienced wrestler, Stephen, adapted to performing the stunts without the rhythm of a match
-Whether Alexander could handle a salmon ladder workout
-The challenges of the theatrical scenes vs those of the in-ring action
-Why Stephen loves filming in Georgia
-If the diehard wrestling fans in cast and crew pushed it upon the casuals and normies
-Learning to act like a promoter by watching Cody Rhodes
-Making the show they set out to make
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