‘Heels’ Creator Michael Waldron on the Show’s Netflix Debut, Why It’s Not Just for Wrestling Fans and Hopes to Integrate the WWE
“Heels” is now officially streaming both of its seasons on Netflix, giving the former Starz series a chance to capture a much bigger audience than it ever had before.
In an interview with Variety, series creator Michael Waldron joked that he and the show’s team would frequently discuss what it would be like if the show had debuted on Netflix originally.
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“We often said, ‘Well, s–t, if we were on Netflix, everybody would be watching this thing!” Waldron said. “And now it’s kind of like, alright, the universe called our bluff.”
“Heels” premiered on Starz in 2021, with the second season dropping in 2023 before it was canceled along with several other Starz shows. The series follows the Duffy Wrestling League (DWL), a struggling pro wrestling promotion in a small town in Georgia run by Jack Spade (Stephen Amell). Jack inherited the league from his father and now struggles to keep it afloat while also trying to take it to the next level.
The cast also included Alexander Ludwig, Chris Bauer, Mary McCormack, Kelli Berglund, Allen Maldonado, Trey Tucker, Robby Ramos, Alice Barrett Mitchell, Roxton Garcia, David James Elliott, Joel Murray, and CM Punk. Mike O’Malley, who was also the series showrunner, starred in the role of Charlie Gully, a rival promoter.
Waldron praised Starz for giving the show a chance, saying “I’m so grateful to them that we got to make this show, and they took the chance on me for that.” He continued, though, “In some ways, it feels like the show’s coming out for the first time for a big, real audience to see. It’s like, damn, you can’t pin this thing.”
Fans of the series are no doubt hoping that Netflix could revive the show for a third season, though that remains a remote possibility given the cast and creative team’s commitment to other projects. But if the response is truly overwhelming, the chance still exists. Waldron said that a potential third season would begin to examine the dark side of success with the DWL breaking through to a new level.
“If they’ve if they’re on TV, and if all these people in this town that haven;t had a lot of money, what does it look like when suddenly everybody’s doing a lot better?” he said.
Waldron also dismissed the notion that the show is only for wrestling fans. “I always felt like it was a show for everybody,” he said, comparing it to series like “Friday Night Lights” and “Mad Men.”
“It’s also just a show about the South and middle America, folks who just don’t usually see themselves on TV, or if they do, it’s a caricature,” he said. “Just because you live in a small town doesn’t mean that you don’t have big time ambitions and artistic ambitions…The show, on its face, is a show about athletes, but when really you dig into it, it’s a show about the creative process.”
Waldron also said that the “Heels” team has had “great conversations” with WWE and that “they’re big fans of the show.” Should “Heels” continue at Netflix, there is a possibility that the show and WWE could get into a serious partnership, given that WWE’s flagship show “Raw” will begin airing weekly on Netflix starting in January. There had been hints and some references to WWE in certain “Heels” episodes, but they mostly had to keep direct mentions to a minimum.
“I think the really exciting thing is, if we’re able to move forward with the show, we could more properly integrate the WWE into the storyline, as the DWL becomes a competitor,” Waldron said.
Both seasons of “Heels” are now streaming on Netflix.
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