Summary
Despite its cancelation, the Heels showrunner is open to talking about his plans for season 3. In a show about athletes struggling to maintain their roles in professional wrestling, Jack (Stephen Amell) and Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig) are left to play the heel and the hero respectively. Heels proved to be a serious success, earning three nominations for the Critics’ Choice Super Awards. It has not been enough to save the series, however, as it has already been canceled by the Starz network.
The shocking Heels cancelation means that showrunner Mike O’Malley may not be able to continue with his season 3 plans. While he does still have hope to find a new network to continue the show, he is also willing to share his ideas for the future. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, O’Malley shared his thoughts about potential directions that the show could take and about the way that Jack’s injury was meant to inform season 3. Check out his quote below:
Yeah, we are actively doing it right now. And some of the actors are still under contract. Obviously, the [writers’] strike just ended. I couldn’t have any conversations about this [until now], and granted, they just told me on Friday. But not only are we trying to [find a new network], I really believe the Starz executives when they say they want to see a future for the show too, because they did invest a lot in the show… I really do think it’s going to have a life someplace else.
Listen, he’s going to have to deal with the aftermath of that injury. Put it this way: He’s not getting up and saying, “Oh, I just got a booboo.” Or, “I really wanted Ace to win, and that was the way I got over on Charlie Gully.” He is at that moment significantly injured. And the extent of what that injury is, we don’t know. We’re not about to go Friday Night Lights with this thing, because Stephen Amell is the star of our show, and the story is going to be about how there’s something for him to work through.
In terms of where the show will go in the future, whether it goes on or not, I’m trying to write a show about people getting along and finding a way to connect. As Ace says in the last episode, he spends so much time going after things and trying to get [success], but he could have spent a little bit more time trying to cultivate kindness. I believe that there is an audience out there who wants to see characters genuinely struggle through their own humanity, and characters who are trying to connect, because it’s what people are trying to do in their own lives. And you just don’t see enough of it on television.
Can Heels Find A New Network?
Heels is not the only show to be canceled recently. Hulu canceled How I Met Your Father, while ABC canceled Home Economics, and HBO did the same to Winning Time: The Rise of The Lakers Dynasty. Amell’s show is one of the more recent cancelations, but it is one that still has hope. Despite the decision by Starz, it is always possible for O’Malley to find someone else to keep the show alive.
There is no real guarantee that Heels will find a new network. While O’Malley is determined to secure a future for the show, there is a chance that no other network chooses to pick up the series. After the negative press resulting from Amell seemingly disparaging the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in July, there may be some unwillingness to draw criticism by choosing to renew the show.
Heels does still have a chance, however. Warrior Nun was saved by a massive fan campaign after Netflix chose not to renew the show. If a wrestling show can secure a similar level of support from its own fanbase, another network may take the chance. It took billboards, letters, and months of campaigning for Warrior Nun, so there will need to be ample work to build up a fan response. If Jack’s story is going to continue, Heels will need to find a studio that is willing to allow a season 3.
Source: EW
