‘Heels’ Sneak Peek Reveals the Intense Stunt Work That Goes Into Making a Wrestling TV Show

The upcoming Starz drama Heels is embracing its action-packed pro wrestling premise and putting its actors to work. In a recent sneak peek video, the cast and crew talk through the intensive training process and stunt work that went into crafting the show’s authenticity.

Intense stunt work is inevitable for a show about pro wrestlers and made all the more extreme by the tension between its characters. Heels follows Jack (Stephen Amell) and Ace Space (Alexander Ludwig), two brothers and wrestling rivals, struggling under the weight of their father’s legacy. Both in the ring and out, they frequently clash with each other — and what better way to deal with tension than, ya know, body slamming your brother?

Check out the Heels sneak peek below.

Heels Sneak Peek

In the teaser, Amell teases the transformation that went into accomplishing their many stunts and getting the cast to a place where they not only looked the part of professional wrestlers, but could handle the physicality demanded in the job description. We catch a glimpse of multiple matches, from many angles, and even a fight that goes through a carwash.

Stunt work isn’t new to Amell, who starred on the CW’s DC series Arrow for nearly a decade, as a billionaire playboy turned superhero. But the realities of stepping into the ring are also familiar to the actor, as a lifelong wrestling fan who made a few appearances in the WWE. The action scripted for the show is no joke, at least based on what we see of the elaborately constructed stage that the actors call the “Heels Gymnasium.” Ludwig added that after training for “god knows how many months” nothing about filming their stuntwork feels fake.

The video centers on the two elements that will be the basis for the show: family drama and action. As intense as the choreography looks, Heels is as much about what happens outside of the wrestling ring.

The cast and crew hint at the important resonance held by the community’s pastime, with actress Kelli Berglund noting that being the ring also puts the characters on a stage. As the trailer indicated, there’s plenty of tension when the characters are performing for an audience, but it doesn’t always stay in the fiction. This is sure to put stress on not just the brothers, but everyone around them.

Heels stars a number of action capable stars, including former football linebacker, James Henry Harrison Jr. Also getting in on the action are Allen Maldonado, Mary Catherine McCormack, and David James Elliott.

The series was developed by Loki creator Michael Waldron, with Shameless‘ Mike O’ Malley serving as showrunner. The series is also produced by Julie Yorn, Peter Segal, Chris Donnelly, and Patrick Walmsley.

The Starz drama begins airing on August 15 2021.

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