Heels Showrunner Mike O'Malley Also Grapples With Villain Role in Starz Wrestling Drama — Get a First Look

TV vet Mike O’Malley tackled double duty on Starz’s upcoming Heels, not only serving as the wrestling drama’s showrunner but also filling a villainous role, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Written by Michael Waldron (Rick and Morty) with O’Malley serving as showrunner, Heels follows a Georgia-based, family-owned wrestling promotion as brothers Jack and Ace Spade (played by Arrow‘s Stephen Amell and Vikings‘ Alexander Ludwig) war over their late father’s legacy.

More from TVLine

• Heels Photos: Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig Are Ready to Rumble

• Run the World: Female Friendship Comedy Gets Starz Premiere Date

• Courteney Cox Horror Comedy Series Shining Vale Greenlit at Starz

TVLine can now report that O’Malley — whose previous producing credits include Survivor’s Remorse (which he created) and who is familiar from roles on Snowpiercer, The Good Place and Glee — will play Heels‘ Charlie Gully, the owner and impresario of the Florida Wrestling Dystopia (FWD), a new wrestling promotion that is more interested in violent spectacle than telling a compelling story. Having made his fortunes up north in the world of fishing and outdoor sporting equipment, Gully is now dead set on ushering in a new territory war, and as such quickly clashes with Jack Spade and the DWL (Duffy Wrestling League).

Check out a first look at Gully above, in a scene with Ludwig’s Ace Spade.

The Heels cast also includes Mary McCormack (In Plain Sight) as Willie, Jack’s business partner and the brains behind the DWL; Broadway vet Alison Luff as Jack’s wife, Staci; Kelli Berglund (Animal Kingdom), Chris Bauer (The Deuce), Robby Ramos (The Last O.G.), Allen Maldonado, Trey Tucker, Roxton Garcia and two-time Super Bowl champion James Harrison. Additionally, JAG‘s David James Elliott will recur as Tom Spade, Jack and Ace’s late father, a one-time wrestler.

Having recently wrapped filming, Heels is on track for a summer premiere.

Want scoop on Heels, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

Best of TVLine

• TV Roles Recast: 25+ Times a Show Changed Actors Midstream (and Why)

• Stars Who Almost Played Other TV Roles — on Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Lost, Gilmore Girls, Friends and Other Shows

• TV Stars Almost Cast in Other Roles

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter