Jack Spade (Stephen Amell) enters the ring in “Heels,” premiering Sunday, Aug. 15, on Starz.
Just as the mob has omerta — the code of silence — so does the wrestling world have kayfabe.
In the Starz drama series “Heels,” which premieres Sunday, Aug. 15, that’s the code by which the characters of the Duffy Wrestling League of rural Georgia live as they try to keep the secrets of their trade just that, a secret.
“Heels,” which refers to villain wrestlers, revolves around Jack and Ace Spade (Stephen Amell, “Arrow,” and Alexander Ludwig, “Vikings”), members of a family-owned wrestling promotion business who fake-fight opponents in the ring and battle each other for real out of it as they war over the legacy of their late father, the company’s founder.
Of course, that tension filters down to others, including Jack’s wife, Staci (Alison Luff), who must deal with the demands the business puts on her family; Willie (Mary McCormack), Jack’s business partner and logistics person; Crystal (Kelli Berglund), Ace’s valet and girlfriend; and Wild Bill Hancock (Chris Bauer), a former wrestler and current wrestling scout.
Written and created by Michael Waldron, who executive produces with showrunner Mike O’Malley, the series features plenty of wrestling action that the actors had to replicate as if they were real pro wrestlers. And that left Amell sore and stiff at the end of some shooting days.
“What we really wanted to portray on ‘Heels,'” Amell explains, “was the way that wrestlers really communicated in the ring, was the way that they communicate with each other and the way that they communicate with the referee. Because there was a scene in a later episode where I’m slamming my arm against Alexander’s back, except that while I’m doing that, when he’s down on the ground I’m yelling, ‘Get up! Give me your back! You’ve got a forearm coming.’
by signing up you agree to our terms of service 
Jack Spade (Stephen Amell) battles his brother over their father’s wrestling promotion company in “Heels,” premiering Sunday on Starz. – Courtesy of Starz
“So you’ve got to get rough and tumble with this stuff, but it’s much safer and much more predictable because the way that we’re filming it, we’re filming it like a wrestling match, where we’re actually calling out the spots in what we’re doing.”
The series portrays the business side of wrestling as well, of trying to keep the company afloat on a shoestring budget, fending off competition from rival outfits and writing scripts for potential storylines.
And then there is kayfabe, something Amell learned about firsthand one day during filming outside Atlanta.
“I was talking with my buddy Kenny Omega, one of the greatest professional wrestlers in the world,” the actor recalls, “and there was a little behind-the-scenes crew filming for that day. And he was talking to me about some things that I could do during my match. And when the camera crew got close, he went, ‘Guys, either turn off the camera or get away.’ And they sort of backed away and I looked at him and he just looked at me and said, ‘Kayfabe, brother.’ So kayfabe is a real thing.”
• • •
“Heels”
Premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15, on Starz
