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EXCLUSIVE: Mary McCormack has been tapped as a lead opposite Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig in Heels, Starz’s eight-episode hourlong drama set in the outrageous world of independent professional wrestling.
Written by Michael Waldron, with Mike O’Malley as showrunner, Heels is a story about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small-town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals, Jack Spade (Amell) and Ace Spade (Ludwig), war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy (Ludwig) and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel (Amell). But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.
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McCormack will play Willie, the business partner of Jack Spade and logistical brains behind the local wrestling organization who came up in the glory days as Wild Bill’s (Chris Bauer) valet but grew tired of babysitting and left him just as his career took off. His return to the local circuit complicates her life, as does the reflection of her younger self that she sees in Crystal (Kelli Berglund).
Heels is produced by Lionsgate TV in association with Paramount TV Studios. Along with Waldron and O’Malley, Peter Segal, LBI Entertainment’s Julie Yorn, Chris Donnelly and Patrick Walmsley serve as executive producers.
McCormack recently starred in the ABC comedy series The Kids Are Alright. She will appear in the upcoming anthology series Treehouse and exec produces the syndicated game show 25 Words or Less, which has been renewed for a second season. McCormack is repped by CAA, Untitled and attorney Erik Hyman.