‘Heels’ Cancelled After Two Seasons

And ‘Heels’ showrunner Mike O’Malley addressed both the show’s future and star Stephen Amell’s Strike Comments.

(L to R) Alexander Ludwig and Stephen Amell in 'Heels.' Photo: Starz.

In line with a number of other networks and streaming services, Starz has cancelled some of its shows –– and has shut down another before it even had a chance to arrive on the channel.

The channel announced that wrestling drama ‘Heels’, which stars Stephen Amell and has just finished its second season, will face the axe alongside ‘Run The World’ and ‘Blindspotting’, both of which had also run for two seasons.

Then we have romance-with-a-twist series ‘The Venery of Samantha Bird’, which was in production (though had paused for the strikes) with two episodes left to shoot. It now won’t air at all on the channel.

‘Heels’ boss Mike O’Malley on future plans

(Center) Mary McCormack in 'Heels.' Photo: Starz.

‘Heels’ Showrunner and head writer Mike O’Malley (who also plays Charlie Gully on the show) is committed to finding a home for the series elsewhere, as he told Entertainment Weekly:

“I really do think it’s going to have a life someplace else. We did not intend, nor do we intend, for the season 2 finale to be the last episode of the show.”

O’Malley also addressed his colleague Amell’s comments about the recent strikes.

What did Stephen Amell say about the actors’ strike?

Stephen Amell stars in Starz's 'Heels.'

You may recall that, back in August, ‘Heels’ stars Stephen Amell spoke out against the strike during a convention appearance.

Here’s what he said, as reported by Variety:

“I support my union, I do. And I stand with them. I do not support striking. I don’t. I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic. I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating. I think the thinking as it pertains to shows — like the show that I’m on that premiered last night (Starz’ wrestling series ‘Heels’, which launched its second season) — I think it’s myopic.”

O’Malley has weighed in on that, talking about how he got in touch with Amell to help him see that his comments weren’t helpful.

He had this to say to Entertainment Weekly:

“Well, I called Stephen and I spoke to him about it. What he was trying to talk about is that he loved the show, and he had an incredible pride in the show. We knew that his comments were going to distract from the hard work that the people in both the WGA, of which I’m a member, and SAG-AFTRA, were doing. And I knew that immediately because I had been on the picket line. When I heard and I called him up, I said, ‘Stephen, man, we all got to stand together.’ He got it immediately. I just think it was an unfortunate moment. I genuinely think that he put his foot in his mouth. He felt bad about it. I think he was basically saying was what a lot of people were saying, which was that they were frustrated that they couldn’t work. But I know where his heart is, and his heart is standing with his union.”