Stephen Amell signed on last month to star as the “heel” in the Starz professional wrestling drama series Hells and now the network has found its “babyface.”
Deadline reports that Starz signed Alexander Ludwig (Vikings) to star alongside Amell in the drama series about independent wrestling in small-town America.
Amell, who is about to start the final season of Arrow on The CW, signed on to Heels as his followup starring role in August, which allowed the in-development scripted drama to get the green light from Starz for an eight-episode first season.
The final season of Arrow will have a shortened season, and from the look of it, Amell’s Oliver Queen might not make it out of the series alive, as his fate looks sealed as Crisis on Infinite Earths looms near.
Much like Amell, Ludwig is also wrapping up his own long-running television show, as Vikings is coming to an end as well. Ludwig portrays Björn Ironside, the son of Ragnar Lothbrok and Lagertha, as Vikings prepares to debut its final season.
Hey now!!https://t.co/GRWnYbfAEa
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) September 16, 2019
Michael Waldron (Loki) wrote Heels with Mike O’Malley as the showrunner. The show revolves around a small-town professional wrestling promotion where two brothers go to war over their late father’s legacy.
Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig will portray the brothers who run the small wrestling promotion, as well as star in the ring as the top heel (bad guy) and babyface (good guy) in the company.
However, as the synopsis reveals, “living up to that character in real life is not as easy, and leaving it behind is even harder.”
The series will be a straight drama as Amell has to deal with owning the small wrestling company that he wants to build into a powerhouse while also dealing with his brother and struggling to maintain his marriage.
Heels has not begun filming yet, and it appears that the new series will premiere on Starz in 2020.