Stephen Amell won’t be taking a break from the small screen after the conclusion of its eight-season stint as Oliver Queen on The CW’s Arrow next TV season.
The Canadian actor, who is currently shooting the 10-episode final season of the superhero series, has just signed on to star in the wrestling drama Heels. Set in a close-knit community in Georgia, the 8-episode Starz series will follow family-owned wrestling promotion Duffy Wrestling Association (DWA) as two brothers and rivals war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, aka the heel. But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to and just as hard to leave behind.
Amell will play the role of Jack, the charismatic heel of the DWA. When he’s not in the ring, Jack is the hard-working owner of the wrestling promotion, a husband and father trying to make ends meet while fighting to realize his impossible dream of building the DWA into an empire. Though he has a body of a warrior, he has the mind of an artist, a need for control, and a need for perfection like Steve Jobs.
Amell shared the news on Twitter while asking professional wrestler Cody Rhodes to join him on the project.
Hey @CodyRhodes — wanna come and help me make a tv show? pic.twitter.com/esmPDNo8mn
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) August 19, 2019
Rhodes has yet to respond to Amell’s invitation, but given their history in wrestling together, it’s unlikely that the former would say no.
To put an end to months-long “feud” with Rhodes, aka WWE’s Stardust, Amell partnered with Neville in a SummerSlam match against his nemesis and King Barrett in August 2015. Amell and Neville won the match and later took home the Celebrity Moment of the Year and Breakout Star of the Year honors at that year’s Slammy Awards. Rhodes, meanwhile, went on to recur as Derek Sampson on Arrow.
Heels is executive produced by showrunner Mike O’Malley, Julie Yorn, Chris Donnelly, Patrick Walmsley, and Michael Waldron, who wrote the series’ pilot.
The eighth and final season of Arrow will premiere on Tuesday, October 15th at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.