'Heels' Trailer: 'Loki' Head Writer Michael Waldron Takes You Into The Wrestling Ring

Before he was tapped to run Marvel Studios' Loki, Michael Waldron spent years developing Heels, a Starz show set in the world of wrestling which revolves around two brothers operating in the looming shadow of their father's legacy. He ran a writers' room for the series back in 2017, but the network didn't approve his casting choices. The show was put on a shelf while Waldron went to work on Rick and Morty and, eventually, the MCU. That's when Starz came calling, and since Waldron was tied up elsewhere, Mike O'Malley (Shameless) took over as the showrunner.

Working in Hollywood is often a game of patience. Even though Loki has already wrapped up its whole first season, Heels is finally about to have its series premiere. Check out a new trailer for the show below.

I was on board here until the moment when Stephen Amell's Jack Spade says to his wife, "I haven't finished the script...who should win?" and she takes a beat and responds, "Us." I'm not sure if it's just the way this trailer is cut, but that super cheesy response does not feel in line with the rest of the tone here, which is more focused on a profound battle for the souls of these rival brothers. (The other brother is played by Vikings alum Alexander Ludwig.) But I suspect wrestling fans will find a lot to like here since this highly specialized world doesn't often get put under the microscope in a character study like this.

Alison Luff (New Amsterdam) co-stars as Jack's wife, Staci, Mary McCormack (House of Lies) plays Jack's business partner, Willie Day, Kelli Berglund (The Goldbergs) plays Ace's valet/love interest, Allen Maldonado (The Last O.G.) plays a wrestler named Rooster Robbins, James Harrison (S.W.A.T.) plays a jaded wrestler named Apocalypse, and Chris Bauer (The Wire) plays a former wrestling star named Wild Bill Hancock who is now a professional wrestling scout.Heels is set in a close-knit Georgia community and "follows a family-owned wrestling promotion business and the rivalry between two brothers who war over their late father's legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel. But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind."Heels premieres on Starz on August 15, 2021.