Heels arrived on Starz in 2021 as the first big TV gig for Stephen Amell following eight seasons of Arrow and for Alexander Ludwig after five seasons of Vikings. The show would ultimately only run for two seasons before being unceremoniously cancelled on a major cliffhanger in 2023, with uncertain fates for Jack and Ace after the elder Spade brother's serious injury. As it turns out, though, that Starz cancellation might not be the end of the road for Heels... if the stars have their way, anyway. Both actors recently shared almost exactly the same message with fans, and it's clear both are on board for a third season beyond the 2024 TV schedule.
The stars are active on the Heels front again with their show just weeks away from arriving on streaming for Netflix subscribers, and a big question is if the show could experience a surge of popularity like Suits did before it. Stephen Amell, who previously had a more cryptic message for fans hoping for Heels to be uncancelled, posted this on Instagram about the Netflix news:
We’re dropping 16 episodes of Heels on @netflix September 15th. I’d like to make more.
Amell is on board to "make more" of the wrestling TV show, despite the fact that he is currently slated to star in NBC's Suits: LA series that received a straight-to-series order. While the earliest I can imagine the Suits spinoff being ready for premiere would be midseason 2025, Amell presumably will be busy with that gig for the foreseeable future.
Alexander Ludwig shared almost identical sentiments on his own Instagram page. He wrote:
16 episodes of our show HEELS Lands on @Netflix on September 15th. Click that reminder. We’d like to make a lot more.
Ludwig is also attached to a different project, although not an ongoing TV series like Amell. The Vikings alum was cast in the horror thriller Night Comes, which will be the feature film directing debut of former Magnum P.I. star Jay Hernandez. Still, he's clearly down to play Ace Spade again, given the chance.
But will there be a chance? It's certainly not unprecedented for a show or franchise to receive new life with a streaming boost. It happened in short order for NBC's Manifest on Netflix (and a spinoff could still happen), and Suits: LA likely wouldn't be in the works at all if the original series hadn't become such a hit both among Netflix subscribers and Peacock Premium subscribers. Netflix success for Heels could open doors for a third season.
As for the question of whether Suits: LA would be too time consuming for Amell to reprise his co-lead role as Jack Spade, showrunner Mike O'Malley (whose Extended Family was cancelled earlier this year) told this to EW:
To a person, every single person involved in this show wants to make more Heels. The success of Suits: LA will just drive more people to watching Stephen’s work on Netflix. It doesn’t take that long to make a season of Heels. It’s very labor intensive, but there are windows of time during hiatuses to make more.
Mike O'Malley seems to be banking on Suits: LA becoming a hit in that statement, although it is probably a safe bet that Amell will have more eyes on him on NBC than he did on The CW as the lead of Arrow or on Starz. Amell would also presumably be very busy if Heels is rescued and he's filming a wrestling drama while on hiatus from his legal drama, but it's clear that the drive is there.
For now, a lot undoubtedly depends on how many people are willing to stream Heels on Netflix. Both seasons will be available on the streamer starting on September 15; with only sixteen episodes of the whole series, a binge-watch at least wouldn't be as much of a time commitment as shows like Suits and Manifest were.
You can also find more of both Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig on Netflix, with all seasons of Arrow and of Vikings already available streaming.
