Heels is nominally focused on the Spade brothers, Jack and Ace, and their evolving relationship as heirs to their local wrestling league. But the show is much more than that, as it opens up to explore the rest of the minor wrestling federation’s bombastic players in the ring — and their human stories outside of it. It’s something that the show’s cast are keenly aware gives it an edge over other shows, and helps propel it beyond the heights of the first season.
That drama only gets more intense and introspective in the show’s sophomore outing, which is something the cast embraced wholeheartedly. During an interview with CBR ahead of Heels‘ Jul. 28 second season premiere on Starz, Robby Ramos (Diego Cottonmouth), Allen Maldonado (Rooster Robbins), and Trey Tucker (Bobby Pin) sat down to discuss the biggest surprises of the new batch of episodes, the dramatic strength of show’s storylines, and the strength of the season’s new scripts exceeding their expectations.
CBR: Heels really takes you all on some surprising paths this season. What surprised you the most in this new batch of episodes?
Allen Maldoanado: I mean, the writing man. The writing. You know, after Season 1, [and] the incredible work that all the writers did for that season, to come back and season two for them to be this head and shoulders above what they did in the first season? That was definitely a surprise. The bar was already set [so] high and what they were able to do with the storylines for Season 2 is incredible. I’m definitely excited for everyone to enjoy all of our characters explore more of their dreams.
Trey Trucker: The whole thing is lots of surprises. For Bobby, what really surprised me — I don’t know if I’m gonna call it at the time, what I was most impressed by was just how much deeper we get to know these people, and how kind of how complex we get to see that their lives are because of this thing that they love, you know? All in their own backgrounds. With the Spades, Jack, Ace and their family history with the DWL specifically. [Heels] isn’t a show about wrestling, but it is a show about wrestling.
We want to honor what wrestling is to people who love it, because it deserves it. We want to talk about these people. They’re not just like wrestlers that get in the ring and show off. These people are people, they give themselves in every way to this thing. And I think I’ve said it a couple of times today, Season 1 was kind of like a peek behind the curtain. Season 2, we’ve just blown right through it. I think that people are gonna enjoy it.
Robby Ramos: Yeah, I think the mental health aspect — I mean, we really dive deep into that part of the family. Wrestlers kind of dealing with their dreams maybe not being realized, or if you do get that success, what ends up happening with that success? That comes with money and other issues, and what are you sacrificing for that success? There’s a lot of Wild Bill’s arc in this season that I just found amazing, man and the writing — like Alan said, some of those episodes are, I think, some of the best drama you’re gonna see on TV.
Heels returns to Starz on Jul. 28.