EXCLUSIVE: Chris Bauer (The Deuce), Allen Maldonado (The Last O.G.) and James Harrison (S.W.A.T.) are set as series regulars opposite Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig in Heels, Starz’s eight-episode hourlong drama set in the outrageous world of independent professional wrestling. Kelli Berglund and Alison Luff also star.

Written by Michael Waldron and directed by Peter Segal, with Mike O’Malley as showrunner, Heels is a story about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals, Jack Spade (Amell) and Ace Spade (Ludwig), war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy (Ludwig) and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel (Amell). But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.

Bauer will play Wild Bill Hancock, a larger-than-life former wrestling star who is now a high-level pro wrestling scout. Maldonado portrays Rooster Robbins, one of the best wrestlers in the circuit who always has something to prove, and always backs it up. Harrison is Apocalypse, a been-around-the-block journeyman wrestler who’s been at it for decades and has no illusions of fame or glory.

Heels is produced by Lionsgate TV in association with Paramount TV Studios. Along with Waldron, Segal and O’Malley, LBI Entertainment’s Julie Yorn, Chris Donnelly and Patrick Walmsley serve as executive producers.

Bauer most recently starred in The Deuce and For All Mankind. He portrayed Jimmy Flaherty for four seasons of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse, and also starred in True Blood. He’ll next be seen opposite Denzel Washington in the Warner Bros. film The Little Things. Bauer is repped by Peg Donegan and attorneys Ira Schreck and Carolyn Conrad of Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.

Maldonado most recently appeared on You’re the Worst, The Last O.G. and Black-ish. His feature credits include Straight Outta Compton, Cake and the film remake of Superfly. He’s repped by Red Baron Management and CAA.

Harrison, a two-time Super Bowl champion, landed his first role on the big screen in the 2019 indie movie Remember Amnesia and guest-starred on S.W.A.T. He’s repped by UTA, attorney Jonathan Shikora and manager PR1 Communication.