Starz cancels Stephen Amell’s Heels, plus Run The World and Blindspotting
Starz has found an odd way to celebrate the WGA's tentative new deal
Aux News Stephen Amell
While Hollywood writers are celebrating the (likely but not official yet) end of the WGA strike and the fact that they can get back to work soon, Starz has decided to get back to work a little quicker… by rolling out the guillotine and canceling some shows, with one cancellation in particular seeming explicitly cruel to one specific person, given the timing of this news and the assumption that it shouldn’t be too much longer before SAG-AFTRA gets a deal of its own.
Either way, Starz has canceled Blindspotting, Run The World, and Heels, all of which just recently aired their second seasons. The network has also killed The Venery Of Samantha Bird, a new series with Katherine Langford that had started filming before the start of the WGA strike and now will not be resumed—though Variety says that only two episodes hadn’t been shot yet, so the fact that it’s being canceled now suggests that the studios are still going to be spending some time cleaning up the messes they made by refusing to make deals with the unions for so long.
As for Heels, well, at a certain point, someone hypothetically could start to feel bad for star Stephen Amell. When the show’s second season premiered just a few weeks into the SAG-AFTRA strike, Amell openly rebelled against union rules preventing members from promoting struck work, first with cheeky social media posts and then by denouncing the very act of striking in general at a convention appearance. He later tried to walk back those comments, explaining that he was frustrated by the need to strike even though he understood why the strike was happening, and—to his credit—he did later show up on the picket lines in New York.
Now all of that was for a show that got canceled hours after the WGA announced that it had a tentative deal. If nothing else, this should all make it pretty clear just who you’re siding with when you choose management over your fellow workers—whether you’re in Hollywood or a regular job where nobody asks you for bad labor opinions at a comic book convention.
28 Comments
Grrr, I just started watching Heels and the second season ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. … Actually, it’s a lot of a cliffhanger. Like multiple cliffhangers.
Very good show, excellent dialogue, and the perfect antidote for people who’ve been finding Ahsoka to be a bit slow.
Yeah seriously. The show is legit good, and the cliffhanger was very interesting. i knew as soon as the cliffhanger happened, we’d never get resolution (cancellation).
I don’t think a network that part of the AMPTP would cancel a show because the main star sided with them.There’s a lot of rumor about Stephen Amell’s behaviour on set that might lead to production trouble or legal situation. Or the new deal with WGA might burden Starz pocket line (residual, etc). So they cancel a lot of show and just buy other syndicated program or made cheaper show.
I’ve heard he’s an asshole (i.e. rude, dismissive) which can be a big problem since he’s the lead and everyone has to put up with him, but not exactly something that causes production to fall behind or creates a legal situation. What have you heard?
Has anyone heard from Minx?! They’re not answering their phone!
wtf is starz and by association blindspotting, run the world, and heels lol
Seriously! I canceled my Starz add-on immediately after Minx and Heels wrapped up. I might pick it up for a month to binge Shining Vale. But the only other shows I look forward to are Outlander and Party Down, neither of which have a chance of airing new episodes until late-2024 at the earliest, the latter of which is far from guaranteed. Before, the network’s only saving grace was that it staggered the watchable shows enough that I didn’t bother canceling between seasons.
They had a show called Black Sails about Carribbean pirates (a prequel to Treasure Island) that was awesome.
Fingers crossed for my Toes script I’m submitting
Sounds like it has legs.
I never watched Heels. Just not my style. But to all those fans who enjoyed it and are bummed out/peeved, I can relate. It’s exactly how I felt when they cancelled Ash vs Evil Dead. Maybe they can finish all the unresolved issues on WWE or AEW. In a storyline WWE or AEW buys them out to resolve their legal issues, and then Jack recovers and get his rematch for the title, then they all just get future endeavored. End of a season 3 in a few of episodes and one PLE.
Bummer about Heels but not surprising. I don’t know hardly anyone that watches it and of the ones that do, they’re wrestling fans like me. Despite it being a solid show on its own, it just felt like its very niche to where non-wrestling fans wouldn’t give it much of a shot.
I’m not a wrestling fan, but Heels, like GLOW and Fighting with My Family before it, shows the passion, heart and athleticism that goes into it. I rooted for Crystal the person as much as Crystal the wrestler!
I’m a former wrestling fan and I love Heels. Super disappointed it’s cancelled.
“so the fact that it’s being canceled now suggests that the studios are still going to be spending some time cleaning up the messes they made by refusing to make deals with the unions for so long.”
Huh?
Starz must have taken it personally the show wasn’t spelled Heelz.
Stephen Amell should’ve been tapped on the shoulder to play Paul Walker’s brother in the Fast & Furious franchise. Their resemblance each other was eerie—unlike John Cena and Vin Diesel cast as bros—not the most believable casting. But Amell replacing Walker would’ve been a great fit.
Somehow the Heels cancellation has to be CM Punk’s fault.
Ricky Rabies threatened Jack during the big FWD/DWL crossover!
Heels was a good show and I think Amell’s initial comments about the strike was frustration around the likelihood that the show was going to be cancelled while he and the rest of the cast were barred from promoting it – it was his passion project.
As William Shatner put it, “I guess irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.”
I think Blindspotting is a great show and am saddened by this. But, based on the fact that I’m the only one that commented, maybe I’m the only one that thought this and that’s why it was canceled.
I loved the original movie but never got around to checking out the series. Better jump in soon in case it disappears like season 2 & 3 of American Gods
I actually never saw the movie. I need to swing back and watch that.
I’m with you, Blindspotting was great. At least we got two seasons and a movie.(There are dozens of us!)
I loved Blindspotting, and am angry it was canceled.
So sad to see Run the World go. I hope they can be picked up by another network or streaming service. This was one of the best shows on TV and deserved to be on an even better network than Starz, which didn’t promote it properly. I was looking forward to season 3 and this is just another blow to high quality black shows that are always taken off the air before they should be. The show was important, witty, had great production value and dialog and if more people watched it, they would have enjoyed it. Thanks to Starz, very few people even knew about the show.Starz will cancel this, a show that avoided stereotypes, hypersexualization and degrading images of black women but will keep P Valley on and normalize the life of lowlife strippers, criminals and twisted feminine males. This is how insane these decision makers are. Hopefully some exec in Hollywood will see the value of this show and allow it to continue.
So sad to see Run the World go. I hope they can be picked up by another network or streaming service. This was one of the best shows on TV and deserved to be on an even better network than Starz, which didn’t promote it properly.I was looking forward to season 3 and this is just another blow to high quality black shows that are always taken off the air before they should be. The show was important, witty, had great production value and dialog and if more people watched it, they would have enjoyed it. Thanks to Starz, very few people even knew about the show.Starz will cancel this, a show that avoided stereotypes, hypersexualization and degrading images of black women but will keep P Valley on and normalize the life of lowlife strippers, criminals and twisted feminine males. This is how insane these decision makers are. Hopefully some exec in Hollywood will see the value of this show and allow it to continue.