We have so much to share with you about Heels, the upcoming drama on Starz, premiering on August 15.
We had the opportunity to visit with the cast during their virtual press day, and we’re bringing all of it to you.
Our first interview was with Alison Luff and Kelli Berglund. Alison plays Staci Spade, wife of Jack Spade (Stephen Amell), and Kelli is Crystal, valet for Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig). Here’s your opportunity to get to know a little bit about their characters before the premiere.
Kelli, starting with you, can each of you tell me a little bit about your characters and your perspective?
Kelli: Sure. So, Crystal is Ace’s valet. And for those who don’t know what a valet is, it’s by definition a wrestler’s manager, but I like to consider her kind of like a cheerleader as well. So she runs out in the ring with him and gets the crowd also to love Ace and cheer for him and love him.
But as we learn more about Crystal, we learn that she has aspirations of her own to get in the ring one day. She grew up watching matches her whole life at the dome, and I think she sees herself under those lights one day.
But she knows her place right now, and she’s got to work her way up and eventually prove it to the guys that she can be right there with them.
Thank you. Alison, what about you?
Alison: Yeah. So Staci is the young matriarch of the Spade family. She’s married to the oldest brother, Jack Spade, and I like to think of her as the queen of accountability, which is a great attribute for any partner, right?
We kind of meet her at a crossroads in her life. She’s a stay-at-home mom when we meet her, but her son is eight years old. He’s no longer a toddler that she’s got to stay home with every day, Jack is away at work, and when we meet her, she feels like she’s lost a bit of her old self and is longing for more.
She’s painted the bedrooms, she’s remodeled the house, so to speak, and as the story unfolds, we get to see her start to take on a sense of her independence more. And then how that affects her at-home life for the better.
And Kelli, although she’s a valet, Crystal also wants to get into the business, as you said, and she’s also kind of Ace’s love interest. And as a result, as he’s in the ring and his story is changing, he’s taking out a lot of his frustration on Crystal.
She’s still trying to prove herself worthy of being in the ring. At what point do you think that she would give up those dreams? How much would be too much for her?
Kelli: I think she knows what she’s getting herself into. She has seen this world for a really long time, and it just so happens that she has this very intense relationship with Ace as well. And while I think she really cares for him and is a major support system for him, she has to start worrying about Crystal and her needs.
I think she’s put that on the back burner for so long that she has to have a breakthrough at some point. So while I don’t think she would ever want to hurt Ace or see him left in the dust, I think she would do what she needs to do for her.
I mean, she’s a small-town girl that doesn’t come from a lot, and she has really big dreams and benefits a lot from this relationship with Ace.
But like I said, I think she sees herself beyond it and is ready for the challenge because all she wants to do is prove herself, and she’ll do whatever it takes to do that.
And Alison, at one point in the first four episodes, Staci entertains her college friends, and she seems a little embarrassed about what Jack does.
What do you think her overall thoughts are on her marriage and how he’s going to jobs and being actually in the ring?
Alison: I think it’s a little bit of the grass is always greener. And I don’t think that Staci really predicted that her life was going to be where it was at.
You know, she got into this marriage, they met in college, she got into this relationship knowing that wrestling was a big part of the family, but I don’t think she ever thought that she would see herself in Duffy, Georgia, for as long as she was.
I think she’s a very creative being, maybe had that creative side been more cultivated, they wouldn’t be here, and I think that’s one thing she loves about Jack too, right?
As he’s a writer, he’s an extremely creative individual. But real life happens, and they had a really big event happen in their family that brought them home. So I think that when she has that moment with her friends, it’s a bit of that “what if” that we ask ourselves.
Like, “what if I had just taken that turn?” or “what if this hadn’t happened? Where would I be?” And would she be happier, or would she not be happier, you know?
Heels premieres on Sunday, August 15 at 9/8c only on Starz.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.