Starz brought down the hammer today, canceling its wrestling series Heels as well as Blindspotting and Run the World, IGN has confirmed with the network. It’s also not moving forward with unaired drama series The Venery of Samantha Bird.
The Wrap first broke the news of the cancellations. A source tells IGN that, while the network was fond of Blindspotting, Run the World, and Heels creatively, they could not find large enough audiences to justify continuing, although they hope to work with the producers on the shows on other projects in the future.
Heels starred Arrow’s Stephen Amell as Jack Spade, a “heel” who inherited Duffy Wrestling League from his father and, along with his brother Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig), vied for it to get national attention. It got largely positive reviews, with IGN’s Matt Fowler writing in his 8/10 review of the series premiere that it “stands as a great TV follow-up for Arrow's Stephen Amell and the best dramatization of pro-wrestling's backstage drama to date.”
Blindspotting, meanwhile, was a spinoff series of the 2018 film of the same name, created and executive produced by that movie’s writers, producers, and stars Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs. Run the World followed a group of women in Harlem as they navigated their lives and careers, and all three canceled series just recently aired their second seasons.
According to The Wrap, The Venery of Samantha Bird, which was set to star 13 Reasons Why’s Katherine Langford, only had two more episodes to film before its cancellation, but was impacted heavily by the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
It’s a major move to pull the plug on four series at once, especially as its hit Outlander is approaching its final season. Per The Wrap, a decision has not yet been made on The Minx, which concluded its second season earlier this month.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
