Mary McCormack is returning to the small screen.
Starz today announced the beloved actress has been cast in the role of Willie in the series Heels.
McCormack’s character is the business partner of Jack Spade (played by Stephen Amell in the series) and logistical brains behind the local wrestling organization who came up in the glory days as Wild Bill’s (Chris Bauer) valet, but grew tired of babysitting and left him just as his career took off.
His return to the local circuit complicates her life, as does the reflection of her younger self that she sees in Crystal (Kelli Berglund).
McCormack is widely known for her four seasons as a regular cast member of The West Wing, as the lead of the critically acclaimed In Plain Sight and for her role opposite Howard Stern in Private Parts.
McCormack’s recent television work includes starring roles in the The Kids are Alright, Loaded, Welcome to the Family, The Newsroom, Scandal, House of Lies, and Will & Grace, among others.
She is also set to appear in the upcoming anthology series Treehouse and produces the non-scripted 25 Words or Less which was just renewed for a second season.
McCormack earned a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play in 2008 for her performance in BOEING-BOEING.
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 war over their late father’s legacy.
In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel.
But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.
The series is written by Michael Waldron (Loki, Rick and Morty) with Mike O’Malley (Survivor’s Remorse, Shameless) serving as showrunner.
Along with Waldron and O’Malley, LBI Entertainment’s Julie Yorn (Hell or High Water, White Boy Rick, The Dirt), Peter Segal (Get Smart, 50 First Dates, Tommy Boy, Shameless), Chris Donnelly and Patrick Walmsley will also serve as Executive Producers.
Heels is produced by Lionsgate TV for STARZ in association with Paramount Television Studios. Vice President of Original Programming, Samantha Offsay Nissen, is the executive overseeing Heels on behalf of Starz.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.