[Wild Bill] Previously on Heels...
[Tom] Man, we are losing money.
We are losing so much fuckin' money.
I'm such a fuckin' failure.
What's going on here, Willie?
Tom and I made an agreement years ago
that we would do whatever we need to do
to keep this place alive,
and you don't need to worry about what those things are.
-Are they legal? -Some are.
[Staci] Well, whatever those other ones are,
we're not doing 'em anymore.
[commentator] For those of you wondering what was that,
that was The Condamned.
-[Jack] Ace Spade is back. -[Gully] Dystopia was
supposed to end the night up with a ring invasion.
Instead, we end the night down in front of a thousand people.
I am not used to having to run everything by a partner.
Get used to it!
Or the lawsuit is back on!
So I have some thoughts on how this should go.
Why should I let you book what happens in my ring
and trust that you're actually gonna go through with it?
Well, first off, you get to punch me in the face.
-Yay, Dad. -Yeah. Yay, me.
[Brooks] Last year, total revenue
from professional wrestling was 1.095 billion.
I guess I could grow to love professional wrestling.
[Gully] Brooks Rizzo just texted.
He's gonna be a little bit late.
We're not gonna start the show without him.
So meet him out there for will-call,
sit next to him during the show.
If he needs anything, get it to him.
You were right about the women's league.
We'll make Gully put you in a match with one of his women.
You get in that ring at Dystopia
and just say, "Shove it up your ass.
I'm here to sparkle."
And I'll be there to protect you.
[Gully] Hey, listen up, Crystal.
This right here is a two-year contract for you to join FWD.
You get the hell away from her.
You cannot buy Crystal Tyler.
She's no sellout...
like you!
-[whack] -[Jack groans]
Nice writing, Jack.
[exciting music]
♪ ♪
Wherever you are, Jack Spade,
this isn't over.
-Dystopia for life! -[crowd cheers]
[Brooks] Excuse me.
Somebody told me that you work with Crystal Tyler
-and the Spade brothers. -I do.
I'm Brooks Rizzo.
I would love to know more about them.
Like what?
Everything. [small laugh]
[mellow rock music plays]
♪ ♪
[singer] ♪ I'm not waiting for ♪
♪ The answer ♪
♪ ♪
♪ I will ♪
♪ Walk in the shore ♪
♪ To find you ♪
♪ To find ♪
♪ The peace that's your own ♪
♪ Where you come from ♪
♪ All that you want ♪
♪ ♪
♪ One that's your own ♪
♪ Place to call home ♪
♪ Won't be ♪
♪ Granted ♪
♪ What is fair in love ♪
♪ Is fair in war ♪
♪ ♪
♪ What is fair in love ♪
♪ Is fair in war ♪
♪ One ♪
♪ To one ♪
♪ What's love ♪
♪ In war? ♪
♪ ♪
[mellow music plays]
[Dick Valentino] Number three on the Dick Valentino
"Top Ten Swerves of the Week" is not out of WWE,
Ring of Honor, or New Japan,
but Florida Wrestling Dystopia.
In the build-up to what's shaping up to be
a hot cross-promotion, "God of Chaos" Charlie Gully
has stolen DWL's Crystal Tyler
-away from Jack Spade... -[mimics crowd roaring]
[Dick] and signed her to a new contract.
Visit Dystopia's Instagram
to see clips of this one, folks.
-This gal's a star! -[mimics crowd roaring]
[Dick] The Duffy Wrestling League
out of Southwestern Georgia
has had a notable run recently,
with the defection of Rooster Robbins,
the injury to Bobby Pin,
and the addition of Rabid Ricky Rabies
and Hall of Famer Wild Bill Hancock to their roster.
Absent in all of this
has been the Luchador Diego Cottonmouth.
Maybe Jack Spade just is not a fan
-of Diego Cottonmouth anymore. -[Diego sighs]
But the big story is The Condamned,
the DWL's new hooded hell-raiser
on a vengeance tour.
Watch out for this guy, folks.
Your friend Dick Valentino will invite The Condamned
to discuss the drama at work and play
in the hallowed halls of the DWL.
If you're making a mess, make sure you clean it up.
I'm making a vision board.
It's a tool to help me
manifest my goals for my new gimmick,
"The Condamned," in the ring
but also my own personal goals in life.
You seem to distractedly be doing
a lot of very uncharacteristic stuff.
Not distractedly. Intentionally.
Mama, I'm realizing that...
I always looked at my mistakes as like...
malfunctions instead of what they are--
choices, made by a dude who's led an unexamined life.
Unexamined because I've always been preoccupied,
playing four sports a year,
always in the car going to practice,
at practice, from practice, from a game,
working out, recovering, resting,
always trying to improve so I can compete,
leaving no room for just...
thinkin',
contemplating, reflecting.
How can I be a part of a greater good?
How can I be a light and help.
And if we don't do that, then we're just...
wingin' it.
I don't wanna wing it anymore.
That's all fine.
But you appear to be
wildly swingin' from branch to branch like a monkey.
Leaving Duffy, returning to Duffy.
Hatin' wrestling, rediscovering it.
Merging a gimmick with real life,
callin' that the result of reflection.
So while you are transforming "winging it" into your vision
for who you should be, consider the following:
earnin' a living.
Now, unless you're certain that that glue
isn't gonna wind up all over my dining room table,
you lay some newspaper down.
[mellow instrumentals]
[train crossing bell dinging]
♪ ♪
Need us for background, Chief?
Uh, no, I'm good.
-Wait. -Don't lecture me.
-One word is not a lecture. -It is from you.
Please wait till we get good news.
We may not get good news.
Then save it until we get bad news
so there's more for us to drown our sorrows with together.
[country western music in background]
[young Willie] I gotta say, Bill, it's all so excitin'!
Amen! We are on the verge, Willie.
[Willie laughs]
What do y'all think Ted Turner's really like?
Ted Turner's just a good ole boy.
Stop movin' 'less you wanna get real stuck like a pig.
I can't believe Ted Turner's
even talkin' about us wrestling on TV!
Because his man Eric Bischoff's seen what we do.
'Cause word's out about how we do what we do.
Now Ted's about to pay us to do more of what we do.
W-C-W!
[both chanting] W-C-W!
[all] W-C-W!
I'm gonna go ahead and stash the liquor in the bathroom.
People get judge-y about booze at work nowadays.
-Good idea. -I have them on occasion.
[Willie] Hey. Just be yourself.
Seems to be workin' for me.
I was talking to Jack.
[Ace sighs]
Ace, look at you, all geared up.
Very method.
It's what he came to see, ain't it?
Damn it!
[Willie] What? What's wrong?
I forgot the crown. Should I go home and get it?
-[Jack] I think we're good. -[car door closes]
Okay. He's here.
-[Debbie] Brooks? Hi. -[Jack] All right.
Deb's gonna bring him up.
Well, good luck to the both of you then.
Every question he asks, ask three of him.
People love talking about themselves.
So, ferme la bouche.
-Always a good strategy. -Yeah.
-Ferme la bouche, la douche. -[Wild Bill chuckles]
[Willie] Okay. Well, you text us if you need rescuing.
-[Ace] Oh, we got this. -All right, good, good luck.
That's pretty wet--you're gonna wanna wipe that off.
You think he's gonna be all right?
-Time will tell. -Maybe we should go back in.
-We weren't invited. -Exactly my point.
-Here we go again. -[sighs]
Stay present and preoccupied.
Focus elsewhere for more productive ends.
Let's rustle up the troops.
If we're gonna take this promotion to the next level,
we gotta get a whole lot better at this one,
tout suite!
-Staci Spade, lookin' sharp. -[Staci] Morning, Bill.
-Morning, Willie. -Morning.
-Did the meeting start? -Just about to, I believe.
Do I have any food in my teeth?
My eyes are terrible.
-You're good. -Thanks.
Fingers crossed.
I don't get it. Jack doesn't invite us,
the two people who made this possible, and he invites her?
Why?
First of all, because she's his wife.
Second, same reason I'd invite her
if I was having that meeting.
A smart woman makes any man look smarter and stable.
Just like you do for me, ravishing princess.
I gotta get in the Dome.
My master class is about to begin.
[newscaster] Yesterday, in a surprise verdict,
former football star OJ Simpson
was found not guilty of murder
in the case of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
With more on the story, we're going to Tim Felix.
[Tim] That's right, I'm here now...
Howdy.
Tom Spade to see Mr. Turner.
Yes, Mr. Spade, welcome.
I'll let Mr. Turner know you're here.
[Joe] There he is. Looking sharp, Tom.
Joe, I can't thank you and Eric enough
for your belief in me in this introduction.
You're a heck of a wrestler, Tom--easy to do.
-Morning, Delores. -Morning, Mr. Canniff.
Your boy OJ had a lucky day, eh?
Oh, he's not my boy, Mr. Canniff.
Ted is gonna love you.
Ted is just very invested in the talent
that represents his name and his networks.
Don't BS him.
He's sincere. Real. Confident.
And that's why he's gonna like you.
Just be yourself.
I'm off to Houston. I'll call you tonight.
[phone rings]
[Delores] Ted Turner's office. Can I help you?
Hi.
Meeting's still going. That's a good sign.
[Wild Bill] One would think.
So how long till we're on WCW Nitro?
Not in our control. In due time.
How do I let 'em know I don't wanna just be your valet?
By being the best valet you can be.
Boo. Bad answer.
We just gotta make each spot in our matches shine.
Word will get around that you wanna wrestle.
We just gotta work hard and do whatever they ask
before we ask for what we want.
But we still got to speak up.
We speak up by making ourselves indispensable.
With no drama.
That's no way to get ahead fast.
You watch how soon we climb the ladder
not by asking for anything
but by being hard-workin' and reliable.
[Willie laughs]
Mr. Turner begs your pardon,
but he'll be just a few more minutes.
[Willie] What the hell could they still be talking about?
Yachts.
I'm gonna get some more smokes.
Uh...you got any dough? I'm skint.
I'll get some snacks too.
More than beef jerky this time!
[Wild Bill] Will do, milady.
Even pay you back with interest, once we make it.
[laughs] Splurge.
More time Tom's schmoozing Ted, more rich we're gonna be.
Don't bank that cash yet.
Money changes people.
Especially 'fore the money comes.
For all we know, Tom's up there cutting us out.
He would never do that.
Judas betrayed the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver.
Ted Turner's got a Fort Knox of silver.
[Willie laughs]
[door opens]
I beg your pardon, Mr. Spade,
but Mr. Turner needs to reschedule.
How come?
I'm not always aware of the reasons, Mr. Spade.
But I'll reach out this week to find something convenient.
Well, today was convenient.
I have my own obligations I put aside.
-I understand. -Not sure you do.
I'd like to just pop in and say hello.
He's not there, Mr. Spade.
Now you're just messin' with me.
I been sittin' here this whole time, eyes open.
I did not see him leave.
He has a separate entrance.
Now, I'll reach out later this week,
when I know the rest of his schedule.
Please do. I have a schedule too.
[knock on door]
Jack, uh, Mr. Rizzo has arrived.
[Jack] Thank you, Debbie. Brooks, welcome.
Jack, good to see you again.
It was a bit of a chaotic introduction backstage
down there at Dystopia.
We have to keep our heads down and the kayfabe up.
That's my brother Ace.
Wow. That was really something last night.
-Pleasure to meet you, Ace. -[Ace] Thank you so much.
Sorry I couldn't stay at the show.
I had to duck out and hide in Jack's car.
It's all good. I get it.
We appreciate you comin' to see us here in person.
We know Duffy's out the way.
[Ace] Of everything.
I like the drive here, all the winding roads,
and then, uh, pulling up on the water tower, the neon sign.
You got a lotta character in this town.
We grew up here.
-Our dad... -God rest his soul.
bought this place three decades ago.
[Ace] He died last year.
He saw potential. May I get you some coffee?
Sure. Thank you.
Hey. Sorry, I'm late.
Brooks, this is the lovely Staci Spade,
who thankfully spilled a beer on me
at a Georgia/Florida football tailgate 10 1/2 years ago.
[Staci] Yeah. Being clumsy paid off.
I got this handsome piece of meat called Jack out of it.
Pleased to meet you.
-Mrs. Spade. -No, please, call me Staci.
W-we're so appreciative you're taking time
to get to know more about us.
There you are. Maybe sit.
-Got you right here. -Oh, yeah.
Uh, as I was telling Jack on the phone,
our streaming platform Continuum
is looking to add a sporting element
to our programming portfolio.
-I wish I knew what that meant. -[laughter]
It means that we're a fledgling streaming service
that just got a big round of funding.
So now we're being considered for a merger
with an even-bigger streaming service,
if we can exponentially grow our subscriber base.
And professional wrestling, I'm learning,
is very big business.
Very.
We wanna build something from the ground up.
So maybe you can all tell me what you're about.
Let's start at the beginning.
The first time I went off the top rope
-was the day I turned two. -[laughter]
[Wild Bill] All righty!
I'm instituting a lecture series here at the DWL.
So open your minds, shut your mouths,
and take your fuckin' seats.
-[laughter] -[Debbie] Wow.
The elephant in the room is not an elephant.
On these very premises,
there is a man from an entertainment entity
interested in the DWL.
When he leaves, we will learn how piqued his interest is
and what it might mean for our future.
Part of what it means
is validation for what we've accomplished.
We have drawn attention to Duffy.
-Whoo! -Whoo!
-[Debbie] All right! -[Diego] Yeah.
But that's done.
It's in the past.
Right now, every one of us needs to be thinking,
"What can I do to make our visitor's interest pay off?"
We all have one thing in common.
One day we showed up here with a version of...
-knock-knock. I wanna wrestle. -[light laughter]
Each of us surmised we had something
other people might marvel at.
Which is a little presumptuous. And a little insane.
Truth is, no one needs what we do.
We are the very definition of a nonessential industry,
one we've invited ourselves into.
You gotta ask yourself,
"Do I have what it takes?"
Some might say, "Yes, Bill. I worked hard.
I paid my dues."
Don't.
Entitlement is a sin.
"Hard work pays off" is one of the biggest lies in life.
Hard work is just hard work. Will it pay off?
Shit, flip a coin.
This business is littered with folks
who worked their ass off, got jack shit to show for it.
We better be askin' "How can we be exceptional?"
I am lookin' for keepers of the flame here, folks.
Come up with something great.
Go back through history.
Elizabethan drama, commedia dell'arte--
the average storytelling mode lasts a generation
before it becomes too familiar, too trite.
The vessel no longer serves as a conduit
for a vital and heartbreaking narrative
on which the human soul thrives.
It becomes dismissible.
That is where we are with wrestling...
at the tail fucking end.
About to become dismissible, a useless vessel.
Let me state again:
no one is asking us to wrestle.
Our risk of life and limb is our choice.
So what promise will we make to ourselves to make it worth it?
[soft, stirring music]
Pick up a pen and a notebook and start writing down
what you want from this endeavor
and what you are willing to do to get it.
Only then can we start working on our goals together.
Freedom!
-[all whooping] -Freedom!
[Gully] All right, Rooster. Make this one count.
-Action. -[Rooster] All I keep
hearing about is The Condamned.
See, as long as I got this belt...
the only name that should be coming out your mouth
is Rooster Robbins!
But it's cool. Ha ha ha. I get it.
The Condamned, he cool. And it's like he ziplined
right out the pages of a comic book.
Flying around the arena like he's Superman.
Ha ha ha ha! Whooping on a group of ten men.
So I'm callin' out The Condamned.
I'm callin' out Jack Spade.
I'm callin' out all of my so-called friends
that didn't have my back when I was in the DWL.
And when we meet...oh, yeah,
when we meet, I want the hero that y'all chose over me.
Yeah. I want The Condamned!
I want him in a last man standing match.
No more magic tricks.
Nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide!
Just you, me, one on one,
till there's one of us left standin'!
Oh, yeah.
And if you got the guts to show up...
I'll put this belt on the line.
Boom!
Fantastic. Okay.
Just do it one more time.
Slow it down a little bit. You're talkin' too fast.
Look, I ain't slowin' it down to be corny.
Yeah, I don't know about corny.
Just slow it the fuck down every once in a while
so I know what you're saying.
-People know what I mean. -The people.
I'm the people. I'm the people,
and I don't know what you're saying.
And I wrote it.
-[Paul] Hey, Charlie. -[Gully] Yes, sir.
I got the engagement numbers from last week's show.
Crystal had the biggest pop we ever had for a lady wrestler.
Holy shit.
Crystal.
-More Crystal. -I can read.
[phone tune plays]
The fuck you want?
Well, don't you have the prettiest mouth?
Fuck you. Whadda you want?
I want Crystal. And not in the biblical sense.
In the financially remunerative sense.
In the "we both know she's a star
"who's never gonna get her due
"in a world where Jack and Ace Spade
come first, second, third, and fourth" sense.
Yeah, well, I want a '55 Corvette
and a bottle of Macallan 25,
but we all learn to live with disappointment.
[chuckles] Willie, we've been dancing around each other
a while now, and if there's a moment
to jump ship, this is it.
Things are about to become highly rewarding down here.
This Brooks Rizzo fella seems to be real sweet on me.
You sure you're the only one he's sweet on?
Times a-wasting, Willie.
This train is leaving the station.
You want me jumping off ships, jumping on trains?
What the fuck's going on? Sounds like a shitty trip.
[Gully] I want Crystal to defect to Dystopia.
For real, not for kayfabe.
And I want you to be her front-of-house manager.
You should've been front-of-house a long time ago
not skulking in the shadows
like Miss Havisham in her fuckin' wedding veil.
[Willie] Maybe I like the shadows.
Yeah, that's like saying you like anal warts.
You could have been Crystal.
I don't live in the past.
Go talk to Crystal.
Float it out there. Send it up the flagpole.
See who salutes.
And while you're wondering
who you're gonna pledge allegiance to,
I want you to just have a think about what you want, Willie.
For yourself.
For your future.
-Tick-tock, Fucky. -[beep]
[somber music plays]
Hey, heard you were heading to Atlanta
for Ted turnaround number two.
Second attempt at round number one.
I'm glad Ted finally broke himself free six months later.
You want company on the ride up?
It's still all so exciting.
Willie, I need to let you in on something.
Somethin' serious.
Um...
Are you and Carol splitting up?
-No. Why would-- -Sorry.
Forget I said that.
I was just worried about y'all.
I just noticed tension lately.
They just want me up in Atlanta.
I don't wanna go to the meetin'.
I don't wanna be riding up for moral support.
They just want me right now
for the WCW.
They don't want Bill?
No, they don't.
Least not yet.
I hope to get some more insight after I sign my own contract.
And since they don't want Bill,
they don't want me as his valet.
It's a terrible business.
Doesn't have to be.
I'll bring you and Bill up there
once I knit myself into the organization.
If you say so, I believe you.
And don't tell Bill.
I want to tell him in person.
I'll tell him when I get back.
Tom.
[heavy, edgy music]
♪ ♪
Hey, Willie.
Is the big meeting over?
[Willie] Not yet.
Well, it's a long meeting.
So that's gotta be good, right?
Yeah, well, not always.
Um, listen, I...
I just got a phone call.
Kind of a weird one from Gully.
He wants you to make your kayfabe defection real.
He wants you at Dystopia permanently.
Well, he's an idiot.
No one's disputing that.
You don't actually think I should do it, do you?
I think that you and me...
I think we need to stop letting other people
make our decisions for us.
I think we need to start seeing things clearly
for what they really are.
He wants to bring me on as your front-of-house manager.
-You ever done that? -[laughs] No.
-Do you even want to? -I've never thought about it.
Well, I bet you'd be good.
He's just saying things he thinks I want to hear,
his audience is so much bigger,
and Brooks Rizzo's talking to him too,
and this is my... chance to...cash in.
Do you think I should do it?
No.
But I think you deserve to know what's out there.
Your offers.
I mean, look, if Jack lands a deal with this Continuum guy
and it pays off, great.
Great. We never had this conversation.
But even if that doesn't work out,
there's still the women's division here.
Yeah.
As long as Jack can put together
the money to get it going.
[somber music]
♪♪♪
There's all the friends that I've made here,
you know, everything that we're...building together.
Yeah, well, sometimes
people get so comfortable with the "building,"
they get scared of the "getting."
Look, I'm not telling you what to do,
'cause I don't even know what I would do.
The good part is we don't gotta decide
until we see how it all plays out.
And now you got some choices.
[Crystal sighs]
[background chatter]
[Joe] Thank you for being patient, Tom.
Ted's got a lot going on.
But he wouldn't be meeting with you
if he didn't want to meet with you.
Go in there and knock him dead.
Thanks, Joe.
Will do.
[suspenseful music plays]
♪ ♪
Mr. Spade, I'm so sorry,
but Mr. Turner has got to reschedule again.
-[Joe exhales] -There's a way
you treat people, and this is not the way you treat people.
This is not the way!
Look, Tom, please don't do this.
You don't do this Joe! I'm a man.
You don't treat a man like this.
I don't care how much money he has,
how many yachts he's got, how soft his hands have become.
It appears he doesn't know what it means
to be a man any more other than to let other men wait.
This is some goddamn bullshit!
Now, Tom, come on, man.
This is big business we're talking here.
All due respect, I'm not some fuckin' fool
Ted Turner has on a chain he can yank
whenever he feels like it. Fuck him!
[Joe] Tom.
[running footsteps]
-[Willie gasps] -Howdy.
-He's back! -Can I buy that Porsche now?
[Tom] Not today. But soon.
How'd it go?
It went less well than I had wished.
But that's how things go sometimes.
-What was he like? -I don't know.
Didn't get to meet him again today.
But one day I will,
and only then will Ted Turner discover
he disrespected the wrong person twice.
I told Joe and Eric I'm stepping away from the deal.
The fuck are you talking about?
What deal?
What are you fuckin' stepping away from?
Don't you fuckin' talk to me that way.
I'll talk to you whichever way I want.
You didn't just have your future in your hands, Tom,
you had all of ours!
[Tom] Calm down.
I already got a call in to Vince's people.
They heard Turner was circling us.
They want nothing more than to crush him,
and we're gonna help 'em do so.
Ted Turner disrespected the wrong authentic good ole boy.
You're a fuckin' lunatic.
I'm a fuckin' maverick.
Oh, and by the way, Bill, going forward,
I think it's best if Willie comes on as my valet,
especially if we're gearin' up to go to the WWF.
We'll break in somebody new for you.
Well, I think that'd be Willie's call.
It was.
[heavy music plays]
♪ ♪
[grunts]
You're always fiddlin' with something.
Well, you press too hard on a key, it'll break.
Boneheads don't think about that.
[Wild Bill] I know you don't need any help.
[Willie] Nope.
[sighs] Lotta déja vu happening today.
Jack's not gonna blow this.
[Willie] You say that with a lot of confidence.
Only way to say it.
You said the same thing about Tom once.
Been a long time.
Long time.
Don't think you realize
when a person does a thing like you did to me, Willie...
That's a fork in the road.
It was one fork when Tom told us he walked out on Turner.
It was another fork when he told me
that you were his valet now, not mine,
that you'd suggested that like he was the shooting star
you wanted to hitch your wagon to,
and I'd never do anything.
Two forks sends a person real off-course
from where they were.
Evidently, it puts them on a plane with their dick out.
-I ended up in a lotta places. -[Willie] Hmph.
I just don't think you realize, people--
not just you-- people don't realize
what they do to each other.
They just collide off each other.
Never look back to see the wreck, what got wrecked, who.
In some cases, wouldn't matter, the wreck sped off anyway.
Didn't we have a long talk about this in the parking lot
a while back?
Why are we doin' this again?
I dunno.
Wasn't that long of a conversation
in the parking lot.
I'm not trying to build you a cross and nail you to it.
And yes...
we did chat about this briefly.
But now that we're around each other, daily,
I...
I'm just humbled by how I can be struck blind
by something that happened to me long ago...
and how there's still...
it leaves this ache.
And yet I understand
that if something like that's happened to me,
I've done the same to others, left them some...
unacknowledged, unresolved aches.
[soft, stirring music]
♪ ♪
I don't want that head-on collision anymore.
I want to let you in front of me.
I want to say, "Turn left here,"
or give some directions,
instead-a "Fuck you," and cutting you off.
I don't need directions.
[Wild Bill] All right then.
Is it quiet in here?
Is it?
I don't know. Listen.
-Guess it is. -[chuckles]
Place used to be a madhouse.
[Carol] Sure did.
Kids crashin' through here with their hair on fire.
Ace playing that awful guitar up in the attic,
Jack whackin' baseballs or tryin' walkout music
in the basement.
Both of them flyin' in here and shoutin' through supper.
Yeah. That was good noise.
Maybe I could bring some crickets inside.
Few frogs.
Get the volume back up a bit.
Hmm. No, thank you, sweetheart, I...
got enough noise up here still.
What do you hear?
No.
That I'm gonna lose DWL if I can't pay the mortgage
on the Dome.
And if I lose the DWL,
then I can't pay the mortgage on our house.
If I lose that, then I'm gonna lose--
Stop writing.
Writing?
Worst things don't have to happen in real life
just 'cause they'd make a good angle.
How many seats do you think a good "real life"
would sell, huh?
Why don't you call Bill?
Just this once? I'm sure he would help.
Carol, I told you I don't need his help.
But we do. Clearly, we do.
I hear ya.
Seems to me I've been saying a lot of stuff for a long time
that you say you hear.
But nothing you hear seems to change things for the better.
And I need you to hear this, Tom.
This life that we're living now,
you talk about losing the DWL, losing this house--
that's not the life I was supposed to have.
It's not the life you promised me.
You are a very persuasive man, Tom.
I was a foolish woman for wanting so hard to believe you.
The vow was good times and bad, yes.
But if you can't start figuring out
how to make the bad times good again,
it's time for me to go.
I mean it, Tom.
Boys are grown.
We don't gotta do this no more.
[moody music plays]
♪ ♪
Howdy. Uh, name's Tom Spade.
I'm here to visit one of the sets.
[security guard] What project?
Oh, uh...
"Heaven Forbidden." Some Christian film thing.
-I'm seeing Bill Hancock. -Hell yeah.
You know Wild Bill.
That's awesome. "Let the night roar!"
Wow.
This is really cool you're getting to do this.
Do what?
To do your Make-A-Wish wish.
Get to spend a day with Mr. Hancock.
Guess there's no age limit on Make-A-Wish then, huh?
[softly] That motherfucker.
If you don't mind, I'd like to include you in my prayers.
Oh, hey...that'd be nice.
Thank you.
Hope you have a great day, sir,
and good luck with the time you have left.
-[bell rings] -[person] Rolling!
[man] Twenty-five, Baker. Take five.
And action!
[woman] Where am I, Jerahmeel?
[Wild Bill] Why, you're in Heaven, Sally.
[Sally] Heaven? So then that means that I'm...
[Wild Bill] Dead. Yep, 'fraid so.
But look on the bright side.
Least you're here and not elsewhere.
You mean down there?
Like down there down there?
No, child. I'm talking about
where you just came from-- the hospital.
Oh. Oh my!
I'm young! I'm not old anymore!
You're your perfect age when you were your best self.
And I have to say,
your best self looks pretty perfect.
[Sally giggles]
[director] Cut. We got it, moving on!
W--you sure?
Feel like I could have done that last line
a little sexier.
It was great, Bill. Gotta move.
[Tom] Ha ha!
You're an angel...guess that makes me the devil.
[Wild Bill] Ha ha, sure as shit does.
-Hey. -Good to see you, Billy.
[Wild Bill] Come on, man. It's too hot.
-Want something cold to drink? -All right.
Hey.
[Tom chuckles] That was pretty good
with that Make-A-Wish shit back there.
Ha ha. Been doing it for years to anybody who comes to see me.
Hydrate.
Pretty good.
Dialogue in this thing stinks.
Fuckin' think?
It's based on this Christian romance book series
for horny church ladies.
Plot's about how when you get to heaven,
you turn young and hot again
and you start fucking other hot dead people
and also hot angels like me. [chuckles]
So what happens when the husband or wife dies
and shows up in heaven?
Bingo. Love triangle.
Or an unholy trinity.
[Wild Bill] Ah. That's good.
Wish we had shit half that good in there.
So to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?
Uh, well...
Bill, they're ready for you.
[Wild Bill] Christ Almighty, Wesley, already?
That was not five minutes.
How long you here?
Oh, for-for the night. I had business in town.
Got a hotel.
You wanna meet up for happy hour?
I know a place we can get wings and beers, tie one on.
I got a late call tomorrow.
-It's not that late. -Spread my cheeks
-and eat this ass, Wesley. -Okay.
King Spade's in town.
[Tom] Just...just give me a call, Bill.
-We'll eat. -Guy's such a legend.
Sure is.
I wish I had balls like him. Nice to meet you.
Don't let him stay out too late tonight, please.
[Tom] No promises.
[Wild Bill] And I got my bucket right under my skirt here.
Who wants to pick the special card?
I need everybody's first name
so when I'm in the blackout at the Oscars...
[Wild Bill] I swear to God, Tommy, I wish it was a porn.
Oh, bullshit.
I do.
Then it'd be okay that the script's garbage.
I could walk up to the dead lady and say,
"Hey, I got that big ole dick you heard about."
-[laughing] -Boom! We're off.
Well, what are you shootin' tomorrow?
Maybe you can work it in somewhere.
[Wild Bill] Mm...
Scene where I comfort a dead guy
who just found out his dead wife's getting stuck
-by a World War II pilot. -[both laugh]
Should have just done porn.
[Tom laughs] Well, I bet this pays better.
-Maybe so. -Yeah?
How much does it pay?
[pop music over speakers]
[ahem] Well, this is the sequel, so I got a bump.
And the first one's a big earner on Redbox.
I get $350,000 for three weeks.
Hard to say no.
Damn.
That's a good paycheck, brother.
Yeah. But after managers, lawyers, taxes and shit,
it's only about 200 in my pocket.
[small laugh] Only 200 grand.
But if I do a couple of these a year, it's a nice side hustle.
[Wild Bill chuckles]
You can't even ask it this time, can you?
After the previous asks.
Two decades on the road and in the ring.
Two decades.
And this chicken wing dinner
might be the best performance of my life.
Pretending like we're still pals.
We ain't?
[laughing] Hey, sweetheart.
Can I borrow a pen?
Four hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars
I have loaned you to date.
No, Tom. We aren't pals.
I'm a ATM.
Once every year and a half, two years or so,
I get a text or a call I got to fire up the kayfabe,
make like my best friend didn't break my fucking heart
just so I can give him 50 grand I'll never see back.
Well, Poor Wild Bill, got to make a living
doing what he loves, huh?
Like you didn't?
Not for fuckin' millions of dollars.
And whose fault is that? 'Cause it sure as shit isn't mine.
How was I supposed to vouch for you, Bill?
You're a clown who talks about his dick all the time.
You are a dick all the time.
Oh. So it's my fault then.
Is that what you want to hear?
It's my fault.
I shit the bed, I fucked it all up,
and you're a rock star.
Bravo!
Don't give me that self-loathing crap.
You got a family, Carol and those boys.
You got the life.
It's not everything we thought it would be.
Yeah, well, the alternative is exactly
what we always knew it'd be.
I don't know what to say. I don't--
It's the way these things go sometimes.
[ahem] But let's be honest.
We never broke it down bluntly.
Once you and Willie decided to kick me to the curb,
that was a motivating factor.
So I thank you.
If you hadn't been so expedient with my ass,
I may have never had the stones to think about
nothing but myself.
I was gonna bring you up when I made it.
I had to get launched first. That's just business.
That had nothing to do with our friendship.
[Wild Bill] Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Wrote my accountant's number on there.
Next time, just call him.
-Thank you. -[Wild Bill sighs]
Hey, uh, uh, Bill.
[sighs]
About the money. Listen, uh...
don't, uh... don't tell Carol.
Please. Or my boys.
It...
it's embarrassing.
You're a fucking genius, Tom.
I mean it. You are.
I thought you'd protect me from being a clown.
Thought I'd spend my whole life playing your shit.
Instead I'm doing "Heaven Forbidden."
Godspeed, brother.
[bluesy music plays]
♪ ♪
Hey, honey. I, uh, sorry.
Sorry to call so late.
I went out with a couple guys from the autograph expo.
But good news-- they- they want to invest.
So we're good for a while.
So this was
a successful trip.
Ha.
Uh, well, I'll see you tomorrow.
I love you.
Bye.
"This place is made of pure love..."
I told you I can't sign anything for free,
per my contract.
[security guard] Sorry, it's not that.
Someone left something for you.
-Who? -That Make-A-Wish man
from yesterday. It's your script.
He said tell you thanks for making his wish come true.
[door closes]
[anticipatory music plays]
♪ ♪
[Bobby] He's walking to his car.
Hmm. It looks like he's sending a text.
-Or he's maybe writing notes. -[Debbie] Notes are good,
-Phone call would be better. -Phone call is not better.
He could be calling his barber.
Mm. His hair's pretty short.
Fine, his dentist. His mother.
We should all call our moms more often.
-Every day. -Mine's dead. But I agree.
[Jack] Okay, team.
It's nothing yet.
But it's not not nothing.
Brooks Rizzo is clearly looking to be impressed.
And we have the opportunity to impress him by showing him
that what we do here is special and unique
and groundbreaking and revolutionary and perfect
for what he needs-- whatever that may be.
Because to tell y'all the truth,
I don't really know what all this involves.
But I do know that we got to reach up.
We got to take it.
We have to work harder than we ever worked before, all of us.
We need to take this promotion.
We need to turn it into
what it always should have been all along--opportunity.
That's a rare thing.
And I don't want to look back and think
this was our one chance and we just let it slip away.
I believe in all of you.
You've always believed in me.
So let's say we do this together.
[Wild Bill] D-W-L!
[all] D-W-L! D-W-L!
D-W-L! D-W-L!
[chanting grows muffled, echoes]
[muffled] D-W-L! D-W-L!
[chanting continues, muffled]
[soft, emotional music]
-[click] -[director] And action.
[man] Sally said she's not coming back to me.
She's in love with a World War II veteran.
-What do I do? -What do you do?
You're in heaven, Sam!
Surrounded by beauty.
Maybe you just need to open your eyes and realize
the reason they call them soulmates
is 'cause you're not supposed to meet 'em down there.
You're supposed to meet 'em up here.
[director] And cut! We got it.
-[bell rings] -Great work. Let's move on.
Uh, can I get one more, actually?
Sorry, Bill, we gotta go.
One more take. For me, please.
Okay. Let's go again, one more time.
Settle please.
-[crewperson 1] Roll sound. -[crewperson 2] Sound speed.
[crewperson 3] Scene 13. Take nine.
-Mark. -[click]
And action.
Sally said she's not coming back to me.
What do I do, Jerahmeel?
This place, it's made of pure love.
But if you love something, you can hurt it.
And it can hurt you. Purely.
Not sure God accounted for that.
I fell for a girl up here once,
knew it the moment she walked through that gate.
She'd died young, and we had a while together.
And then one day,
a man she'd loved down there showed up.
And when he walked in,
she looked at him the way I looked at her.
That was a long time ago.
Forever ago maybe.
I don't know what I'm saying, just that, uh...
just 'cause this is heaven
don't mean it can't be hell.
-[director] Cut. -[bell rings]
-Shit, man. -[director] That was...
Damn.
Thanks.
[phone chimes]
Carol.
Long time no talk, missy.
[Carol] Bill, I just thought you should know,
Tom shot himself this morning.
What?
Shot himself in the head.
[uneven breathing]
I just...I just...
[Carol] He was too proud to ask you for help.
But you could've helped him anyway.
You could've done something,
anything for him.
You'll have to live with that, I guess.
[crying] Yes.
Yes, I will.
Carol, are you okay?
-You have a nice evening. -[beep]
[somber music]
♪ ♪
[sobs]
[clears throat]