FX’s latest documentary series is “Welcome To Wrexham”, which is about a Welsh football club, Wrexham, that was purchased by two Hollywood stars, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

The football club is the third oldest professional football club in the world, and we get to see why one of the biggest Hollywood stars decided to buy the team, plus the issues involved in doing so. This aspect of the show is one of the reasons I was interested in it. I’ve been a big fan of Ryan Reynolds since his days working in a Pizza shop, and him being in the series, certainly brings in a different audience.

Timing is everything and when this deal to buy the football club came together, the pandemic had put the team’s finances under considerable strain but also, having spent over a decade in the lowest tier, fans were willing to do anything to try to get promoted out of the league. With the Hollywood owners coming in, they injected some money into this club, with new major international sponsors and money to bring in the top talent to try to make Wrexham one of the biggest clubs in the country. That’s their plan. Do they have what it takes? That’s going to take more than a couple of seasons to see, because this series is very much a work in progress and certainly gives off the typical sporting underdog cliches. I often thought that this series felt like a real-life version of “Ted Lasso”.

If you’ve never watched football, this series does a great job of explaining the basic things you need to know, with graphics popping up to explain things in a simple format. There is undoubtedly a feeling that this series is being targeted at Americans, with pop-up screeners translating some of the British/Welsh words into something Americans can understand. But also explains some of the football terms so anyone can enjoy the show, without any knowledge of football, which I think the show does a great job of doing.

While I might be British, I’ve got zero interest in football. But I enjoyed this series, and I will be checking out further episodes. The series tells many compelling stories, not just about the Hollywood stars, but also about the players, the management team, the volunteers and most importantly, the fans. Their stories are what makes this series intriguing. As with most sports, there are always diehard fans, so Wrexham isn’t any different, but this series is able to showcase this love and devotion to the sport, without being over the top.

“Welcome To Wrexham” does a great job in presenting a small Welsh Football club as not only a new business for Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, but also you get to see them become more passionate about the team. But more importantly, you get to see the impact their arrival has on the local community, who finally have something to believe in, but this is a story that’s still unfolding, and this is only the first chapter.

Rating – 4 Out Of 5

“Welcome To Wrexham” is coming to Disney+ in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada on Thursday 25th August 2022, with the series also being released in the United States on Hulu and FX on Wednesday 24th August 2022.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

View all posts