It’s easy to be cynical about why Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought fifth-tier Welsh football club Wrexham AFC.
Hot on the heels of Ted Lasso, underdog stories about lower-league football teams clawing their way to the top are big business, so why not be a part of it?
The resulting documentary about their foray into football is Welcome To Wrexham (Disney+) and it’s far more heartfelt and sincere than I had been expecting.
The real subject of the series is the team, its supporters and the town.”
The first major plus about the series – and one that might disappoint some viewers, depending on your perspective – is that Reynolds and McElhenney aren’t the focus.
They certainly feature, and both come across as completely genuine about their motives for buying Wrexham, but the real subject of the series is the team, its supporters and the town.
The real enjoyment doesn’t even come from the action on the pitch – although their struggle to make the play-offs at the end of the second episode definitely gets the cliffhanger treatment – it’s from the local characters who live and breathe the club every day of the week.
The players and staff may be professionals, but they aren’t on big bucks, so the sense of unease about what the future holds when Hollywood comes calling is palpable.
That this warm-hearted series had me gripped from the start says a lot.”
The arrival of Ryan and Rob is brilliant for the club, fans and town, but not so much for the players or coaches, who know that a total rebuild of the squad is likely on the horizon.
And so it comes to pass by the end of the second episode…
I don’t have a football bone in my body, but the fact that this warm-hearted series had me gripped from the start says a lot.
Come for the Hollywood stars, stay for the local heroes.
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