Far from film sets, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney take control of one of the oldest football clubs in the world in Welcome to Wrexham. Small problem: the two actors have never collaborated and do not know much about it!
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
In 2020, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds became owners of football club in Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, in hopes of ridding it of its underdog status. The problem is that the two actors had no football experience and had never worked together. They took the matter very seriously, however, and were determined to improve the affairs of the club and the lives of the people of Wrexham.
The first nine episodes of Welcome to Wrexham are available on the Disney+ platform.
AN OUTSIDER STORY
An American and a Canadian, both actors by profession, and who have never met in real life, decide to buy a Welsh football club together… hair is actually a very real story, told in the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham.
While the Ted Lasso series had fun teasing Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Green Lantern) and Rob McElhenney (Philadelphia, Mythic Quest) in an episode of its 2nd season, the new owners are nevertheless serious. From the first minutes of the series available on Disney +, the two men realize the challenges of this ambitious project. “There is a version of this story where we are the bad guys,” says Rob McElhenney on screen.
Passionate about sports, especially American football, the latter is in a way the instigator of this crazy idea. After discovering the famous “soccer” very late, thanks in particular to his screenwriter colleague Humphrey Ker, the actor decides to take over a football club. To do this, he needs a partner of choice: “I made money from television, […] but I needed a movie star. Even better, a movie superhero.” He then turns to Ryan Reynolds.
Disney+ / screenshot
After a few video calls, Rob and Ryan offer an offer to the Wrexham club, the 3rd oldest professional football club in the world and the oldest professional club in Wales. Its stadium, the Racecourse Ground, is just as legendary, as it is the oldest international stadium still in use in the world!
But behind this club is also the whole community of the working-class town of Wrexham, whose decline in the 1980s reflected the fate of the local football team, which now plays in the National League, the lowest level of professional football. in England…
THE HOPES OF AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY
Through the 18 episodes of its 1st season (only 9 are currently available on the platform), Welcome to Wrexham tells both the unexpected project of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who form an explosive duo, but also and above all the destiny of this football club so dear to the inhabitants of Wrexham. To the rhythm of their hopes and disappointments, the spectators discover behind the scenes, and all the efforts necessary for the team to finally return to success.
Disney+ / screenshot
While the covid crisis has made the club suffer a lot, ticket sales for matches being its main source of income, we follow the players of the team, the staff, the supporters or the boss of the local pub, to some optimistic about this takeover, for others much more worried…
Unfortunately, not everything is rosy, even when two stars decide to take matters into their own hands. With failures also comes bad news. “It’s an underdog story,” says Ryan Reynolds.
Discover the journey of the Red Dragons team to try to earn their place in the spotlight in Welcome to Wrexham, the first 9 episodes of which are available on Disney+.