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Welcome to Wrexham is the latest sports documentary that will be released on Hulu. The previous titles from the genre include the highly acclaimed Legacy: A True Story of The LA Lakers, which was also recently released on Hulu. Unlike Legacy, Welcome To Wrexham owes most of its popularity to the involvement of Hollywood stars, Ryan Reynolds and Rob Elhenney.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Elhenney purchased Wrexham Football Club, a Welsh soccer club, in September 2020. It was an unexpected move, considering that the two men hardly have any history with the sport.
This also contributed to difficulties in the takeover of a soccer club that was already in a bad place due to the pandemic. How they make their decision to manage the club forward against all odds forms the crux of the docu-series.
5 things we know about Welcome to Wrexham so far
1) "It's an underdog story."
"It's an underdog story," Ryan Reynolds said in the trailer for Welcome to Wrexham that was released on YouTube last month. Wrexham AFC is the oldest club in Wales and originated in a very small market town called Wrexham. Having been managed by the Wrexham Supporters Trust ever since 2011, the club has had to face numerous difficulties to keep itself afloat.
The pandemic made things worse for them before Reynolds and Elhenney acquired the club and things started looking better.
The docu-series mostly capitalizes on the trope of an underdog rising to the occasion and making it big. The two Hollywood stars have enabled some rapid growth as the team now sees itself at the 8th place in the National Rankings as opposed to the 20th place that they occupied before the acquisition.
2) The story explores Reynolds' and Elhenney's arc alongside the club's
Considering that Ryan Reynolds and Rob Elhenney have absolutely no experience or knowledge in managing a soccer team and that the men are not even based in the the UK, there would definitely be a lot of learning to do. Mechanics of the sport and the club would have to be learned from scratch. Besides, reviving the oldest football club in Wales is quite the responsibility to take up.
While Welcome To Wrexham does focus on the rise of the club to a better position, it would also cover the experience of Reynolds and Elhenney as they go about executing their vision for the club. Although this one wouldn't be as much of an underdog story, there is fair scope for some dramatic arcs for both the celebrities to expose in the show.
3) The filming began as soon as the purchase happened
A lesser-known fact is that Welcome To Wrexham began shooting way back in 2020. As soon as the two Hollywood stars bought the club, the process of altering ownership, with the new owners visiting the team, turning around the infrastructure, and making changes to better suit the club, was all filmed by the team behind the camera.
It was a commendable decision as the footage would probably make for great content in itself.
However, that is not all. The docu-series also dives into the details of Wrexham AFC's history, background, and everything it stands for. This is mostly to provide context for all that the team has been through and to expose the contrast to where the team is now.
4) Everything the trailer reveals
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Elhenney seem to be taking the center stage in storytelling, from what the trailer suggests. This would be a much simpler way of telling the tale when it comes to reaching out to an American audience because the two stars are Americans themselves and explore the cultural significance of a football club in Wales.
The two men also go around answering questions from fans of the club and locals, expressing why they gravitated towards making the purchase and the kind of inspiration that went into turning things around for the club. With Ryan Reynolds being his witty self on screen, there also seems to be space for good humor in the show.
5) Everyone else who's behind and in front of the camera
Although the limelight on the Hollywood stars was expected out of the show, there are several other important figures in the series who added their bit to make the story of the club more grounded. Wayne Jones, who owns the Turf where the club originated, Declan Swans, an independent group of local comics, and Fleur Robinson, the CEO of the club, are all part of the series.
Welcome To Wrexham is produced by Reynolds and Elhenney among others and has been made by Boardwalk Pictures, Maximum Effort, and FX Productions, all in partnership. The fans of the club and locals too feature in the series as a lot of interactions and interviews between the fans and the new owners have been put in the show.
Welcome To Wrexham is all set to be released on FX in the US and on Disney+ in the UK. The docu-series premieres on August 24, 2022.
