Welcome to Wrexham review: a surprisingly touching documentary series

This ‘little gem’ isn’t just about football – it’s about hope and heartbreak

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham AFC’s Racecourse Ground 
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham AFC’s Racecourse Ground 
(Image credit: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo)

In early 2021, two “Hollywood stars with seemingly little knowledge of football” bought Wrexham AFC, the oldest club in Wales, said Rebecca Nicholson in The Guardian. This series from Disney+ looks at what happened next. It’s pitched at a US audience, which can create irritations – anyone with a “whiff of an accent that isn’t Home Counties gets subtitles”, and there is a lot of exposition – but once the “Football for Dummies shtick” is over, it “improves enormously”.

The stars in question, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are sincere and funny. They’re outshone, though, by the players and fans: after its bumpy start, the series evolves into a touching portrait of “an ordinary town that is down on its luck and could do with a lift”.

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