Welcome to Wrexham

I didn't expect to become a fan of Wrexham so easily. No, not easily. It's true that I had to give it time throughout the entire first series, which consists of a solid 18 episodes. And by today's standards, that's not little at all. On the other hand, I can't say that I was bored. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought one of the oldest football clubs in the world - Welsh Wrexham AFC and I would be unfair to them if I claimed that it wasn't a calculation considering this series. It was, but I would say that it was definitely successful. It proves how football can influence a certain community. How it can harm it, but also how it can lift it up. And they somehow managed to lift it up, which deserves deep respect. Although they never saw football in their dreams and name it with that ugly American word with an s, they quickly grew fond of the town, and it was a joy to watch episode after episode of the club's affairs. It's not just a social exploration of an industrial town that has been past its prime for years, it's also a look into the football environment. A look into the fact that managing a football club is not a piece of cake. Almost after watching this series, I felt sorry for all those Pelts, Šádků, or Křetínskýs, but then I slapped myself and quickly realized that in Wrexham, it is done with love. I hope it will last. After watching the first series, I immediately became a fan of the club and I am very curious about how emotionally the second series will be filmed. (04/29/2023)

It can't decide whether it wants to be a sociological probe à la Dycky Sunderland or a docu-series with a "how two clueless Yanks get to know the uncompromising world of lower-division football management" angle, while realising that they don't make money in football and are purely in the role of sugar daddies with marketable faces. But it’s too forced, it feels cynical, that they went into it for the documentary rather than for their proclaimed altruistic reasons. Add to that a straddling concept where one scene deals with how a guy's life sucks (his job sucks, his partner left him, his small-town prospects are nil, all he has left is the club), only to be followed by a scene where Reynolds does the obligatory funny thing. One moment you're dealing with a fan's cancer, the next you're dealing with the issue of "how fans have been screwed over by previous managements", and then it's on to like TV sports news where the duo of owners make (un)funny quips. It doesn’t feel like a whole. The more interesting sociological aspect doesn't get the necessary space, the behind-the-scenes part doesn't go deep under the hood of the club's management, if at all (and it's a pity, the story around finances, ownership rights, contract negotiations it's SO rewarding). It's rather about those two, who (logically) only have it as an appendage to many other investment activities or don't have much to offer as subjects of documentary interest. It's not bad, not really (the episodes are short and snappy), especially when the plans fall apart under their hands, but it's too much in the shadow of many other sports docuseries in concept, delivery and moving outside the sports box. | S1: 3/5 | (12/04/2022)