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What happened when A-listers Rob Mcelhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought a struggling Welsh football team…
From Thu 25 Aug (first two eps from Thu 25 Aug, then weekly), Disney+ Factual
Find out what happened when Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mcelhenney decided to buy lowly Welsh football club Wrexham. In a roller-coaster first season, local supporters love rubbing shoulders with the famous pair, but will the players respond on the pitch?
Available: Thu 25 August Genre: Factual Season: 1 Eps: 10 (first two eps from 25 Aug, then weekly)
It sounds like the script of a movie, but when Hollywood stars Rob Mcelhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought Wrexham AFC in 2020, the struggling lower-league Welsh football club was catapulted to global fame. Now, a fly-on-the wall documentary series shows how the two actors, who have very little knowledge of football and had never met in person before buying the club, are hoping to revive the fortunes of this historic but flailing team.
Huge challenges
The 10-parter follows Rob and Ryan on their steep learning curve at the home of the Dragons, the Racecourse Ground, which has its own place in the beautiful game’s history as the world’s oldest international football venue. ‘I thought I understood a bit about the importance of football as it pertains to [British] culture,’ says Deadpool star Ryan. ‘But I now know that I didn’t know! It’s been a revelation every step of the way.’
He adds that he and Rob, creator and star of long-running US sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, are well aware that they’re not exactly typical footballclub owners. ‘We were never going to be your normal owner or chairman,’ he admits. ‘We’re not 75-year-old dudes who are dead inside. We are going to be the ones screaming like maniacs when we’re at the matches, and screaming like maniacs when we’re at home watching it on the live feed.’
Since the pair took over, they’ve experienced both joy and pain, as last season the Dragons reached a play-off semi-final and an FA Trophy final at Wembley, but they lost both games.
‘I get it now,’ says Ryan. ‘Football is a unique brand of gorgeous torture. I love it with all my heart, but it breaks my heart on a pretty regular basis!’