Welcome to Wrexham: Welcome Back to Wrexham
September 16, 2023 6:42 PM - Season 2, Episode 1 - Subscribe

A new football season begins as the town, the team, and owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney prepare to welcome King Charles III.
posted by kitten kaboodle (6 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I loved Rob McElhenney coming to terms with his reluctance to bow to the king. And he and Ryan taking the etiquette lesson only so seriously.

Really looking forward to seeing the show cover the Wrexham women's team this season.
posted by gladly at 1:27 PM on September 17, 2023 [1 favorite]


Me too!

I was honestly really happy about Rob’s attitude because honestly fuck the royals, but it’s hard to want to take away from the town’s excitement about the attention. But what a blow about the funds to replace the kop—it seemed like things were really going their way.

I’ve tried to pay only a little attention to what’s been happening there because I knew they were planning a new season for the show, so I didn’t want to learn too much, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing a few things play out this year.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 5:40 PM on September 17, 2023


Can someone explain the appeal of this series outside of the UK?

I am a fan of a football team in the same league as Wrexham last season - and whilst I love non-league football - the club, the community and all that which goes hand in hand with every football club in the lower echelons, I'm not sure I understand the appeal of it to others, particularly say Americans who don't really have much interaction with soccer otherwise. I'm slightly jealous but mostly I'm just happy for Wrexham, they've gotten lucky with some new owners and maybe they deserved a bit of luck after decades in the doldrums.

But I see that during the summer when the big English football clubs did tours over there, the big draws were Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea ... and Wrexham!?!? They mention how many shirts they sold in the first episode, and well, that's just incredible.
posted by BigCalm at 3:32 AM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]


Can someone explain the appeal of this series outside of the UK?

As a California resident who loves the show, it’s because it’s a really sweet show about regular folks living regular lives, whose town has lost the industries that brought any affluence and so are lost as a community, as symbolized by their soccer team’s professional fall and drift.

So it’s like so many towns all over the place, people want their towns to feel special again, to work again, to have a local culture to enjoy, to feel some pride in your sense of place, and for Wrexham that can happen around the center of gravity that is the FC. Watching the show feels like watching a whole community sort of start to wake back up and find value in themselves again, and because a rising tide will lift all boats, the team’s success is hopefully catalyst for community successes.

The show is way more about the people than the soccer (though the soccer is fun).
posted by LooseFilter at 6:34 AM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]


I'd say that American pop culture loves sports underdog stories and reality tv, so... this is a perfect combo.
posted by TwoStride at 10:07 AM on September 24, 2023


It's more about the town, I think. I went to high school in a town that used to be flush with the children of baby boomers and good paying steel / manufacturing jobs. Just like Wrexham, young people don't have many reasons to stay around and only the hospitals and prisons are well funded. A sports team that punches above its weight is one of the few things left to be proud of.

Though I was screaming "Americans don't bow" during the etiquette lesson. When in Rome and all, normally, but there's a specific history here and one does not become a subject by owning a football club.
posted by wnissen at 5:08 PM on November 1, 2023


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