“Dad cried when we won the cup,” says a smiling young lad in the opening moments of Welcome to Wrexham’s third series, the sense of mischievous delight in his voice obvious.
“Don’t tell them,” comes the rather embarrassed reply after a few seconds of nervous laughter. “But, yeah, I did, didn’t I?”
If anything sums up why a previously struggling football club from north Wales now has legions of followers from across the Atlantic and beyond, it is this lovely father-and-son exchange from outside the SToK Cae Ras.
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Sure, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the two Hollywood figures who bought Wrexham in 2021, bring the star quality. And, yes, Paul Mullin’s incredible goalscoring exploits catch the eye on the field (the club’s talisman recently reached the landmark of 100 goals in double quick time).
But the true appeal of the Wrexham story lies way beyond any famous faces, be they film, sporting or otherwise. Instead, it’s how a working-class town once locked in a cycle of decline following the closure of the mines and steelworks has been given fresh hope. That fairytale has created a renewed sense of pride among the locals.
For Wrexham, read any number of towns and cities down on their luck across the UK and the United States. Dad’s tears at clinching promotion back to the EFL last year could have been any one of us, had our own hometown sports team been handed a similar golden ticket.
Welcome to Wrexham’s big success has been capturing that via cleverly interweaving the club’s on-field fortunes with the emotions of their devoted supporters. The new series brings more of the same, albeit with a few new characters to join previous breakout stars such as The Turf’s Wayne Jones.
In the three episodes released to the media, we meet photographer Oliver Stephens, who spends home matchdays wandering the streets with camera in hand, capturing images of supporters. “The club is the town and the town is the club,” he says at one stage. It’s difficult to disagree.
A welcome light is also shone on the local Andy’s Man Club, a suicide prevention charity where members meet to talk about any issues or problems.
Football, of course, remains at the heart of the narrative. Season two signed off with last season’s open-top bus victory parade to mark Wrexham’s National League title triumph so there’s plenty to enjoy this series, including a pre-season trip to the U.S.
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Mixing footage of what appears to be classic ’60s Beatlemania with the arrival of the squad in the U.S. is amusing. What follows, however, is a rare misstep, as two major new sponsors for 2023-24 get their brands on screen for what feels like an excessive time during a recap of the tour. Sports documentaries tread a thin line between entertainment and advertisement — and blatant product placement can turn the viewer off.
Millions have poured into club coffers via the patronage of United Airlines and SToK Cold Brew Coffee, which are undeniably helping. This means things stay just the right side of the line for fans of the show who, in turn, are invariably fans of the club — even if that ‘support’ extends no further than checking the league table every few weeks.
But the producers should still tread carefully, as the moment an audience feels like little more than a conduit for boosting the bank balances of two already rich men, viewing figures are likely to collapse faster than Chester’s promotion hopes come the spring.
Omitting any mention of the Luke Armstrong saga also feels to be another blunder, as part of Welcome to Wrexham’s appeal lays in its brutal realism. Ignoring something as huge as a club record transfer collapsing at the eleventh hour means the audience is not getting the full picture.
These two gripes aside, the early episodes in what will be an eight-part series are an entertaining watch. Manager Phil Parkinson is as potty-mouthed as ever in the dressing room; the liberal use of the word ‘fuck’ is only matched by his ability to come up with unintentionally amusing phrases.
In series one, we got “fanny f***ing footballers”. Here, he sets pulses racing with the half-time question: “Were our f***ing arousal levels at the right level?”
After playing no more than a bit-part role in the first two series, Parkinson’s assistant Steve Parkin has much more time on screen. This is good news, given he can challenge even the gaffer in the swearing stakes.
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“Be honest: did I waste two hours of my afternoon doing the f***ing defenders’ meeting yesterday?” Parkin asks during the half-time interval in August that saw Wrexham trail Swindon Town 4-1 at home.
“You’re either not reading them or you don’t give a f***. I’m wasting my time, so do me a f***ing favour. Say, ‘Steve, go play golf Friday afternoon, instead of sitting and writing that’.”
To then further underline his anger, Parkin adds by way of a verdict: “Back three, weak as p***… Weak as p***. Not won one f***ing header.”
Increased dressing-room footage is a big feature of the opening episodes. It’s a welcome move, as these peeks behind the curtain provide a rawness that sports fans don’t usually get.
Again, that half-time against Swindon is a prime example. Before Parkinson and Parkin have their say, the players are filmed returning to the dressing room. Elliot Lee cannot curb his emotions, shouting to no one in particular about how the first half had been “f***ing embarrassing” before adding “we are so f***ing weak, every single one of us, it’s f***ing s***”.
It is fascinating to then watch Parkinson manage the situation, letting Lee and a couple of others have their say before demanding quiet. Then comes his own damning verdict, exonerating only young striker Jake Bickerstaff from blame, before Parkin weighs in.
After that, though, the tone switches markedly. The players are built up again, Swindon’s weaknesses highlighted and a sense develops that the game can be rescued if Wrexham score the next goal.
Forty-five minutes later, Parkinson’s side have rescued a point from a pulsating 5-5 draw. The home dressing room is a very different place, as a result. “Absolutely f***ing brilliant,” says the manager.
The same can be said for the women’s team again featuring in the new series. Now playing in the top level of Welsh football, they also boast a new home at The Rock along with semi-professional status.
This means the players are being paid for the first time and it is clear this is making a positive difference to their careers. Some can go part-time in their day jobs to focus more on training.
Del Morgan, the team’s goalkeeper, speaks well, particularly on the psychology of dealing with mistakes. Following Mia Roberts, daughter of Wrexham legend Neil but surprisingly released following last season’s promotion, is another nice touch as she embarks on a new chapter at university.
With the coming summer likely to see a sizeable number of departures from the men’s team, maybe this approach could be repeated by the producers. Should there be a fourth series, they could follow a couple of club stalwarts away from Wrexham. Only time will tell on that.
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One big change for this series comes in the scheduling, with the launch pulled forward from the autumn to May 2 in the U.S. on FX and the following day in the UK.
The plan is to give the show a more up-to-date feel, particularly when covering the promotion run-in. If Wrexham — spoiler alert! — had to settle for the League Two play-offs, as opposed to clinching automatic promotion earlier this month, the potential turnaround from the May 19 final to broadcast would have been incredibly tight.
As it is, the producers have a few weeks now to get everything just right and provide supporters — be they from north Wales or the U.S. — with coverage worthy of another momentous season on the pitch.
On the evidence of those first three shows, expect another emotional finale as Wrexham take another giant step forward under their owners.
Welcome to Wrexham, series three, launches on May 2 in the U.S. on FX, streaming the following day on Hulu. The UK premiere is May 3.
(Top photo: Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)