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Welcome to Wrexham Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
18 Episodes 2022 - 2022
Episode 1
Dream
Wed, Aug 24, 202228 mins
Rob, somewhat the driving force behind the venture, talks about his love of sport, seeing how sport can form community especially in a working class town like his hometown of South Philadelphia, and learning about the English football league from his friend Humphrey and how teams can be promoted or demoted in it as reasons for wanting to buy specifically Wrexham F.C., currently in the National League, the bottom league of five. In learning the cost, he knows he will need "movie star/alcohol/mobile phone" level money to achieve this goal, hence reaching out to Ryan who he had never met personally but previously befriended on social media. Ryan, in turn, talks about how sport had always been a validating force in his life in why he agreed. Wanting to buy and and getting the necessary approval by the current owners are two different matters, they needing a seventy-five percent approval which is not a guarantee in the team having been burned before by previous owners. What may be working in Rob and Ryan's favors are the difficult time of the club and town of late which was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, their primary revenue source, spectators in the stadium, which basically dried up.
Episode 2
Reality
Wed, Aug 24, 202227 mins
With Rob and Ryan now the owners, there are two primary changes at the administrative level. One, Humphrey Ker, as Executive Director, is basically Rob and Ryan's eyes and ears on site. He, Rob's entertainment industry British friend, doesn't have any expertise in the role beyond being a football fan and knowing the English football system, but is a person who has Rob and thus Ryan's trust. The other, Shaun Harvey, as Advisor to the Board, will have a more hands on role, he who has experience at all levels of English football management, even at the league level. In the short term, no major dismissals are made although everyone realizes that something has to change to achieve the goal of being promoted out of the National League. The fans also demand major changes. The one stated do or die: the club will have to make it directly into the playoffs, or else the one known casualty will be Manager Dean Keates. It comes down to the final game of the season.
Episode 3
Rebuilding
Wed, Aug 31, 202225 mins
With many within the old team gone due to the losing last season, Rob, Ryan, Shaun and Humphrey's first order of business is to fill two key management positions, CEO and Manager. Following those two, they can focus on the players. In the process, they have to temper their own and fan expectations of who can be acquired. Another change they make is to make what had long been a volunteer position into a paid one in seeing that work as vital. And a Wrexham supporter tells of how important the club is in light of things going on in his life, including a job he doesn't like and a recent split with his wife meaning not seeing his kids everyday.
Episode 4
Home Opener
Wed, Aug 31, 202224 mins
It's the start of the 2021 season. A failing newly installed pitch is just one issue that demonstrates that Rob and Ryan have to play upon their celebrity status to raise more money, especially while there is still general goodwill toward them. On the field, there is the lofty goal of being the only one of the twenty-four teams to be promoted out of the National League. There is a perceived imbalance among the players with Paul Mullin, the marquee player, thought to be earning exponentially more than any other player on the team, especially compared to a fivesome who live together to save money. Conversely, Mullin is expected to produce and will shoulder much of the blame if the team loses. Mullin himself tells why he came to Wrexham, which was not all about the money.
Episode 5
Fearless
Wed, Sep 7, 202225 mins
It's halfway through the season and Wrexham is far down the standings, with their next opponents being Chesterfield, who, being higher in the standings, should be a good indication of how likely Wrexham is to move up as the season progresses. Many Wrexham fans are still behind Rob and Ryan in they seeing noticeable differences in the entire football watching experience in Wrexham. Those supporters also talk about what being in the Wrexham AFC fan community means in their lives and how they came to be football/Wrexham fans. On the field, the spotlight is placed on the goalkeepers, who are seen by most as a special breed, although some goalkeepers beg to differ.
Episode 6
Hamilton!
Wed, Sep 7, 202225 mins
Many football fans treat their adoration of the sport like a religion, and those in Wrexham, especially those long time supporters of Wrexham AFC, are even more fervent. With the history of the private ownership of Wrexham AFC over the past twenty years being what it has been i.e. not always in the town and fans' best interests in owners being more interested in using The Racecourse as a profit machine outside of football, many of those supporters are wary of Rob and Ryan and their true motivations for having bought the club. The pair don't own The Racecourse but lease it, yet are on the hook for any improvements, the Kop, one section of the stands, which is currently unusable in near being condemned. To make their lives easier, they would like The Racecourse to be part of owning the club for things like being able to control the remodeling of the Kop. That ownership to any "outsider" is even more contentious in that it is the oldest existing football stadium in use in the world, and the home of Wrexham AFC for its entire existence. Can Rob and Ryan get their way with respect to the stadium?
Episode 7
Wide World of Wales
Wed, Sep 14, 202226 mins
In an homage to ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961), SportsCenter (1979) and late night network talks shows, Rob and Ryan host mockumentaries called "Wide World of Wales", "SportsCenter" and "Welcome to Wales", which are meant to provide some background on just why they chose Wrexham as a football club to purchase. The former show starts with a social studies crash course on the last century history of Wales, including how it can be a sovereign country called Wales but still be in a similarly sovereign collection called the United Kingdom or Great Britain. The next segment is a take on a daytime talk show where they are invited to a cook some Welsh food with their host while learn more about being Welsh. The middle show focuses on their history with sports in general and with Wrexham AFC. And the latter show has a Q+A with a Welsh entertainment cultural icon, with who there is a mutual gratitude session. By the end, the question is whether the viewer has a clearer picture of why they bought Wrexham AFC.
Episode 8
Away We Go
Wed, Sep 14, 202226 mins
It's one-third of the way into Rob and Ryan's inaugural season as owners of Wrexham AFC. Beyond the distraction of the UK premiere of Ryan's latest film, Free Guy (2021), taking place in Wrexham, many people officially and unofficially associated with the team speak about different aspects as the team prepares for its next away match in Maidenhead: fans about how the team is doing compared to last year, especially in light of Rob and Ryan's involvement, players about how they themselves are performing, Rob and Ryan about Phil's different personalities proverbially on and off the pitch, and the transportation organizers about what will be the approximate seven hour round trip drive to and from Maidenhead. What makes this match a milestone is that it will be the first Wrexham match Rob and Ryan will be attending, they both flying in from the States (the irony not lost on them that Ryan's travel from New York will only be slightly longer than those driving from Wrexham). Especially being the first, Rob and Ryan are hoping for the happy Hollywood ending.
Episode 9
Welcome Home
Wed, Sep 21, 202247 mins
Following the match in Maidenhead, Rob and Ryan head to Wrexham for the first time. This business trip will be a mix of meetings with various components of the team from management to the players to the many departments including the volunteers, and public appearances both associated to the club as well as just to get to know the town first hand. Regardless of how the team is doing, there is still a general sense of Hollywood starstruckdom by the people of Wrexham and Rob and Ryan's arrival. However, the fans still are the most vocal about what they want to see happen with the club, and what they see as right and, more vocally, wrong. Their stay in Wrexham culminates with Wrexham's next home game, they all hoping for a more favorable outcome than the previous game.
Episode 10
Hooligans
Wed, Sep 28, 202223 mins
Football fans can band together when the team is winning. But when the team is losing, British football fans of any club generally fall into one of four categories: the happy clappers who will continue to clap to show their appreciation even in a bad move on the pitch; the moaners who will show their frustration by moaning; the passionate, who will make a lot of noise in one form or another; and the hooligans, who will use losing as an excuse for violence, usually but not always against supporters of the opposition. In voice over, Rob and Ryan discuss the history of hooliganism, especially as it relates to football in Britain, where it is most associated, and working class males with whom it is most associated, and the current state of hooliganism associated to British football which still occurs despite laws meant to curb the violence from even happening. A Wrexham couple also discusses the issue in light of he being a Wrexham AFC supporter, a former hooligan who still associates with his hooligan friends in the camaraderie, and being currently banned from the stadium for the year in his hooligan activities, and she being a non-supporter and who was working her way to become a Wrexham police detective until she failed the vetting in her association to him. The issue is discussed in light of the violence that happened in town on the occasion of Rob and Ryan's first ever attendance at a Wrexham AFC home game, they who were not made aware of it until after they left.
Episode 11
Sack the Gaffer
Wed, Sep 28, 202225 mins
It's four months into the season, and Wrexham is far down in the standings in twelfth. The natives are getting restless in their frustration. Phil knows he is the one who will take the blame and thus be fired if things don't turn around. Regardless, the team has ten matches until the start of the January trading season, and while they are already close to fifty percent over budget in their player salary, Phil wants to spend more money in a few key positions, which Rob and Ryan know is not just a one year cost but an on-going operating cost in needing to sign contracts if they go ahead with this plan. Rob looks a little closer to home for some inspiration on how to move forward. Their placement at the end of this ten game stretch may provide some clarity.
Episode 12
Wins and Losses
Wed, Oct 5, 202224 mins
It's just past mid-season, and the changes made in the January trades, including Phil getting the striker that he wanted to act as a partner to Paul on the field, seem to be paying off. But while the team is generally on an uphill swing, everyone still knows that things are tenuous as they have to win the league to get out of it, with they hovering between third and fourth not cutting it in the end. While for some winning is life or death, Phil still realizes that he has to foster a nurturing environment as he is dealing with young men who are just at the beginning of their adult "real" lives, including thoughts or marriage, family, and in one case one whose significant other is going through a difficult pregnancy.
Episode 13
Bad Breaks: Worst Team in the League
Wed, Oct 5, 202223 mins
Wrexham AFC is on a bit of winning streak and as such is contending for the top of the standings. Team members have the competing priorities of wanting to be part of a winning team, especially in wanting to get out of the National League, but wanting to play, where their teammates in the same position can be both their compatriot and competitor. But the last thing anyone wants is to see one of their first team players injured even if it means being promoted to that position. That's exactly what happens in a key position. The team's next match against the worst team in the league may show how that injury will affect their chances of winning the league this season.
Episode 14
A Hollywood Distraction
Wed, Oct 5, 202222 mins
The players and staff with Wrexham AFC are reminded that their bosses, Rob, Ryan and Humphrey have day jobs primarily as Hollywood actors when Ryan shows up unexpectedly to film a commercial for something not associated to the team. As the commercial will feature himself and players, Ryan sees this move as a cross promotional win for the team. Not everyone is happy about Ryan and his camera crew's appearance in seeing it as a distraction in the team preparing for the FA Trophy, which has nothing to do with the outcome of the league championship but will still provide some bragging rights to the winning team. Someone else also not happy with Ryan's stunt is Rob, those feelings only exacerbated by the crowd at the first FA Trophy match against Stockport chanting Ryan's name due to his attendance.
Episode 15
Daggers
Wed, Oct 5, 202224 mins
In the last sixteen games, Wrexham AFC has won twelve and lost only one, leaving them currently second in the standings with only a handful of games to go. As such, it is almost a must win situation against Stockport, currently in first, three points ahead, to finish first in the regular season, meaning not needing to go into the playoffs which consists of teams two through nine, inclusive. Excitement and expectations are high among the team and its supporters, although there are the few Wrexham naysayers who believe that with such a meteoric rise in the latter half of the season, the only other way now is down. But even a win against Stockport doesn't necessarily mean finishing atop the league standings at the end of the regular season.
Episode 16
Hello Wembley
Wed, Oct 12, 202224 mins
With the regular season now over, Wrexham AFC as a collective can focus on the FA Trophy championship game played at revered Wembley Stadium, where most of the team members have never played, playing there a privilege in and of itself. A win would be only be the second FA Trophy in franchise history, and would be the icing on the cake of the experience.
Episode 17
Wromance
Wed, Oct 12, 202220 mins
Rob and Ryan only really knew each other through social media before they entered into this Wrexham AFC venture. Since, their relationship has quickly evolved into what is known in popular vernacular as a bromance. The fact that there is not a female equivalent term says something about the acceptance of intimacy in male relationships in general. Many bromances are centered on sports, which provides the atmosphere allowed for that intimacy to occur, and which may stem from activities sons learn to garner acceptance from fathers. Other bromances within the Wrexham AFC sphere are also shown.
Episode 18
Do or Die
Wed, Oct 12, 202244 mins
After a spectacular second half of the season, Wrexham AFC has had two consecutive disappointments, first not finishing atop the regular season standings in losing their final game (not that winning would have changed the standings) and then losing the FA Trophy game at Wembley Stadium. It's now the single loss elimination post-season they needing to win the semi-final to proceed onto the promotion final, the winner of that game who will face Stockport in the league final, that winner who will be promoted for next season. Their semi-final match is against Grimsby Town FC, its home town much like Wrexham in trying to reinvent itself following the collapse of its basic industry, fishing. Regardless of how the team does, Rob and Ryan know they have to plan for the following season on the assumption that they are in it for the longer term. And through the process of the team in the playoffs, key players and supporters talk about what is important to them in life in addition to football.
