Disney+ original series Welcome to Wrexham premiered its fourth season May 16, 2025.
#Wrexham will have an opportunity to join the EPL this season.
rottentomatoes: 94
metacritic: 77
imdb: 8.3
emmys: 8 wins
Rob McElhenney is co-owner of Wrexham AFC in Wrexham, Wales.
“We’re so fortunate that we keep getting really, really lucky. Yes. We have an incredible foundation of people that keep putting us into positions where we can get lucky. But we’re getting lucky. It just feels, like over the last four years, it’s been this roller coaster of magic.” — Rob McElhenney
“We knew that the competition was going to increase as it always does as you go up a league. And we knew we had to expand and bring in the right team that can help us grow. I like to collect people that are shorter than me… …just because there’s not that many in the club.” — Rob McElhenney
“Well, isn’t this fortuitous? I swear my next call was to Arthur. I’m just so glad that you’re as invested in Wrexham as we are in you. I swear to God this happened. I was in Los Angeles, and I was walking down the street and someone turned to me and said, ‘up the town.’ I said, ‘hey, up the town.’ He goes, ‘you better sign Arthur.’ This a guy in Los Angeles. I was like, ‘I’m trying, man. Like, I’m trying.’ So congratulations. Welcome to Wrexham.” — Rob McElhenney
“What’s up, Wrex? Jordan. This team looks pretty good. I just want to say thank you for helping us kick off this amazing and historic tour.” — Rob McElhenney
Ryan Reynolds
“Oh, my fucking God. Yeah. The one thing we did do that I think we planned for and hoped for was that sort of symbiotic relationship with the community. The feeling in Wrexham and the club, the high tide raising all boats.”
“Michael’s very innovative and understands how to, you know, create the infrastructure to match the feeling in the town, but more so in the global scene. And the thing that shocked me most about him is that, you know, 6’2″ face. But I don’t know. What, 5’7″? 5’7″. ‘Cause I only saw him on Zoom until, you know, weeks into his tenure, and it’s just… yeah.”
“Wrexham playing the Vancouver Whitecaps was one of those ‘pinch me’ moments that I will never, as long as I live, forget. BC Place is the stadium that I went to as a kid. I’ve been to BC Place maybe a hundred times in my life and I’ve always sat way up in the nosebleeds with my dad. And here I am, in BC Place with my daughter. And I’m in the owner’s box and then, you know, spanking ’em. That felt pretty good too. Jordan Davies. Nice.”
Coach Parkinson
“All right, Shaun? Yeah, give me two minutes.”
“We’re going into a really tough division. We’ve got players who’ve never played at this level consistently. We’ve got other players who’ve played at this level a few years ago. We wanna maintain the core of what we’ve created, but the challenge is, can we add to that?”
“We’ve got a lot of decisions to make in terms of continuing to bring the right people into the club. I said to Rob and Ryan that the one player who would be a huge investment for the club going forward is Arthur. Of course, there’s gonna be a number of clubs vying for his signature.”
“Obviously, the downside of that was gonna be that he’s gonna miss the whole preseason and the start of the season as well. Playing against the Premiership teams, felt we acquitted ourselves really well.”
“We are going to compete. Well, we’re hoping to.”
Wrexham AFC
“All right, Phil. You all right? Yeah, good. Once the euphoria of last season’s tremendous performance sort of subsided and the reality of what ahead of us strikes, you know, we’re in a league this season where we’re no longer the biggest fish. You know, in the National League, we were able to spend more than anybody else to get promotion. In League Two, we were able to spend as much as anybody else to get promotion. But we’re now in the mainstream, and that mainstream starts to get really expensive. If we are to get that third promotion in a row, this will certainly be the biggest and most successful of them all. Because, you know, we are coming from behind now, rather than being in front.”
“League One this year is strong. There’s three teams relegated from the Championship who have got ambitions of going straight back up to probably where they believe is their rightful place. One of those is Birmingham, a massive club. Big funding behind it, and their wage bill wil lbe probably 50% more than ours. Birmingham are absolute favorites for promotion.”
“More importantly, these teams know how to win. And we all know you can’t buy that part. Understand that the area of biggest growth for the club is going to be in North America. The teams around Rob and Ryan began the search to bring a new CEO in who understood the American market, understood football, and eventually identified the American candidate.”
“The philosophy, you talk about some of these global brands, European football… sure, they’ve been around for 100, 110 years, but they started as community organizations. That skill set, relevant experience both in the US and in Europe. He’s been involved in stadium development, which is obviously a big part of what the club needs to do going forward. You know, so they felt he was the best person for the job.”
“I want to start by giving, you know, some compliments for what you guys have accomplished. And I will never use the word ‘soccer,’ just so you guys know. For me, it’s football. So what’s the name of the club that Daddy works for now? A dragon. That’s right. And the name of him? Remember? Wrexham. My name’s Michael Williamson. I am the CEO of Wrexham AFC. I’m actually an accountant by trade, but ultimately have been in football for over 20-some years now. I went from US Soccer foundation to become the CFO of DC United, a team in MLS, and then eventually ended up somehow in Inter Milan. I was there for six or seven years and ended up finding my wife there, having my daughter born in Milan. Goal! High five. My next role I was looking for was something where I was building something. That it wasn’t just about a quick flip of an asset, but actually trying to build something for the club, for the communities and for my family.”
“I visited Wrexham during the final game of last season just to get a sense of what it’s like. No one knew me. I walked around in the club shop. I went around. I just watched everyone and the excitement and the buzz. And you can see their passion. But the best part… the best part was after the match, everyone kind of went, you know, to different things to celebrate the promotion. I just walked down into the town center, and I saw how alive that town center was. I’ve been at all levels of football. That doesn’t exist. That just helped me understand and appreciate this is for them and for the community. Moving the entire family here, having a five-year-old, you know, having a wife who, English is her second language. It has really been difficult. Definitely, yep, we’re in. There’s a lot of expectations. There’s a lot of pressure and just a lot to do here.”
“We’ve had some amazing momentum here. We’ve gone from being a non-league club to now being in League One. What we also have to do is support the growth that we’ve had due to the success on the pitch. So for that reason, we need to invest in different areas. Our performance on the pitch is remarkable, but off the pitch, we need to grow as an organization. We can arrive in Championship. We deserve to be there. But it takes just as much work off the pitch to be able to reach Championship as it does the 11 players on the pitch. We need a training facility for the first team and the women’s first team. Player’s come to the stadium, get changed, get in their cars, drive to Colliers, train, get back in their cars to come back here to shower and change.”
“You know, we need employees, staff. People who were with us when we were in National League are now having to try to take on five, six different jobs. That’s just in League One. Imagine as we go to Championship. I think Man U, Arsenal, I think they’re around 1,000 employees. If we’re getting up in Premier League in three years, that’s probably my worst nightmare in some ways. Because I think we have a lot to do before we’re ready for that. When we’re in Premier League, we’re gonna have football players looking to drive their Lamborghinis and their Ferraris down Crispin Lane. And that is a departure from what Wrexham community is about. How do we address that? Are we going to say, ‘okay, yes, we want the best footballers,’ or do we try to create a philosophy consistent with the community around us? And that’s gonna be challenging because the community’s expecting us, once we get to Premier League, to be competitive.”
“The football club part’s easy. Building a city is the challenging part. How do we continue to develop and help grow this community? That is the biggest pressure because I know that’s what Rob and Ryan expect. This is a difficult industry because, you know, it is a lot based on results, and it’s not gonna be easy, and it’s going to take some time. Candidly, with my daughter about to turn five, you know, I don’t wanna be moving around. So I’m hoping for my family side of things, for my professional side of things, I will be able to stay with the club, but, at the same time, anything can happen.”
“Come on, then. Get it going. Punch it in. Good. Good.”
“Hi, Wrexham fans, I’m back. Can’t wait to see you all in League One next season. Up the town. It was a long negotiation process. I did have other clubs higher up. I wanted to come back to Wrexham, and I think the fans are a huge part of that. The confidence they gave me, that can bring out the most out of a player. That was a huge factor for me. Hold on. You right, Rob? Been invested since I joined, so hopefully bring some success this season.”
“All right, Mulls, so just an annual catch-up, if that’s all right with you. Just to go through the background. You’re not asthmatic? No. No. Any other chest problems? Any… you had the injury last year, didn’t you? Chest. Yeah, my ribs, last year. But there’s no ongoing issues with that? Nothing before that, no. We know about the back problem at the moment. Any previous back issues? Before the last three years? No. No. Yeah. The last three years, I’ve always had this issue with my back. Herniated disc, slipped disc, whatever. And the cartilage was basically pressing on the nerve every time, so it was constant shooting pains down my legs and stuff, and… I couldn’t really… well, I could spring, but it always hurt. So I had to find a way to get on with it and just play with the pain. Basically coping with it fine, and then going into summer, it was hurting more than usual. Take some deep breaths in there if you can.”
“I got it scanned at the end of May. The surgeon, he told me it had obviously doubled in size and I was at risk of losing all feeling in my left leg if I carried on. You know, a big decision needed to be made. And, obviously, the medical professionals decided that he needed an operation on his back. Wanna lie back on it and I’ll move it back slowly? Getting there is easier… a lot easier if I just do it myself.”
“Of course the team being here in the United States, we just wanted to show you the love that this country has for you all. We’re here at Andy Cannon’s housewarming party… very soon into us arriving to LA, we had a red carpet event. We were all suited and booted. It’s getting real now we’re out here. The excitement is starting to kick in now. We have really, really high ambitions. We need to take advantage of what we have built. Build on that success, and that means building our large, global fanbase.”
“Going out to the US is just an absolute dream. We want to challenge ourselves. We want to see where we fare in relation to teams in the US. The profile of players out in the US, they’re very athletic. That shows. They work on things technically so much, because they have the opportunity and resources to do so. More than what we do. We struggled in the games, and we weren’t where we wanted to be. I remember Rob telling us it was looking like it was gonna be a big attendance in Portland, and I was like, ‘what do you see as big?’ And he said, ‘we’re looking at 10,000.’ I’ve got goosebumps walking out. To be doing this for women’s sport and to be giving little, young girls in Wrexham something to look forward to is something that I’m so proud of and grateful of. But then, yeah, we were quickly kind of humbled to the fact, okay, these guys are here to show us what American football is about. Just felt like we never really kind of got into the game. We would be lying if we said we weren’t disappointed with those results. Nobody goes out to lose, but, you know, the lessons and how much we’ve learnt from that is invaluable, really. Visibility for Wrexham Women is important, and it’s important for women’s football in general. It’s a rising game, and the more supporters that the game can get, the better. Okay, they’re of much better quality, but we know where we need to be now. You know, we’re resilient as Wrexham Women. We just… honestly, we can’t wait to get going now. We just don’t want to get beat again.”
“Our women’s team faced some serious challenges on the US tour, but something that was made very clear was the stark difference both developmentally and economically in Welsh women’s football versus a lot of women’s football worldwide. We’ve got some catching up to do. Nonetheless, the women learned a lot on this trip. They even learned a little bit about how to deal with controversy with Rosie at the center of one.”
“I got asked the question of what do I think of LA? I thought in my head, ‘uh, well, I’ve only flew to LA, been in the hotel. I’ve not really seen LA that much. Right, just give them something.’ I am now stood here in LA, like, come on. Have you seen the amazing looking cars, the buildings, the people? It’s beautiful. It is not like Wrexham. You know, I was walking down the street and there was, like, these flowers and there’s, like, a park of cactus.”
Wrexham Fan Base
“Yes. That was the moment we clinched promotion. The second pitch invasion on the Racecourse in just 12 months. I almost feel like I don’t deserve two promotions in two years.”
“What’s the chances then, boys, this season? We’re back in League One. We need to be thankful that we’ve just been treated to two promotions. We know with our brains… uh-huh. ‘Mid-table. Come on, let’s be sensible.’ But in our hearts, there’s that sneaking feeling of, ‘go on, let’s do it again.’ Why can’t we do it? Let’s be honest. Has anybody ever done, uh, back-to-back-to-back promotions? I don’t think they have. I don’t think so. But why can’t we do it? Yeah. Yeah. And Rob and Ryan, they like chasing those records, don’t they?”
“Getting to League One, is back to maybe our spiritual home where lots of us feel we do belong, but we’ve got plans to upsize once again. Mark my words. Yeah. I think we’ll win the league. Mark my words. Back-to-back-to-back. Back-to-back-to-back, what do you reckon? Are they gonna do it? Yes. There’s confidence. Back-to-back-to-back, isn’t it? That’s last year. So I want one next year, back-to-back-to-back. More clean sheets. We’re gonna win the league. We’re gonna win the league. We’ve won it twice. We can win it again. How am I going to be celebrating? Probably by cheering and basically destroying the downstairs drawing room by shouting and screaming. Up the town. We’re gonna fight to the end. No, realistically, we will lose. But– don’t put that in. Why would you say that? Fucking Al, shut up. Al, come on. It’s not gonna happen. We’re gonna win every game. Every game this season, we’re gonna win.”
“But you look at this league now, this has got to be one of the strongest League Ones for the last few years. Definitely. See, we’re not the favorites. We’re not the big fish anymore. We’re not the big fish anymore, no. When you look through the teams, we’re up against Wycombe. You know what I mean? Yeah, you look two years ago, three years ago, they were in the Championship.”
“We’re going to Birmingham City. I’ve got a ticket to Bolton. Like, these are stadiums that I was hoping that we’d get an FA Cup draw to go to those games.”
“Now, if Wrexham wanna get promoted to Championship or eventually to Prem, they’re miles off it. You’ve got eight ex-Premier League teams in this league. Wrexham are coming to a league and a playing field where teams have got more money than Wrexham without all the added bonuses that Wrexham have got through documentary and all these sponsorship of TV deals. Other teams have just got that anyway.”
“What does the club need to do as a whole to make itself a Premier League entity in however long that takes? Sometimes you don’t necessarily want to go back-to-back-to-back. That sounds weird. You need to settle in for a while, figure out what you need to do to get to the next level, because relegation is always looming, let me tell you. You always have to worry about the negative financial elements of that before you lick your lips with the prospect of promotion. Before you get to the Premier League, you go through the Championship, one of the toughest leagues in the world. So, you know, you’ve got to build infrastructure. The stadium is gonna have to be bigger. There’s no way that the match day revenues will fund anything that will get you out of the Championship as it currently stands. You’ve got to build the right people at the top. Building out an academy is absolutely crucial. From ‘under six’ all the way up to ‘under 21’s,’ ‘under 23s,’ the system-bringing conveyor belt of talent that can get you through tough seasons as all of the great clubs do.”
“I think we are all dreaming of another promotion, you know, back-to-back-to-back. But you could be, you know, there without a proper training ground, without the Kop stand renovated. So, sometimes things can come too quickly, and I think infrastructure should be top priority over another promotion.”
“You ask how successful she’s been. Well, we’ve been promoted twice. So overall, her legacy will be, ‘thank you for bringing us the club to this point.’ She did the hard yards. News away from the pitch. New CEO, Mike Williamson, on board is very exciting, isn’t it? You’ve got someone who was chief financial officer at Inter Milan. Now that is not a job for the faint-hearted. Miami as well. D.C. United. This is one of the big guys.”
“I would say that he comes with a word of warning. There have been some grumbles on it. He’s from America. I get what you mean. Some guy who, living half the world away, is giving me instructions, telling me how to do my job. A dragon. Wrexham. Yay, Benny! Hey, I see you. Yeah! It was not easy, but on the other hand, I think it was the right decision. Yes.”
“I want to talk about transfers. There’s been nothing. No activity whatsoever. If there is, you know, the possibility of doing three promotions in a row, you’re gonna need a statement signing. I can’t see us being able to get near the likes of Birmingham, Rotherham, who’ve spent millions of pounds on players. Our previous transfer record was 300,000. They’re spending that on a backup goalkeeper. If we look at the goalkeeper, that is a pertinent issue. You know, Arthur Okonkwo’s loan has ended, and it doesn’t sound like he will be coming back.”
“Is Big Arthur gonna stay, do you think? I hope he signs. At the moment, I just don’t know. Phil Parkinson said Wrexham would, quote, ‘give everything that we’ve got to get you back.’ James McClean, under one of your Instagrams, wrote, ‘sign the contract, big boy.’ Ordinarily, for a player of that potential and that age, you’d probably have to pay one, maybe two million pounds. I feel like we’ve seen the last of him, you know, just ’cause he’s got that amount of interest from Premier League and Championship. It goes back to what does Arthur want as a 22-year-old keeper? Does he want to play, or is he happy to be on the bench for a little bit? He’ll walk into our team, but he won’t walk into a Championship team. Maybe. Maybe. Anyway, that’s just me being a dreamer.”
“Okonkwo! ♪Arthur, Arthur Okonkwo ♪. Okonkwo!”
“There is no time frame on Paul Mullin’s return. It means, Nate, that for the second season in a row, Wrexham will most likely go into the League campaign without Paul Mullin starting up front.”
“Wrexham are heading over to North America again. This time for the Wrex Coast preseason tour. California is up first, Andy. Yeah, excited about this. Women’s side will be joining the men for the first time. I don’t think they’ve ever played a match on US soil. Yeah, they deserve it. The women’s side have been building steadily, and it’ll be great to build their profile too.”
Football Fans
“Birmingham. Yes!”
Announcers / Media
“And that is the final whistle. The fans are on the pitch. Wrexham Football Club, Wow. Drink it in. Enjoy yourselves tonight, Wrexham fans, because you don’t see back-to-back promotions very often. Unbelievable for Wrexham.”
“Birmingham on the rise! And it’s in! Unbelievable!”
“Welcome back to Lunchtime Live. We’ve got some big news concerning League One Burton. The club have appointed Fleur Robinson as their new chief executive. That follows three years in the same role at Wrexham. Chief Executive Fleur Robinson is set to leave the club.”
“You know, you’ve worked at soccer at every level, worked over in Italy for a while at Inter Milan. Wow. They’re drawing enormous crowds.”
“Going from non-league to League One is much less of a gap than it is going from League One to the Championship to the Premier League. And there’s the final whistle and exactly what we hoped that this match would be. Sixty-three places separating Chelsea and Wrexham. There’s players on Chelsea that make more than the value of the Wrexham club. Oh! It’s a great finish! A 2-2 draw against Premier League opposition.”
“The Whitecaps have a friendly match scheduled this weekend with Wrexham AFC, the Welsh football club co-owned by Vancouver actor Ryan Reynolds.”
“Hits far post, and what a header. …foot towards goal, and it’s a third. Back in the middle. On the volley. What a goal!”
“Welcome to the first ever Wrexham AFC Women’s Wrex Coast Tour. Let’s hear it! Goal for SoCal FC. Tigres Femenil, six. Wrexham AFC Women, one. I know. Overwhelming. Yeah.”
