The Big Picture
Welcome to Wrexham
Season 3 retains the heartwarming tone fans have come to love.- The season shows the team navigating the challenges that come with being promoted to a bigger league.
- The series also continues to shine a light on its women's team and inspiring locals in the Welsh community.
It’s not an exaggeration to say I started crying less than one minute into Welcome to Wrexham Season 3. I knew what was coming, of course, as the end of Season 2 saw the team finally accomplish their goal of making it out of the National League and into English Football League Two. Still, reliving that moment once again got me misty-eyed, which is the show’s greatest superpower. Welcome to Wrexham has always been about making us invested in more than just the sport and the outcome of the games. It’s made us care about the players and the Welsh community as a whole — and Season 3 is no different.
Welcome to Wrexham
Welcome to Wrexham is a documentary sports series created for FX/Hulu, led by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny. Reynolds and McElhenny partner together to purchase Wrexham's football club, one of the oldest ones in the league, and hope to turn them into champions. However, these two actors have little experience in football or working with one another, so they'll have to learn to work together and navigate the world's most popular sport to have a chance at turning the team around.
- Release Date
- August 24, 2022
What Is ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ Season 3 About?
After gaining promotion, Wrexham A.F.C. is under more pressure than ever before, and that’s partly due to the exposure this docuseries has brought it. Wrexham’s fanbase is global now, evident by the massive turnout during its nationwide tour cheekily dubbed that “USA invasion.” The docuseries handles the explosion of the team’s mega fame well, as it doesn’t spend too much time harping on it nor disingenuously pretending it doesn’t exist. Despite the higher stakes and bigger audience, the same disarming, grounded tone that drew people into its first two seasons is present, as well as the same humility and heart. Though all eyes are on Wrexham, the experience still comes across shockingly intimate and down-to-earth. Neither the club nor the show has forgotten its refreshingly authentic roots and what makes cheering for this team so special.
Speaking of fame, it wouldn’t be Welcome to Wrexham without owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. As always,it’s fun to watch them banter and share their insights, and their screentime is smartly utilized this season. The one small critique I had of last season was that it began to feel a little bloated, with a few episodes that felt like filler and their running gags and commentary running a bit long and distracting from the show’s core. If the first three episodes that were made available for critics are any indication, they’ve pared back this year, making for a leaner and more focused experience.
Focus is the name of the game for the team, too. After they take their moment to celebrate, they immediately get back to work with the goal of getting promoted to League One, though it quickly becomes clear that may prove more difficult than anyone would like. A rocky start has people joking about wanting to return to the National League as reality sets in. They get the rude wake-up call that they’re no longer big fish in a small pond — they’re now tiny fish in a huge pond, and the other fish aren’t going to take it easy on them.
‘Welcome to Wrexham’ Season 3 Showcases the Growing Pains of Success
With a new league comes a partially new team that brings its own strengths and challenges to the table. The question of who will end up as the goalkeeper is an especially riveting storyline, with Ben Foster considering retirement, Mark Howard struggling to prove himself, and young hotshot Arthur Okonkwo coming in hungry. Scrappy Irish winger James McClean and seasoned striker Steven Fletcher are crucial additions to the offensive side of things, especially when star player Paul Mullin gets injured and is unable to compete for the first part of a season — a huge blow and obstacle the team must figure out how to overcome.
Unfortunately, the team can’t seem to do that at first, facing setbacks and being punished for sloppy mistakes that highlight the large divide between the league they came from and the one they’re in now. They get creamed by the competition and even lose at home for the first time in many months. “We hard-launched failure,” Reynolds bluntly proclaims at the beginning of the season. But in true Wrexham fashion, they eventually embrace their underdog nature and find their fight — even if it takes several tough-love pep talks in the locker room at halftime to do it. They fall into a similar pattern of getting off to a wobbly start before digging deep and showing up at their best. Classic Wrexham behavior.
And truthfully, that makes them finally finding their rhythm all the sweeter and more exciting. Seeing them dominate against rivals — teams that, in previous years, have knocked them out of the playoffs and kept them from clinching championships — makes it impossible not to get fired up. It’s a blast to watch them climb their way up the ranks and claw their way to the top, one well-fought fight after the other.
‘Welcome to Wrexham’ Season 3 Is Begging for a Spin-Off
The men’s team isn’t the only one going through some big changes. After an incredible last season, Wrexham’s women’s team is now in the first tier, which sees them competing against powerhouses like Cardiff and Swansea, playing at a bigger and better stadium, and reaping the benefits of more resources and staff. For the first time in club history, they also sign semi-professional players, meaning the footballers actually get paid for competing. Unfortunately, the paycheck isn’t much, with the vast majority of them still having to work other part-time jobs, but it’s a start.
This season sees returning favorites like scoring leader Rosie Hughes and introduces us to other key players with fascinating stories. There’s goalkeeper Delyth Morgan, who was released from a previous team due to her struggle with the mental aspect of the game. Still, she persevered, becoming an essential part of Wrexham. Morgan’s story gives us hope for 19-year-old Mia Roberts, who was let go from Wrexham after last season. It especially stings since her father was a legendary player for the club, but Roberts takes the adversity in stride, using it to motivate her.
The show gives the women fleshed-out arcs and a meaningful amount of screentime, but at the end of the day, there are still limitations. Because of time constraints and the nature of the show, they are relegated to a B-story more often than not, with their games getting more montages and supercuts as opposed to true immersion and detailed examination. Welcome to Wrexham introduced the men’s team to a whole new audience and level of exposure, and a spin-off focusing solely on the women’s team could do the same thing not only for this team but for women’s sports in general. With the surge in popularity of the WNBA this year, there’s no better time to capitalize on the fact that people are enthusiastic and hungry for women’s sports to grow. A sister docuseries could aid in this revolution and, hopefully, ultimately, allow for the same caliber of resources and respect that the men receive.
‘Welcome to Wrexham’ Season 3 Explores Men’s Mental Health
Welcome to Wrexham Season 3 continues to feel like a love letter to its Welsh community through its tender storylines about everyday people in the town. Even though the editing can come off a little clunky due to juggling and weaving together an impressive number of storylines,there seems to be a consistent theme of men’s mental health and choosing vulnerable manhood instead of celebrating toxic masculinity this season.
In addition to introducing a sports psychologist into the mix to work with the team and mentioning a lovely quiet zone in the stadium for people with sensory issues, the series also takes a peek into a local men’s mental health support group to hear testimony from a young father who struggled with guilt when his son was in the hospital. Through the group, he learned to open up and eventually connect with his child.
The most powerful story, however, may be that of photographer Oliver Stephen, who’s always felt like an outsider but finds comfort in Wrexham because it “feels like the right sort of beautiful and right sort of bleak.” Going back to school for fine arts and finding a sense of belonging through the town’s shared passion for football helped him learn to push through anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The photographs he’s captured of Wrexham and its football team are unique and downright stunning. The magic of the show lies in making us just as invested in whether he’ll overcome his fear of crowds to go see a game as we are about Wrexham being promoted.
Welcome to Wrexham Season 3 evolves with the team while staying true to its humble origins. The stakes and popularity may be higher than ever, but the series wisely keeps things small and grounded. It’s a feel-good watch with real substance, never shying away from tackling hard issues — or from indulging in a laugh over a pint at a pub.
Welcome to Wrexham
Welcome to Wrexham retains its heartwarming tone while tackling new challenges in Season 3.
- The series keeps the authentic and intimate feel fans have grown to love.
- The show continues to shine a light on Wrexham's women's team and inspiring locals.
- Topics like mental health and masculinity are handled with respect and care.
- The women's team takes a backseat when it deserves its own spin-off show.
- The editing can feel slightly choppy with all of the different storylines.
Welcome to Wrexham Season 3 premieres May 2 on Hulu.
Watch on Hulu
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