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Parents' Guide to

Welcome to Wrexham

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Feel-good sports reality show has lots of salty language.

TV FX Reality TV 2022
Welcome to Wrexham Television: Poster image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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age 15+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Deb H.
Deb H. Parent of 15-year-old
November 21, 2023
age 15+

Great show! Violence rating from Common Sense Media is lacking

Great show, entertaining, funny guys Ryan and Rob, interesting and real stories about the town, townspeople and the players and their families, and of course football. The violence rating is sorely lacking from Common Sense due to the video coverage shown in Season 1 episode 10, called 'hooligans'. The gang violence on the pitch, off the pitch, before games, and after games that is shared as an important part of the story made my stomach churn, so I think parents need to be aware that people are beaten to unconsciousness, there are unprovoked attacks, and after one of the 2021 games an opposing gang follows and beats a Wrexham fan who is alone. During footage from different past decade's rioting there are many injuries and some deaths. It's shared that hooligans are banned from the games, sometimes for life, so there's retribution and learning of consequence to action, and police are present, but the actual footage is very sad, quite brutal in a few parts, and probably not for younger people to see (even though yes there's a ton of violence kids are exposed to these days, still I think it's important to tell people about it here).
misterjsw
misterjsw Parent of 10-year-old
May 1, 2023
age 15+

BRILLIANT

I absolutley love this show
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In Wrexham, Wales, the Wrexham Association Football Club is one of the world's oldest professional football teams, but it's seen better days. Relegated to the lowest rung of professional play, the team has seemingly been deserted by history and fans alike. Then in 2020, a lifeline of sorts was offered by an unlikely source: Actors Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) and Rob McElhenney (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) bought the club, bringing both attention and better funding to the team and the town. In Welcome to Wrexham, we see the story as it unfolds, from the first tentative meetings with club supporters to the team and season as it emerged under the new owners.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (1 ):

There's a strong whiff of Ted Lasso in this series, and that's all to the good, even though this sports underdog drama is real and not a created-for-TV fiction. The charm of Welcome to Wrexham (and, for that matter, Lasso) is that sports are really just a medium, and what's actually getting an airing is something that's very easy to root for, whether you're a sports fan or not: underrated people going shoulder-to-shoulder to work on a common goal. It's joyful and exhilarating to watch, and McElhenney in particular gives it extra emotional depth by describing the ways in which he relates to downtrodden Wrexham, Wales, in general, and the Wrexham Association Football Club.

"Wrexham reminds me of Philadelphia," says this famous Philadelphian. "It's a working-class town, it's a blue-collar town." Such a town, says McElhenney, has had its ups and downs, and the people living there haven't had the opportunities others have enjoyed. For their part, Wrexham locals and players are thrilled with the infusion of cash and flash these Hollywood types bring to an economically depressed town with a football team in the lowest rung of the English football league system (which the show takes care to explain to the uninitiated). Reynolds and McElhenney are fish out of water, but they're also determined to do right by the town and the team; watching them struggle to do so is nothing short of lovely.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why stories about struggling teams are such an enduring theme in movies and television. What are the dramatic (or comedic) possibilities of the setup?

  • What are some of the cultural differences Reynolds and McElhenney encounter in Wales? How do they adapt to the new milieu? How do the people of Wrexham adapt to them in turn?

  • How do the participants in Welcome to Wrexham demonstrate communication and teamwork? Why are these important character strengths?

TV Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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