Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Occasionally, it is necessary toconvene a conversationbetween Vulture writers to discuss an important and timely issue in culture.
Nicholas Quah:What, exactly, isWelcome to Wrexham?
Ive been looking forward to talking this out, because Im still trying to process this frankly bizarre artifact.
Is it, as billed, a docuseries?
An elaborate piece of branded content?
What are we doing here?
I watched all five episodes available for critics in two sittings, and my brain has mostly melted down.
Could you expand on that?
Kathryn VanArendonk:Why, yes I can!Welcome to Wrexhamis a nakedTed Lassoextended-universe project.
Yeah, it does.
Does it help that Ryan Reynoldss overall persona in this series is an unshakeable blase snark?
It really does not.
Did you have the same allergic reaction to this series that I did?
NQ: You are most definitely not alone.
Theres just something very unnerving about that.
What do you think aboutWrexhamas a viewing experience?
How does it rate as an actual TV show for you?
I am not made of stone.
I enjoy spending time with these people!
Wrexhamis not great at giving us that time, though.
Other than a few broad questions about whether McElhenney and Reynolds arereallydevoted to this team (they are!
), the series is uninterested in probing their motives in a serious way.
All that said, I do think theres a devils-advocate argument to be made here.
Does itmatterif the TV show is a giant Reynolds-McElhenney propaganda campaign?
Does it matter if its a propaganda campaign?
Im curious what you think about the personas that McElhenney/Reynolds have chosen to show us inWelcome to Wrexham.
But Im still trying to wrap my head around McElhenney.
Whats your read on the celebrity mythmaking aspect of the show?
He hops on the phone to talk to a reluctant new hire.
Theres footage of him waking up very early with his kid to watch one of the games.
He likes to love things, and hes not embarrassed by that.
If only there wereanyother interrogation of how that impulse plays out, it might be so much more interesting.
(Reynolds, not as much.
Interesting case study of the modern Hollywood star, though.)
For now, I guess this is what we have.
