Before they joined forces to co-own a Welsh football team, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny appeared like an unlikely couple. Before even meeting in person, the two comic performers formed a friendship on social media and ultimately decided to make the significant purchase.
Reynolds and McElhenny are currently chronicling the journey for an FX documentary series called Welcome to Wrexham. The American actors wanted to reinvigorate the squad and give back to the city, despite the fact that neither is Welsh or related to the namesake area. Fans have been comparing the inspiring true-life underdog story to the 2022 Emmy-winning series Ted Lasso, which the actors learned about in the midst of all the commotion.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney appear to be amused by the parallels. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, McElhenney related how he unexpectedly learned about the Ted Lasso development. According to the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor:
Jason [Sudeikis] called me not about football at all but about working with Apple. Because Ted Lasso hadn’t even come out yet, and I have a show called Mythic Quest [on Apple]. So we were talking about what it’s like working with Apple, and we were just talking and swapping stories. Then he asked what I was doing next, and I mentioned this football endeavor, and then he mentioned what his show was about and then I was like, ‘Oh man, we’ve gotta get our show out before his show,’ but I think they beat us by like two years.
Although Ted Lasso is a made-up tale about an American football coach who tries to give a faltering AFC squad new life with his singular, optimistic vision, there are uncanny parallels between it and the true Welcome to Wrexham tale. Basically, it all began when Ryan Reynolds contacted Rob McElhenney to rave about one of his favorite It’s Always Sunny moments, and from there, history was made. McElhenney made a joke about how they came up with the idea first, and Reynolds weighed in with a deft retort:
I imagine [co-creator] Bill Lawrence had a pilot script for Ted Lasso before us, I can imagine. That’s my guess.
However, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds appear to approach their team with the same upbeat, Ted Lasso-like enthusiasm. And like the popular television coach, the owners of these two sports franchises are still attempting to understand the “off-sides” regulation. Overall, Lasso and Wrexham are both quite sentimental and wonderful, therefore you should certainly watch both.