Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny Welcome Dolly Parton to Wrexham

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny have welcomed “international treasure” (their words and ours) to Wrexham with a new trailer for Welcome to Wrexham, their FX docuseries about the Wrexham football club in Wales. Wrexham has become a global favorite since Reynolds and McElhenny bought a controlling stake in the club in late 2020, just as professional sports were beginning the road back to normalcy after closing down in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gimmick of the ad is that Parton recently did an ancestry check and discovered that she might have some Welsh ancestors — and that was enough to sell the bit for Mac and…that other guy.

Parton starts the video as though it’s not a Welcome to Wrexham video, but something of her own, before opening a letter from the “Welsh Board of Tourism” and immediately becoming suspicious that she’s been scammed. Enter Reynolds and McElhenny.

You can see the video below.

Welcome to Wrexham fans are well-acquainted with the club’s exploits from the seasons fo the documentary series. Last year, it played out like a sports movie with Wrexham AFC managing to completely the storybook promotion. CBS Sports Golazo! caught up with Ben Foster after the amazing conclusion to their season. The goalkeeper had a monster save in a big spot against Notts County. He told the show that Reynolds and McElhenney had promised the lads something special if they came through for the club. Foster said, “They promised us a big day out. They promised us a monster one. If we get promoted, they promised us somewhere with a lot of fashion life.” 

“With the new owners coming in, Rob and Ryan, they’ve done it professionally. They’ve built everything up. If you’ve watched the documentary, little things like, when they first walked in and saw the gym, it’s a shambles,” Foster would say of returning to his old haunt. “There’s basically a medicine ball on the floor and that’s about it. Now, it’s a fully-functioning professional gym. The lads are in there everyday giving everything they’ve got.”

Welcome to Wrexham airs on Hulu (and Disney+ with Hulu). Per the official synopsis, “for the first time ever in season three, with the team taking their place in the EFL, Welcome to Wrexham’s cameras will have unprecedented access on the pitch, bringing viewers inside the locker room and alongside the players, while the action is unfolding in some of the biggest matches Wrexham AFC has ever played.”

Welcome to Wrexham is executive produced by McElhenney, Reynolds, Josh Drisko, Bryan Rowland, Jeff Luini, Humphrey Ker, Nick Frenkel, George Dewey and Boardwalk Pictures’ Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma, and Andy Thomas. Welcome to Wrexham is produced by More Better Productions, Maximum Effort Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment and Boardwalk Pictures.