[birds chirping]
SHAUN: Thank you.
EMPLOYEE: No worries.
Have a good day.
SHAUN: Every test that my wife and I did
and every question that we asked,
what Wrexham's like,
met the criteria of a--of a--
of a town with a working-class background
and, you know, wanting to improve--
wanting to improve itself.
And every--every-- every transaction I've had,
every discussion I've had has only--
has only strengthened that view.
[soft music]
So we have-- this is the Racecourse Ground.
♪ ♪
NICOLA: When we met, he was the club secretary
for Scarborough Football Club.
And, um, we met--I actually interviewed him for a mortgage.
[indistinct chatter]
And my boss declined his mortgage
because football was not a stable industry.
[laughs]
♪ ♪
So obviously, Shaun being Shaun,
wouldn't accept that.
And, uh, he fought for his mortgage.
And, um, he took the girl out.
Always falls on his feet, this boy.
Always falls on his feet. Doing good things.
NICOLA: Shaun works and then works
and then works again, basically.
That is what he does.
He is probably the most hardworking person
I've ever met.
SHAUN: Look at this.
NICOLA: He's so knowledgeable.
He's always three steps ahead of everybody else.
PERSON: Who was your best helper today, Chal?
Uh, Shaun.
NICOLA: He will answer emails
from getting up first thing in the morning,
and obviously, with the time difference
for Rob and Ryan, uh, quiet often in the night.
You're setting this club up to give it
the absolute best chance of promotion.
Then at the end of the day as well,
when America's waking up,
quite often we find that we're doing
calls and Zooms way into the evening as well.
Nic all right, kids all right?
Yeah. Oh, great, yeah.
I just don't see so much of 'em.
[laughter]
And this really start-- [chuckles]
Started as a temporary gig for him.
Oh, he was supposed to do this for six weeks...
RYAN: Yeah. ROB: Maybe at the most.
And then it was like, well, I'll do it for six months,
and then we'll see where we're at.
And now he realizes, it's a full-time,
- lifetime position, I hope. - Yeah.
No, I hope so too.
Effectively, what you're doing is,
you're just showing the complete flexibility
that we have to be able to accommodate
anything and everything.
I don't know where we would be without him.
I don't know where we'd be without him as well.
Shaun is, uh, one of one.
SINGER: ♪ Don't forget where you came from ♪
♪ Don't forget what you're made of ♪
♪ The ones who were there ♪
♪ When no one else would care ♪
♪ Don't be afraid to cry now ♪
♪ Even when the world comes crashing in ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Don't forget to sing when you win ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Don't forget to sing when you win ♪
[bright music]
♪ ♪
HUMPHREY: So at the end of last season,
I think it was around June, uh,
Shaun let the club know
that he was planning to go on holiday
for the first time in a long time.
He and Nicola had identified
the week of October the 21st for that trip.
It was very important to Rob and Ryan and me
that we really kind of protect that week for Shaun and Nicola.
We're back here with Ryan Reynolds
and the other guy.
Come on.
Where? Wait, want me to go up here?
There you go. Yeah, that's good.
HUMPHREY: Everybody knows when it comes to Wrexham,
Rob and Ryan are very much joined at the hip,
bit of a double act.
And similarly, so are Shaun and I.
Shaun is doing many of the things
that I am not capable of doing.
Is that a fair assessment?
Fair? It's fair, but everything's teamwork,
as we know. HUMPHREY: Yes.
Um, you know, I'm not a huge fan
of the good cop/bad cop analogy
that sometimes gets thrown around.
I think it's closer to really Shaun is like
the Hand of the King from Game of Thrones.
You know, he's the... [sucks teeth]
The secret power behind the throne.
Yes, I know Varys was never technically
Hand of the Throne, all you Game of Thrones nerds,
but he does look like Shaun Harvey,
so just deal with it.
But, uh, with him going away,
you know, that means I have to be the Hand.
In what was quite
a Game of Thrones-y development,
the day Shaun left for his holiday,
Rob got in touch with me and announced he was arriving,
without having told Ryan or Shaun
for some strategic reason
or something I had yet to ascertain.
By the way, that is difficult.
You know when you've got a toddler, and--
and they're sort of desperate for an ice cream,
there's, like, a busy road in front of them.
Sometimes you've just gotta, like, steer them
towards the pedestrian crossing.
[indistinct chatter]
Rob revealed that he had come to the Racecourse
to help stage a-- a humorous prank
for the benefit of Ryan's birthday,
which was coming up in a few days' time,
uh, that involved a blimp
that was gonna fly over the Racecourse
with a very unflattering picture of Ryan on it.
[sighs]
And just as a reminder, last year...
Today we celebrate
Mr. Co-Chairman, Robert Lucinda McElhenney,
with this memorial urinal.
HUMPHREY: Ryan surprised Rob on his birthday,
commissioning a urinal with a fancy plaque
etched with Rob's face.
And yes, I recognize this is all fun stuff
that generates more exposure for the club,
but I think I don't like pranks.
That's always been a big thing for me.
I'm not a big--I'm not a big prank war person.
- Here's the blimp. - Here's the--
here--here is the blimp.
Cannot be denied, this is the blimp.
This is--yeah. HUMPHREY: Yes.
It's very convincing, isn't it?
[laughter]
PERSON: Oh, that's so terrible. [cell phone buzzes]
HUMPHREY: Meanwhile, on my phone...
What would you do here?
I've got one co-owner sneaking
behind the back of the other one
and the other one asking about it.
[dramatic music]
Also, reminder, I am a working actor,
and while I have already been in an episode
of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,
I've never actually been in a Deadpool movie, so...
So I did the only logical thing.
♪ ♪
Yep, I am comfortable with the word "hero."
[playful music]
ROB: To celebrate my cochairman's birthday,
may I humbly present to you
the Ryan Rodney Reynolds memorial blimp.
♪ ♪
A hideous but surprisingly inexpensive way
for the world to finally see Ryan Reynolds
as he's meant to be seen.
And so we christen this flying Ryan face
for the world to see.
So I don't--I don't think it's gonna break.
Ah, fuck it.
[laughter]
HUMPHREY: Um, now, all of these glorious ideas
had been, uh, formulated and plotted out
and planned and put into practice
without consulting me, without working out
whether or not we were allowed to do this,
what the local Welsh aviation laws,
uh, involved in regards to blimp flying.
And to make matters even more uncomfortable for me,
I'm having to run cover for Rob,
as our other cochairman is very curious
why Rob may or may not be in town.
I'll tell you what--do you know what I--I really think?
I'm looking forward to everyone getting off our grass.
I've always said-- listen, I'm all for--
I'm--I am down for fun. I'm a fun guy.
But I'm very protective of-- of the club.
So I took command of the situation,
and I immediately called Shaun.
Uh, and then over there is the blimp.
Do you see the-- they can't see you.
Only--only I can see you.
Don't you worry.
[seagulls squawking]
Um, and there's the blimp with Ryan's face on it.
[dramatic music]
NICOLA: We were in Tenerife,
having a holiday away the two of us.
Um, it's normal. Everything starts quite well,
um, until we had a little bit of a drama.
ROB: Fly high, my friend.
You're free now.
[bright Latin music]
Happy birthday, Ryan!
♪ ♪
NICOLA: You can usually tell how extensive the drama is
depending on how far around the pool he walks.
It was quite small, so he did a lot of laps of that pool.
[laughing]
HUMPHREY: Unfortunately, my biggest fears were confirmed.
There were several Welsh aviation laws
we might have been breaking and the possibility
there could be fines and/or arrests.
♪ ♪
And I've been lying to Ryan.
As a reminder, as far as their holiday goes,
this is day one.
[clicking]
[bright piano music]
MARK GRIFFITHS: Big challenge this weekend
versus Boreham Wood,
who fancy themselves as challengers for the league.
We need to get some momentum going today, don't we?
ANNOUNCER 2: We certainly do, and again,
this is gonna be a really tough task here
for the--for Wrexham.
Hi. PERSON: Hey.
ANNOUNCER 2: We're at a stage
where we're still warming up,
so I think they're gonna give us a bit of a test.
[indistinct chatter]
HUMPHREY: Rob is in town, but actually the team isn't.
We're away at Boreham Wood.
Boreham Wood is a big game because they are one
of our potential rivals for the championship,
along with Notts County and Chesterfield.
So there's a lot of attention on this game.
GRIFFITHS: It's certainly a test
that I think we need to approach
in a more positive, front foot manner
than we did in the previous away big games.
[whistle blasts] But here we go.
Wrexham knock it back to--
[indistinct chatter]
I wish we could get it up on the TV.
HUMPHREY: Which brings us to the thorny issue
of Article 48.
[soft orchestral music]
Article 48 is the law
that states that you can't broadcast
3:00 p.m. Saturday kickoffs in the UK.
This was to protect the live crowd scene,
the idea being, if it was on telly,
people maybe wouldn't bother to go
to the stadium to watch it.
ROB: Uh, h-hold on. I--I have to jump in here
real quick just to make things 100% clear
for any of the American fans out there.
["Star-Spangled Banner"] That's right.
You can't watch the games on TV...
[buzzer blares] Anywhere...
["God Save the King"] But especially not in the UK,
even if it's a sellout.
[buzzer blares] That's right.
And for all the European fans watching out there...
["Yankee Doodle"] I'm sure I sound
like a typical American asshole,
but don't you want to watch the games?
I mean, come on. You wanna watch the games.
Right? [eagle screeches]
We've done a deep dive into Article 48,
and there--there is a way
to protect the integrity of the sport
while also being able to watch the--
you know, sorry.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
That's a whole other episode.
We were talking about Shaun. Let's get back to Shaun.
HUMPHREY: Every game the club plays is filmed,
um, but that feed of that game is made available
to the club for club usage,
and Rob and Ryan have access to that feed.
So that's how they would often watch games
when back in the United States.
Now, Rob got very excited at the prospect
of streaming this game in the Turf.
And Wrexham being a small town, word got around.
And before you knew it,
uh, everybody in the town knew.
All of a sudden, my-- my phone starts beeping
and then lighting up like a Christmas tree.
[notifications chiming]
Ultimately, a case of,
oh, no, what's happened now?
PRODUCER: So what was your reaction
to the second time Shaun got called?
[tense music]
NICOLA: I don't think I knew
how much the work would take over, in all honesty.
I wonder when Mendy's coming back.
Well, actually, what Rob wanted to do was akin
to sticking two fingers up at the authorities
and something that I couldn't allow to happen.
ROB: Oh, oh. I gotta jump in again.
That's not what I was trying to do.
I--I don't even know what that means.
What does this mean?
ALL: Fuck off.
It's "fuck off"? Why?
See? I--I wasn't trying to create
an international broadcasting uproar.
I--I just wanted to watch the game.
I just--I didn't think it was a very big deal.
And then Shaun called me and said...
And I said, I don't know, I don't think it'll get out.
I don't--is it really that big of a deal?
And he said...
And so now I'm actually scared
because Shaun is scary.
I mean, look at him.
Okay, so we didn't get to watch the game
and instead listened to it on the radio,
which I have to admit is kind of fun,
'cause it makes it feel like it's 1947 or something,
but either way, I missed the lone goal
because I was in the bathroom.
[people cheering]
Article 48 says that it's not gonna happen.
HUMPHREY: Anyway, yeah, cooler heads prevailed,
and Rob and the Turf ended up listening to the match,
which I was delighted about.
GRIFFITHS: And that is the final whistle.
Wow. Wrexham, I think,
will have grounds to feel really disappointed
that they didn't get the 3 points.
HUMPHREY: Incidentally, we drew against Boreham Wood,
1-1, which means that we, uh, still haven't beaten
any of our closest competitors yet this season,
which is far from ideal.
We lost Chesterfield, lost Notts.
We--we drew today.
HUMPHREY: So to recap, Shaun has been gone for two days,
and so far there's been a healthy dose of lies
and subterfuge from at least one of our owners
and very nearly violations of both Welsh aviation law
and international blackout regulations.
And worst of all, two phone calls to Shaun
on his sacrosanct holiday.
And, uh, we haven't even gotten to the bad part yet.
[clicking]
[dramatic music]
The surprise on Ryan's birthday was a blimp,
which for UK viewers, is just a stupid fucking balloon.
You know, Rob thinks he's very funny,
and--and, you know, usually he is, by and large,
but I think, um, by this stage
of having two days of dealing with his shenanigans,
my sense of humor was at an all-time low.
Um, but on the plus side, you know,
Shaun's third day of his vacation was--
was pretty quiet.
And that is where things took a turn--again.
[clicking]
Should footballers be able to put political messages
on their boots?
Okay, so football club Wrexham,
owned by, uh, Ryan Reynolds and some other guy,
uh, banned striker Paul Mullin
from wearing boots emblazoned with a political message.
I think we've got the image. REPORTER 2: Mm.
REPORTER 1: Uh, he said, "Eff the Tories."
Paul, uh, unfortunately, you know, on his boots,
it had, uh, "Fuck the Tories."
And you can't say "Fuck the Tories,"
'cause the phrase "Fuck the Tories" is a very,
uh, explosive phrase, because--
Before we get into all that, I should probably just
give you a quick primer on British politics.
UK politics is dominated by two parties.
You have the Conservative Party,
who are on the right of the political spectrum,
and you have the Labour Party, who are on the left.
The UK government is the Conservative Party,
also known as the Tories.
Our local MP is a Tory,
but most of our fans are probably Labour voters.
So Paul Mullin, who's very much a Labour supporter,
decides to post a picture of his new boots to Instagram,
and, you know, a very innocuous
picture of his boots.
Uh, but if you were to swipe to the right...
Yes.
SHAUN: The picture was taken actually at the football club,
which could suggest that it was club-endorsed,
when of course, we had absolutely no idea.
REPORTER 1: Okay, so football club Wrexham, owned by...
HUMPHREY: So this time, I don't think
anybody had to call Shaun.
He called me.
Paul Mullin from wearing...
HUMPHREY: I know from talking to Nicola that
she, you know, woke up and rolled over in bed
at about 6:00 in the morning in, you know,
the lovely Mediterranean,
sunlight falling on her face,
to find an empty bed with Shaun out on the balcony
talking to people from, you know, the UK government,
Welsh government, the local council,
trying to put out fires left, right, and center.
I obviously posted the photo onto social media
and received a call from the club quite quick,
to be fair to them, just saying all, like,
the Wrexham, like, things in the background is, like--
I was like, oh, I didn't realize.
Obviously it's not representative of Wrexham.
It's totally me and my opinion.
So I removed the photo
and just put another one up.
I woke up the next day, it blew up,
and next minute, I-- I couldn't put the telly on
without it being on every channel.
Is that not technically a uniform?
So the club gets to pick-- REPORTER 2: Yes, exactly.
Yeah, you just wear a uniform.
It was cute. He's adorable.
But he's behaving like a child, and you just can't.
It's born partly from his, uh, Liverpudlian roots.
[crowd singing]
GRIFFITHS: It's a chant that's been sung
at a lot of Liverpool games.
I think it's a special thing to be from Liverpool,
and it means a lot to-- to the people of Liverpool.
They're really proud of it.
The best city in England.
Well, we don't want to be a part of England, but...
SHAUN: Paul is more than entitled
to his own political views.
What we can't allow to happen is for those political views
to be delivered using the club's platform.
So I was hoping I can just quell
this little fire that's burning.
All of a sudden, Ryan liked the picture.
[dramatic music]
[splutters]
I gave it a like on Instagram.
I didn't know that that would cause a ripple effect.
- Um... - It did.
HUMPHREY: Do you know what an Instagram carousel is?
Uh, it's all right if you don't.
But you would expect someone like Ryan Reynolds,
with his hundred million Instagram followers,
would know exactly what one was.
SHAUN: Now I need a fire engine
to put an inferno out.
HUMPHREY: So Shaun left on Friday.
It's now Monday, and he's threatening to come home.
HUMPHREY: So things were looking pretty bleak
for Shaun's vacation.
I've not really been killing it
in my time as the Hand.
But the most critical thing was making a statement.
HUMPHREY: "The photographs taken at the Racecourse Ground
"were done so without our knowledge or approval.
"The club also acknowledge
"that everyone is entitled to their own opinion,
whether that be employees or supporters."
So the statement went down okay-ish, I guess.
I mean, as well as statements like that can go down.
The Tories felt like we hadn't gone far enough.
Our left-leaning fan base decided
that we'd hung Paul out to dry.
So of course, it's at this point
that Shaun calls and says he's cutting his holiday short
and he's coming home the next day.
This is sort of our "all is lost" moment really.
Rob and Ryan had, characteristically,
been causing chaos.
But worse, we had a political firestorm to deal with,
and you know, Shaun was having to cut short
his first holiday in God knows how long.
So that's when I decided to channel my inner Varys.
I knew if I was gonna prevail upon Shaun
not to return to Wrexham, there was no point
in contacting him directly--
or even to go to the "king."
You know, if you want something from the king,
you start with the queen.
But when approaching the queen,
you must approach indirectly
and delicately.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
But it takes a deft hand to lead the queen to water.
I told him what a shame it would be if Shaun was
to spoil his holiday, and, you know,
he being ever the superhero,
got in touch with Rob,
who called Shaun and demanded he stay in Tenerife.
So the system works.
[clicking]
[upbeat Latin music]
♪ ♪
And now, to cap it all off,
at the game on Tuesday night, we're losing 1-0,
and it's raining.
But Rob is nothing if not confident,
and he made a prediction.
HUMPHREY: We all know that the club
getting promotion this season is the true focus.
ANNOUNCER: Drop to the shoulder.
Trying to keep it away from Spence.
[crowd roaring]
Paul stops the ball.
Gets his head up, gets the crossing.
[indistinct shouting]
Goal! [crowd cheering]
HUMPHREY: In football, wins are a wonderful thing
because they help to wipe the slate clean
the previous week, change the agenda,
change the topic of conversation.
ANNOUNCER: Davies to Palmer.
Palmer holds the ball up well.
Here's Davies.
Davies! [crowd roars]
HUMPHREY: So after a week of trials and tribulations,
it was nice to get back to doing what we do best,
which is winning football matches.
ANNOUNCER: Young. Good cross--Hayden!
[crowd roaring]
HUMPHREY: So now Rob thinks he's prescient
or m-magic or something.
I don't know. I mean, I guess
Game of Thrones had magic in it.
You know, he's--he's Bran, the little boy,
on the back of Hodor.
He--he can see into the future apparently.
The other cochairman got to convince himself
that he'd saved Shaun's holiday,
so that was nice for him.
And you know, ultimately,
Shaun did have his holiday saved.
And so that was also a nice thing.
And was I responsible for those things?
I mean... [laughs]
That's not for me to say.
That's for you to decide.
But I will say, I'm quite glad to go back
to just being Shaun's sidekick.
It's--it's a lot less stressful.
[Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road"]
♪ ♪
LINDSEY: ♪ I found out long ago ♪
♪ It's a long way down the holiday road ♪
♪ Holiday road ♪
♪ ♪
[child giggles, seagull cries]