ROB: Building 69 is where we used to edit "Sunny,"
and then you took that over. - We made it nice.
- You made it nice in there, yeah.
- They gave us a budget.
They gave us some of that sweet Deadpool money.
- Yeah, we didn't get any of that.
This is my favorite building on the whole lot.
RYAN: Oh. Oh, Nakatomi Plaza. ROB: Nakatomi Plaza.
- Any Die Hard fan out there will know
exactly what happened.
- Yippee-ki-yay, mother...
[explosion]
- Yeah, this is the first soundstage
I ever got to work on.
- This is where you did--
- Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place.
There's a plaque over here. - Yeah, let's find the plaque.
- There we go.
- Oh, they got it here.
Here's the beauty of this.
So you look at this, and you think,
"Wow, that's, like, a beautiful piece
"of, like, steel or bronze.
It's patina-ing."
It's plastic.
RYAN: Oh, no! It's fucking plastic.
ROB: Yeah. Look, it bends.
- Let's steal it.
- I mean, you could rip this thing right out of the wall.
RYAN: Look at this fake-- ROB: Yeah. [laughs]
You fucking broke it.
- Fucking... - [laughing] Ah...
PERSON: At least you have a plaque.
[laughter] - This is Hollywood to a tee--
beautiful on the outside... RYAN: Jesus!
ROB: And just shit. RYAN: Oh, my God!
ROB: You just scratch at the surface--
- I mean, how much does it cost to put a real--
I never felt it before.
You're right. It's not even plastic--it's rubber.
ROB: Yeah, it's rubber.
RYAN: No, we need a legacy to put that back on.
ROB: You just scratch at the surface, and underneath it is--
RYAN: I feel so much less special.
Thank you for that ice-cold bucket of humility.
ROB: Yeah.
BUDDY HOLLY: [singing] Every day it's a-getting closer
Going faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey, hey
Every day it's a-getting faster
Everyone said, "Go ahead and ask her"
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey, hey
Love like yours will surely come my way
- [grunts]
[object clatters]
It's magnolia.
[steady music]
PERSON ON RADIO: Well, Rob and Ryan
have an awful lot on their plate.
It's been a summer of upheaval,
with half the playing staff released.
The big question on Wrexham fans' minds, though,
is whether the owners' star quality
can attract a big name to replace Dean Keates.
PERSON: It's a shock Dean leaving, wasn't it? Or was it?
- Well, no, I don't think it was a shock.
I think it was...
- But who are they gonna get in instead?
- [scoffs] Well...
PERSON: Yeah.
[computer beeps]
- So it's time to rebuild.
- Hey. - Yay.
- We desperately need that CEO in place to be able to deal
with the day-to-day, you know, businesses
of running the football club.
You know, they're gonna have to come
with a special set of skills,
and they need to rebuild a club in the National League,
which isn't a skill set that a lot of people have got.
- Can we find a very capable CEO
who can also maybe be a striker?
- That would be a good cost-saving exercise
if we could, you know--
- Ryan, if you can find a 20-goal-a-season CEO,
that's the ideal.
- I feel like we fixed Wrexham, guys.
So I'm gonna just jump off, and I'll see you guys later.
- Okay. Good. - Mic drop. It was great.
- That was easy.
ROB: So we thought it was gonna be a difficult search,
but it actually turned out quite easy.
Fleur Robinson was a no-brainer.
- I'm Fleur Robinson,
Commercial Director of Burton Albion Football Club.
I've worked in football for over 26 years
and, during that time, had many roles,
but I haven't played in goal or mown the pitch.
RYAN: Fleur Robinson, CEO, she comes from Burton.
She comes from a big football family.
She's probably the smartest football CEO in the business.
She's so smart that she asked not to be featured too much
in the documentary.
So I didn't know that that was an option.
- [laughs]
- Well... HARVEY: Hello.
- Hi.
- Here we are again-- really loving these Zooms.
- What we needed was a manager to come in
who had a track record of being successful
because that in its own right
must give you a better chance of success.
- In the process of trying to find us a new manager
at the moment, we received...
Did we say it was 100 applications?
- Yeah, I think, last time I counted--
and to be really honest, I've stopped counting--
It was at 100. - Yeah.
I support the boldest choice.
I just support whatever is going to march this team
proverbially down the field.
- Alongside all the applications we have--
and there were some good applicants in there--
but we recognized that if we could persuade Phil Parkinson
to come to Wrexham Football Club,
that would give us the best chance of success.
ANNOUNCER: Phil Parkinson can celebrate.
The lowest-ranked former Premier League club
begin to make their way
back up the football league pyramid.
HARVEY: Phil Parkinson, with championship experience--
he's improved teams year on year
and knows how to win games.
ANNOUNCER: Colchester United have been promoted
to the Championship
for the first time in the club's history.
- He has a track record that is better
than that of a National League manager.
[cheers and applause]
HUMPHREY: Most managers work their entire life
hoping to achieve just one promotion,
and Parkinson has done it three times.
So, obviously, all of us were very keen on Phil Parkinson.
We made what we felt was a very appropriate approach,
and he said no.
We're looking for someone that has gravitas
and someone who's gonna be able to, like, inspire, lead,
direct in all the ways that you want from a manager/head coach.
You know, I talked about Phil Parkinson.
you know, he's won back-to-back promotions.
He's done it in multiple clubs.
Like, he is a top, top coach.
And we basically said, "What do you want?
We'll give it to you."
And he's just like, "Well, is it a real thing?
"Is this gonna be 18 months, they're gonna get bored?
"Like, what if they don't get promoted
"at the end of the season,
are they gonna just, like, disappear?"
You know, he's-- - Taken a job yet?
- No, not yet.
- Can you put me in touch with...
Phil Parkinson?
- I can try. - Okay.
- I can try.
- I think it's worth a conversation.
- Mm-hmm.
[line trilling]
[funky music]
ROB: Phil. Hey.
It's Rob McElhenney.
How are you?
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
Currently, I am in prep for another season of "Sunny."
So we're in the writing process right now.
It was a tough sell insofar as we were asking him
to drop down two or three leagues,
and some people could look at that as steps backwards.
But I just kind of laid out for him
what our vision for the club is
and why we thought that the town deserved it.
And we hoped that he was gonna see the potential in that.
RYAN: Boy, Rob just kind of went after him
like a dog with a bone.
I think something about Rob that a lot of people don't know
is that Rob will not get off the phone
until he gets what he wants.
I remember he called me when I was 16,
and when I got off the phone, I was in my mid-40s
and owned a Welsh football club.
So, you know, do not underestimate Rob--
I want to say McElhenney is the name.
- Yes. Well, it was great talking to you, too.
Okay.
Okay, great. Thank you.
Bye.
Well, we talked for about an hour and a half.
[Buddy Holly's "Everyday"]
I think I sounded like an asshole.
[music continues]
I don't know. I really have no idea.
BUDDY HOLLY: [singing] Love like yours
will surely come my way
ROB: I definitely sounded like an asshole.
WAYNE: Football is for a lot not just about the football.
It's about meeting in the pub at 11:00, 12:00
on the day of the game.
It's not just pouring a pint and having a chat.
It's everything, you know-- a counselor.
You know, people need an arm round their shoulder.
People want to confide in you.
PERSON: Yeah.
- Ah!
Oh, yeah.
No.
PERSON: Fucking hell.
[object clatters] - Look at that.
[child babbles] No, leave it there.
[laughter]
- It's the kits that's different.
But the goalkeeper's kit looks like--
- Yeah, man, 1-0.
Go on.
Go on. What is it? - Six.
- Oh, the island again. Go on, kid.
[dice clatters] Lenny's storming this.
Come on. Bedtime.
Come on, kiddo. Come on, Charl.
Hup, two, hup, two, hup, two.
[indistinct chatter]
PERSON ON RADIO: It's a beautiful day
here in Wrexham,
but that's not what's on our minds.
Preseason training begins in just a few days' time.
Are we gonna see a new manager unveiled by then?
Will the restructuring of the squad have begun?
- Emmett.
Phil Parkinson--confirmed.
Yay. Phil Parkinson.
We've hit the jackpot, haven't we? Let's be fair.
Just brilliant, innit?
I mean, it's absolutely brilliant, innit?
Phil Parkinson.
- New manager. What do you think?
- Yeah, very exciting. Very exciting.
PERSON: He knows, yeah. PERSON 2: Yeah.
[light piano music]
ANNOUNCER: Wrexham here having
to throw everything at this, as Jarvis takes it on.
That's a great pass as well.
And they kick the ball over towards Ponticelli.
And they've got the equalizer.
PHIL: Growing up, I can remember
going to watch games with my dad
and my brother and friends.
My mum and dad actually were Preston North End fans,
which that's over in Lancashire,
and they were season-ticket holders
at Preston when they grew up,
and, you know, so it's always been in my family.
And I always had a desire to be a footballer.
ANNOUNCER: Primed and ready...
PHIL: When Rob and Ryan took over the club,
it was big news in the football world.
ANNOUNCER: Position could not have been better.
PHIL: When I came in and obviously looked at the squad
and the infrastructure,
there's a lot of work to be done
to make us serious contenders.
The people of Wrexham I just think have been amazing
in terms of the welcoming they've given me and Steve.
[rock music]
Good, lads, good! Better!
Each day in training,
I just want us to keep concentrating on the process.
Expectations have risen.
STEVE: Go on, then.
PHIL: And the ultimate goal is promotion.
STEVE: Go on! Go on!
PHIL: We're gonna work tirelessly
to try and achieve that.
But we're trying hard to keep the focus.
Really important that we get the detail right.
STEVE: Guys, two lines!
- Managers and players at this football club
are under more pressure.
And they're under more pressure
because the expectation level is higher.
[indistinct shouting]
PHIL: We all understand the expectation of the club.
STEVE: Greens go to this end, two ten-minute games.
This needs to be a proper game.
Play. Away we go.
- We've got to try and get something
out of a couple of these players
who haven't figured a great deal in the past,
the last season.
And we've got to find the key to unlocking their talent.
STEVE: Last minute, Greens! You got to get a goal!
PHIL: The atmosphere has been electric
inside the ground,
and I think just the positivity and the vibrancy--
what Rob and Ryan have brought to the area, you can feel it.
[electronic music]
PERSON ON RADIO: The start of the season's nearly here.
The ground staff are working extra hard
to make sure the Racecourse looks its best
for the first home game against Notts County.
ROB: I don't use social media as well as my partner does.
But I will say that... [Ryan chuckles]
As I'm navigating through Twitter,
a lot of the people are asking us to sign
a man named Paul Mullin.
[rock music]
ANNOUNCER: Here's Paul Mullin.
Oh. [laughs] Brilliant!
He can't stop scoring!
[indistinct shouting] Mullin again!
PHIL: He can score left foot, right foot.
He can score at strange angles.
He can head the ball in.
Last year he scored 32 goals for Cambridge.
He was the top scorer in Division Two,
which is a division above this.
- Yeah, I, too, get tagged
in a lot of Paul Mullin-related tweets.
You know, he's Cambridge United's
top scorer last season.
He's a top scorer in League Two.
Whether or not he'd be interested in coming to us,
that's something that remains to be seen.
- There needs to be a little bit
of expectation management.
The top goal scorer in League Two
should be going to the Championship
or the top end of League One.
- Yeah, he finished last season with 34 goals
in all competition at Cambridge United,
won promotional league.
- Wait, he finished with 34 goals?
- Yeah, in all competitions.
Yeah. 34.
- What the fuck? Wow.
- Just be careful in how you set this up
because Paul Mullin should be unachievable
for Wrexham Football Club.
- That might be a little bit impossible.
- It's certainly going to be...
- Expensive. - Very, very, very difficult.
It'll take some persuading,
even if you throw everything at him.
And if we do throw everything at him,
the budgets that we've set
will completely out of the window.
ROB: Yeah.
- That's what I was hoping to hear.
[soft music]
[indistinct chatter]
- Here you go. There's your scarf. Ready?
- My name's Kerry Evans,
and I'm a full-time volunteer at Wrexham Football Club.
[music continues]
I got contacted by Spencer Harris from the WST
to say, "Is it okay to give Rob or Ryan your phone number
to give you a ring?"
I was like, "Sorry?"
Oh, I hope this rain stops.
RYAN: We thought it was important to hire somebody
who is gonna create accountability
in terms of the stadium being accessible.
ROB: She exemplifies the spirit of that town.
So many people that worked at the club
were actually volunteers,
and Kerry was one of those people.
So she was doing the exact job
that we hired her to do already
and had been for many years and was doing it for free.
- I say to everybody, I'm a full-time volunteer
because I do a full-time job.
I work every day of the week, and I'm always at the matches.
Hi, Chal.
Yeah, you?
I had a meeting with Humphrey and Fleur.
They did offer me paid employment.
PERSON: Okay. You all right? KERRY: Lovely to see you.
See you later.
We've obviously been on the benefit system
because of our situation for many, many years,
and it was very scary to think,
"Am I capable of doing
the transition of doing paid work?"
I found that quite...
sort of a heavy decision on my shoulders.
It scares me. It scares me, the commitment of it.
I really struggled with, could I cope with my health?
And my family all said to me, "You're doing it.
"You know, it's not a case of can you do it.
You're doing it already."
I can do one for a couple of games at a time.
And then just when you want to go back, let me know.
It will be a very proud moment
to go back into full-time employment,
something that I never, ever dreamed would be possible.
ROB: Would you like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
HUMPHREY: Yes. ROB: Hell, yeah.
Where are we with Paul Mullin?
- Well, I mean, Phil's made contact with him.
And Shaun has, rather more importantly,
made contact with his agent.
Somewhat unsurprisingly,
the agent has been agenting pretty hard.
It just comes down to the age-old question of,
do we want to pay as much as they want us to pay them?
- But he wants to move closer to his family, right?
- Right. And truth be told,
that's the only reason we've got a shot.
We'll have to pay a premium to get him to drop divisions.
- Okay. Do you think he's worth it?
- If I were you and I owned the football team...
yes, I'd buy him.
- [mouth full] Wow. - Yeah. Because--
- You said that with conviction.
- [mouth full] Yeah.
- I believe I heard you say,
you would put your job on the line, right?
Didn't he say that? - At no point did I say that.
I said I'd spend-- Here's what I'm saying--
I'd happily spend your money on Paul Mullin.
I mean, I got to talk to Ryan again,
but I think he'll go for it
knowing that you were willing to sign the contract
that stated... - That I'd get fired--
- That you get fired if Paul doesn't--
HUMPHREY: Yeah. - He might not be worth it.
- He can be worth it.
- Okay.
[dramatic music]
WINTER: Ready? Go. Go on.
[speaks indistinctly]
Cool, innit?
Don't think you get many better views than this, do you?
[running footsteps] Can we help you over?
[claps hands, chuckles]
[grunts] [child giggles]
[cheers and applause]
PERSON ON RADIO: The pandemic's
kept the fans for 18 months.
But now, still full of excitement
after Paul Mullin arrived,
it's time for a party as they return home to the Racecourse.
WAYNE: Football's more than a game.
I think the famous Bill Shankly once said that,
"It's not life and death--it's more important than that."
I'm a huge football fan.
So, to myself and to the people of this town,
it's incredibly important, especially the club next door.
- Fourteenth season in this non-league.
- Isn't that the longest anybody's been down?
- Probably. Probably. - I think so.
- We've got to get up this time.
- And we've got to get out.
- This town, like no other town around, deserves a break.
Economically and from a football aspect,
we need a break.
- Are we gonna win today, Arthur?
[indistinct chatter]
PERSON ON RADIO: There's no doubt
who the headline signing is.
Everyone's paying attention to Wrexham now,
'cause Paul Mullin's here.
But thanks to new manager Phil Parkinson,
Wrexham fans will be seeing a lot of fresh faces
out on the pitch today.
Everyone is keen to see
what this freshly rebuilt squad is capable of.
- The buzz that's going round Wrexham at the minute
is absolutely fantastic.
So hopefully that can spur them on,
especially with the crowd back in the Racecourse today--
might make for a good atmosphere.
- He's got to win it, doesn't he?
- So important.
- New manager, all the changes in the stadium...
new players...
you know, he's got to win it. - Mm.
- Please, please, please win the first match, you know,
and then we're off to a good start, then, aren't we?
Oh, please. [laughs]
[rock music]
[indistinct chatter]
- Fire in your fucking bellies and ice in your veins.
So we're playing with passion,
but we want to see that class as well.
Let's get both of those two right tonight,
and we'll have a great night.
Come on, boys. Come on, boys. [players cheering]
MARK: The noise is terrific here
at the Racecourse.
Two stands open, and they're packed full of people
who want to hear and to be heard.
[cheers and applause]
[music continues]
As Mullin's about to get the game under way.
[rock music]