Watch: Inside (and outside) the Welcome To Wrexham bus

It appears that TV shows and news programmes in America and across the globe can’t get enough of the improbable story of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buying a Welsh football club,

Billboards have been spotted across the US advertising the Welcome To Wrexham TV series that will air in the UK on August 24, while the star owners have been hard at work promoting the fly-on-the-wall docuseries to audiences worldwide.

However, just to add a little UK flavour to the marketing mix Stateside, a Welcome To Wrexham branded red double decker bus has been doing the rounds of locations on the West Coast of America.

ABC entertainment show On The Red Carpet went to one of the locations in Glendale to get the lowdown, and as luck would have it bumped into an actual Wrexham fan.

Andrew Higgins, originally from Wrexham, but now living Stateside, was thrilled to see the bus and was interviewed on camera.

“It’s an amazing experience to see the documentary being released,” he said. “It’s not just a game it’s life. Where I’m from I used to work for the club, I’ve been supporting the club since I was aged six. For me it’s all I’ve ever known for the last 18 years. It means everything to everyone I know and everyone from the town. 12 years ago the club nearly went bust and now to have these guys come along and put the money in. we could never have imagined it.”

The “Welcome to Wrexham” tour bus pop-up activation made its way to Los Angeles. #WelcometoWrexham premieres August 24th on @FXNetworks and streams next day on @Hulu. @Wrexham_AFC #WrexhamFX #Wrexham pic.twitter.com/SD2ocgvdjY

— On The Red Carpet (@OnTheRedCarpet) August 19, 2022

All the stops are being pulled out Stateside to put the club and the town on the global stage.

This is the sight that greets you when you exit Los Angeles International Airport.

The giant billboard, advertising Welcome To Wrexham TV, was posted by football commentator Jon Champion.

Champion, who is lead commentator for ESPN in the States, who has already seen Gareth Bale cause an outbreak of Welsh fever Stateside, wrote: ‘Proof that ⁦@Wrexham_AFC are turning heads in Hollywood. This is the 1st thing you see – apart from traffic – when you emerge from LAX. #WxmAFC’

Proof that ⁦@Wrexham_AFC⁩ are turning heads in Hollywood. This is the 1st thing you see – apart from traffic – when you emerge from LAX. #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/ZZKYcbr9yn

— Jon Champion (@JonChampionJC) August 4, 2022

And it’s not only the west coast of the States that Welcome To Wrexham is receiving some heavyweight advertising. In New York, on those famous yellow taxis, you’ll also see ads for the hugely anticipated fly-on-the-wall TV series.

In a post by former Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore, who was an advisor to the Wrexham co-owners when they took over the club, he tweeted a picture of one of the iconic cabs bearing a Welcome To Wrexham ad.

The heavyweight advertising Stateside comes as the first trailer for the TV series was recently released.

The series will be broadcast in the UK on the Disney+ streaming service.

No pressure. #WelcomeToWrexham pic.twitter.com/khyucnPqAf

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) July 20, 2022

A synopsis promoting the release date said: “Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) teamed up to purchase the team in the hopes of turning the club into an underdog story the whole world could root for.

“The worry? Rob and Ryan have no experience in football or working with each other. That said, they are serious about their investment in Wrexham, improving the club and doing right by the townspeople.

“From Hollywood to Wales, the pitch to the locker room, the front office to the pub, Welcome to Wrexham will track Rob and Ryan’s crash course in football club ownership and the inextricably connected fates of a team and a town counting on two actors to bring some serious hope and change to a community that could use it.”

Whatever the future brings, one thing is certain, Welcome To Wrexham is going to make for compelling viewing.