A real milestone this week - we have the first Rec Room pick that was also a winner of Stream It or Skip It (to no surprise, you all know exactly what you’re talking about).
Before we jump into that, a reminder that if it’s your first time here, you should subscribe for the best streaming recs and news every week in your inbox. If you’re already a fan, be sure to share with a friend who could use a hand navigating what has become an overwhelming amount of content to choose from.
Now let’s get to it.
Rec Room: Welcome to Wrexham
What It’s About: This sports docuseries follows actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds after they decide to buy a failing, historic Welsh football club and have to navigate rebuilding the organization despite zero football experience.
Why You Should Watch: For a bare-bones education on professional football in Europe, Formula 1: Drive to Survive vibes and some passionate Welsh blokes.
Surprisingly, the least exciting part of this show is the involvement of Reynolds and McElhenney. The show's real star is the small working-class town of Wrexham, as it supplies all of the best characters as well as the dramatic stakes. Whereas this football club is just one part of the lives/careers of Reynolds and McElhenney (as much as they try to represent otherwise in the series), to the Welsh town of Wrexham, the club's status is akin to each resident’s own beating heart. Suffering through an extended economic depression and the Covid pandemic, this town desperately needs a win (figuratively and literally). They’re convinced that they can turn it all around if their football club could be restored to its former glory, and it’s easy to root for Wrexham as you increasingly realize their fans’ zeal is warranted - the town's economic viability is undeniably intertwined with the club's success, for better or worse. The city will thrive if Wrexham can be rebuilt; if not, they’re left circling the drain. That heft makes it easy to get wrapped up in the drama as you root for the club (and town) to save itself.
Outside of the emotional pull of Wrexham, the show is a helpful primer on how the business of professional football works (something I, for one, had no idea about). There are also plenty of chuckles to be had at the general insanity of this move on the part of Reynolds and McElhenney (their only representative on the ground in Wrexham is a writer who works for McElhenney, and his only qualification is that he’s… European?). I doubt this show will drum up the kind of fandom for Wrexham that Formula 1: Drive to Survive did for F1 in America, but it’s still worth a watch if you’re mildly interested in soccer/football or love watching working-class chaps scream at TVs in dreary pubs.
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool, The Proposal, Just Friends, being Blake Lively’s husband, and generally annoying on social media (we get it, dude, you’re wry, charming, and in love with your wife!).
Rob McElhenny - Achieving bro-royalty status after 15+ years on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia or being Kaitlin Olson’s husband (another star of It’s Always Sunny).
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done: Rob McElhenny and Ryan Reynolds (see above).
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
Stream It or Skip It?
First, the results from last week: our first-ever tie! You were evenly split on Wednesday, with 50% voting to stream and 50% voting to skip. You were also firmly not interested in either The Greatest Beer Run Ever or Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, with 75% of you voting to skip the former and 63% voting to skip the latter.
This week we have three pieces of content up for a vote. Let us know in the polls - are you going to Stream It or Skip It?
Pinocchio
Who knew dueling Pinocchio movies were coming out in the next couple of months? This one (starring Tom Hanks) hits Disney+ on September 8th.
White Noise
This prestige-y movie is directed by Noah Baumbach and stars Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, and that’s enough info to set all of Brooklyn ablaze with eager anticipation. It hits Netflix later this year.
The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 5)
I admittedly had no idea this show was still in the mix, having given up on it back in Season 2 (or 3?) when they made you watch that small girl drown herself in the pool (spoilers!). Season 5 comes to Hulu on September 14th.