Ryan Reynolds dubbed 'the real version of Ted Lasso' as Wrexham co-owner hailed for 'unbelievable' work at Racecourse Ground

Reynolds and Mac arrived in North Wales after completing a stunning takeover in 2021. They quickly set about opening up a window to the world, as ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ was released, and invested heavily across the club’s playing staff and local community.

Ted Lasso was already a thing by that stage, with Season 1 of the popular Apple TV production being released in August 2020. Inevitably, comparisons were drawn between an affable American coach at AFC Richmond and A-list actors calling the shots at the Racecourse Ground - with both of those parties daring to ‘Believe’.

Wrexham have since risen into the Championship, rewriting the history books with three successive promotions, while Season 4 of Ted Lasso is in the pipeline. Ex-USMNT star Brek Shea has told Jackpot City Casino of two North American success stories: “Ryan Reynolds is a big guy here, you know, and what he's done is unbelievable. It kind of piggybacks off that show. It's like the real version of Ted Lasso.

“This no-name team, new owners and they’ve got promoted every year. I don't think a team's ever done that, right? Pretty exciting for them. Again, for American fans to get like an inside look on this whole situation and these different leagues, the going up and going down, it's pretty exciting because we don't have that here.”

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Shea is not the first to talk up the impact of Reynolds and Lasso on American audiences, with football finance expert Adam Sommerfield claiming that they will contribute to more money being pumped into the EFL. He has told the Football Daily podcast: “[You have] guys with ultra-high net worth who have seen ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, seen Ted Lasso and said: ‘I want to buy a team’. I can’t see how it won’t be all of them [owned by Americans] because you’ve got 14 in the Premier League majority LP owned, then you’ve got in the EFL at least a third [already owned by Americans].

"I’m not aware of a team really that hasn’t had a conversation with the US investors in recent months. It’s normally the case that you have a couple of hedge fund guys, private equity guys, they’ll go in obviously to try and get the best deal but every team is talking to US investors at the moment so I’d be more surprised if they weren’t all US-owned.”

Reynolds and Mac have previously addressed Ted Lasso directly, having seen one of the show’s characters - Leslie Higgins, played by Jeremy Swift - admit at one stage that he “can’t tell if them buying the club is a joke or not.”

In a light-hearted statement on social media, Reynolds and Mac - who co-created and stars in Apple TV show Mythic Quest - said: “It has come to our attention that in a recent episode of Ted Lasso our very real ownership of Wrexham AFC was called into question by an otherwise beloved character named ‘Higgins’.

“While we hold the incomparable Jeremy Swift in no ill regard and are honored to be mentioned on the platform that’s brought us high-quality programming ranging from Mythic Quest season one to Mythic Quest season two, we must insist that you cease and desist from the casting of any doubt regarding our commitment to the club, the fans, and the entire Wrexham community.”

Ted Lasso took AFC Richmond into the Premier League, and qualified for the Champions League, with Reynolds and Mac hoping to tread a similar path. They helped to fund a £30 million-plus ($40m) spending spree in the summer of 2025 and are determined to deliver top-flight football for Wrexham’s ever-growing legion of supporters.