Welcome to Wrexham Season 5, Episode 1, “The Heart of Wrexham,” marks the documentary’s return and the club’s first season in the Championship in 43 years. On the one hand, Wrexham AFC’s promotion knocks those who poke at the documentary. Welcome to Wrexham can’t tread familiar water when the Championship throws the series into the deep end. “The Heart of Wrexham” already has a lot to grapple with as new players join and beloved ones leave.
That turnover is a lot for the team and Welcome to Wrexham, especially with an eight-episode season. Those first two seasons (Season 1 had 18 episodes, and Season 2 had 15 episodes) had the time to get to know the players on a personal level. So, when something changed in their lives or they left the club, there was time for the documentary series to meditate on that. As the new team tries to gel, “The Heart of Wrexham” raises the question of whether the documentary’s structure can still support that depth of personal investment. There’s no denying that Welcome to Wrexham is capable of it – the show’s past proves it. So, maybe the season’s pacing just needs to even out from here.
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Pre-Season Changes and Growing Pains
The documentary series having fewer than half of the episodes that it debuted with means that the first episodes usually have a rockier pacing. For example, “The Heart of Wrexham” names that Steven Fletcher, Mark Howard, and Paul Mullin are all leaving Wrexham AFC. However, there is only time for Welcome to Wrexham to focus on Mullin, who, of course, has an undeniably pivotal role at the football club. However, Fletcher and Howard are also instrumental figures in Wrexham AFC’s rise. Therefore, it would have been nice to hear a bit more from them before they left the club and, in turn, Welcome to Wrexham.
On the other hand, “The Heart of Wrexham” does a great set-up to that emotional beat from the club’s creative director, Humphrey Ker. He remains one of the best voices on this show, and his reflection on Mullin’s goal against Boreham Wood is a reminder of such. The directorial choice to stay on Ker and sit in what it all means is what makes Welcome to Wrexham stand out – it understands that beats like those make it all count. So, it’s disappointing, even though it’s not practical, that there just isn’t time for everyone to get them.
Then again, it’s strange because the episode continually expresses an awareness that it can be difficult to connect to new squads when familiar favorites leave. Then, “The Heart of Wrexham” makes so little effort to get to know the new players before showing their first games at the club. Hopefully, that personal connection will come as the season advances. After all, the moments with Paul Mullin prove that Welcome to Wrexham can earn that payoff.
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The Spirit of Wrexham in the Championship
This documentary series is at its best, which it maintains most of the time, when it’s about the people. Even as it struggles to balance the new players, “The Heart of Wrexham” tells Bailey’s beautiful yet heartbreaking story. The episode’s structure really relies on this story, weaving Jamie, Anne-Marie, and Michael all around Wrexham AFC. It’s incredibly effective that the documentary series can pull back to footage from that Stockport match in September 2023 to embed viewers in the day. Welcome to Wrexham recontextualizes the club’s loss.
“The Heart of Wrexham” also finds footage of Jamie and co-chairman Ryan Reynolds from the Charlton Athletic match in April 2025. Amid the chaos of people trying to get Reynolds’ attention, these two men have a deeply personal conversation about Bailey. Then, Welcome to Wrexham does something quite surreal and peels back time even further. Reynolds (and co-chairman Rob Mac) crossed paths with Bailey in October 2021, when this started. Hearing Reynolds say, “And it was my first introduction to the spirit of Wrexham,” is moving.
It’s breathtaking. Welcome to Wrexham shows the way this football club wraps around all these human beings and pulls them closer together. Then, “The Heart of Wrexham” sets Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” to Michael, the man who received Bailey’s heart as a donated organ, bringing Bailey’s heart to the Racecourse. It’s just impossible not to be moved by something so special. Sure, Wrexham AFC face an uphill battle in the Championship, but this documentary series serves as a reminder of who it’s all for – the people.
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