As one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing actors and the owner of several flourishing businesses, Ryan Reynolds is used to success by now. But over the weekend, he experienced a major setback, as one of his ventures came up agonizingly short.

Since 2021, Reynolds has been the co-owner of Wrexham AFC, a Welsh soccer club that’s the subject of FX’s documentary series Welcome to Wrexham. Inspiring examples of personal resilience and community spirit throughout each season of the show, alongside Wrexham’s extraordinary rise through the English Football League system, combine to make it a must-watch for sports fans of all stripes.

Now into its fifth season, this time around Welcome to Wrexham is set to depict its titular team’s challenge for promotion to the top level of English and Welsh football, the Premier League. If things had gone a little differently last Saturday, the season would have ended with a climax worthy of comparison with the greatest sports movie moments.

As it is, though, Wrexham AFC will have to come back next year and try again. They’ve missed out on qualifying for the promotion playoffs on the last day of the regular season. Although their documentary would make a great movie, this is hardly the Hollywood ending Ryan Reynolds and his co-owner Rob Mac will have been hoping for.

Ryan Reynolds’ Sports Doc Welcome To Wrexham Just Got Some Bad News

Welcome to Wrexham’s season 5 trailer dropped in the week prior to the club’s last game of the season, perfectly timed to capitalize on the hype surrounding their unlikely Premier League promotion push. Indeed, the trailer makes numerous references to this story arc.

It just needed the big on-field finish that Wrexham AFC have delivered so often during Reynolds and Mac’s five years in charge. The club’s Hollywood owners received a stark reminder that competitive sport can’t be scripted, however.

Wrexham’s final game of the season was certainly full of drama, but didn’t result in the win required to keep Reynolds and Mac’s dream of reaching the Premier League alive. Wrexham went a goal behind against opponents Middlesbrough, overturned the deficit, and even briefly led 2-1, before they were pegged back once again.

The game ended 2-2 after a thrilling contest, and Hull City has taken the playoff spot that at one stage had Wrexham’s name on it. There’s always next year, but this disappointing end to the season is undoubtedly a setback that will take players, fans, and everyone at the club some time to get over.

For his part, Ryan Reynolds expressed how “completely gutted” he is at the result on X, while emphasizing the pride Wrexham should feel to have come so far this season. Very few football analysts gave them a chance of reaching the playoffs at the start of the season, so there’s no shame in missing out by the barest of margins.

This ending to Wrexham’s league season might not be good news for this year’s installment of Welcome to Wrexham, but it arguably helps the show in the long run. With the club still short of its ultimate goal of Premier League football, the documentary has plenty more stories to tell in the coming seasons.

Wrexham AFC’s On-Field Setback Makes Welcome To Wrexham Even Better

The bittersweet ending to Wrexham AFC’s 2025–26 season invites direct comparisons between Welcome to Wrexham and Ted Lasso, Apple TV’s soccer-themed sitcom which also deals in the lows of professional sport as much as the highs. The documentary’s future moments of triumph will be even more fulfilling in light of this failure to reach the playoffs.

What’s more, in the grand scheme of Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s project, this season’s disappointment will play a positive role in the long-term trajectory of their club. There were also serious questions about how Wrexham’s stadium could host Premier League games next year in the midst of redevelopment work, which are now no longer a concern.

Overall, Welcome to Wrexham is all the better for taking on a healthy dose of footballing reality. To paraphrase the documentary’s theme song by Jon Hume, it’s the moments when the world comes crashing in that ultimately remind us to sing when we win.