This week in Beverly Hills, Emmy Award-Winning producer and Wrexham co-chairman Rob McElhenney welcomed the AFC Mens and Women’s teams at a special red carpet event. The teams are in the US for their Wrex Coast Tour which consists of 6 matches on the West Coast.
Before the hit show Welcome to Wrexham, McElhenney became famous as the co-creator and star of one of the highest-rated and most-watched shows in FX history, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia – which is the longest-running live-action sitcom in TV history. From there, he created the beautiful gem called Mythic Quest. The artist’s latest show, Welcome to Wrexham, was just nominated for 6 Emmy Awards and has been renewed for Season 4.
In a brief conversation with Immersive, he expressed his gratitude for the nominations. “It’s an honor,” McElhenney said. “It’s just a reflection of the work that the entire crew has done. I’ve worked with some really amazing crews over the years, but in this case, they embed in the city and the town. They’re living the experience with the people of Wrexham. They’ve become a part of the story in and of themselves.”
Taking the stage, McElhenney reflected on his time before he made it in a very warm and inspiring speech that embodies the tone of the FX series:
“I would come to Beverly Hills, because it’s a beautiful area to walk and I would just walk the streets, pacing back and forth for miles. I came here with a dream to be an entertainment business, and it was not so easy breaking in, but I was determined to find a way, and just like millions of people that come here with a dream, it was tough going.
I aligned myself with the right people and found the right partners, both on screen and at FX. Some of those who are here right now have changed my life truly, and I’ve been working with them for 20 years. It reminds me a lot of all of you who play football. I have to guess that it was always your dream to play professional football and just like me, which I’m probably part of 4% of people who come to work in the entertainment business that actually make a living, they get to do what I love, my dream for a living, and you’re the same. I’m sure that that’s not lost on here.
Now you’re here in the United States, in California, still continuing to live your dream and I hope there are other people here. The young people may older people who have a dream are living that dream or aren’t yet, but are close to it, and hopefully, you’re aligning yourself with the kind of people that I align myself with, that you have the kind of perseverance that it takes to achieve that dream. To all of you, all of us dreamers, cheers.”
Welcome to Wrexham is available to stream at FX.
