Birmingham vs Wrexham: Why 'Built in Birmingham' Is Facing More Heat Than 'Welcome to Wrexham'

The 1979/80, 1994/95, and 2024/25 seasons all have one thing in common. They’re the only three football league campaigns where Birmingham City and Wrexham co-existed in the same division. In fact, as recently as 2011, the pair were separated by four divisions. Previous disparity and a lack of connections between the sides have not stopped them from becoming modern-day rivals on and off the pitch.

This borderline dystopian rivalry stems from the increasingly popular celebrity ownership model and their battle for the League One title last year. It’s not only trophy wars and infamous investors that have brought global attention to the Wrexham and Birmingham ‘franchises’ (a seemingly appropriate term for the pair nowadays), it's their Amazon Prime docuseries as well.

From Sunderland ‘til I Die to All or Nothing, docuseries are everywhere now, and seem to come as a package with celebrity-owned clubs in a bid to promote the team on a worldwide network. Welcome to Wrexham, and the recently debuted Built in Birmingham might have surface-level similarities, yet the reception has been starkly different. While one is largely celebrated for its authenticity and heart, the other is being met with significant 'heat' and criticism for its perceived corporate feel and controversial content.

Football, meet @TomBrady.

All five episodes of Built In Birmingham: Brady & The Blues are now live on Prime Video. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/0hcLzM0rXu

— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) August 1, 2025

The Wrexham Playbook: Authenticity and Underdog Heart

Despite often being mentioned in the same breath, the story painted in Wrexham’s documentary is completely different to Birmingham’s. Beginning four seasons ago, Welcome to Wrexham’s first two seasons were filmed in the National League, portraying meetings with teams such as King’s Lynn Town and Boreham Wood. Solihull Moors might not be far geographically from St. Andrew’s, but they are certainly miles away from their West Midlands counterparts in the footballing pyramid.

Wrexham's success wasn't just about football; it was about the lower tiers of England, a town and its people. The show dedicates significant time to the fans, the local businesses, and the history of Wrexham as a post-industrial town. Not only that, but Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are framed as new and eager faces to the association football industry, learning on the job, making mistakes, and portraying genuine passion for the club.

6 Emmy nominations?! I am completely blown away and honored. Thank you to the Television Academy, FX, my Co-Chairman, the entire Welcome to Wrexham crew, and to the people of Wrexham… You are family. None of this is possible without all of you.

Cymru am byth! ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 pic.twitter.com/Lm0gOFMlZR

— Rob Mac (@RMcElhenney) July 17, 2024

The heartfelt and authentic story is tied to fairytale success. The relatable narrative is a huge factor behind the show receiving an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%, and the Red Dragons’ back-to-back-to-back promotions have truly been a compelling watch.

The Birmingham Backlash: Corporate Tone and Controversial Content

Labelled as an “embarrassing attempt at copying Wrexham” by the Independent, the August-released documentary has come under fire for being focused on Birmingham’s owners bankrolling the club to promotion, instead of the historical team itself. Tom Brady features heavily, making arrogant comments, but unlike Reynolds and McElhenney, his lack of knowledge of the English game comes across as ignorance.

Tom Brady’s Built in Birmingham is an embarrassing attempt at copying Wrexham https://t.co/zdIPtRexDF

— The Independent (@Independent) July 31, 2025

English football fans were also disgraced by Brady’s judgmental comments about former Birmingham head coach Wayne Rooney. A viral clip shows the NFL legend questioning Rooney’s work ethic, angering fans who adored Rooney as a player, especially as it came from someone new to the sport.

The five-part series feels more like a business pitch than a footballing story, hinting that a British viewership might not have been in mind when curating the storylines. Knighthead CEO, Tom Wagner, comments about “growing the brand” as if it's an NBA franchise, and there is more of a focus on staff failing to give David Beckham a gift bag than on Tony Mowbray’s managerial hiatus due to a cancer diagnosis. Mowbray took over from Rooney during the Blues’ 23/24 relegation campaign, and whilst the documentary respects his privacy, there isn’t a single mention of his name at all.

In Birmingham City’s new Amazon Prime documentary, Tom Brady questions Wayne Rooney’s work ethic 😬 pic.twitter.com/3WeZZ9sjYv

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 1, 2025

Sunderland ‘til I Die was loved for its realistic and damning showing of the club’s brutal times in the 2017/18 season as the Black Cats were relegated to the third tier. Birmingham, on the other hand, condensed the entire season of struggle (which makes great cinema) into one episode, opting for its corporate narrative instead.

The Underlying Philosophies: Why the Approaches Differ

Wrexham’s owners, although fellow businesspeople, have presented their project as passion-driven, changing the lives of everyone involved with the Red Dragons. Whilst their goal is promotion and success, the journey the Welsh outfit has embarked on is the selling story. In contrast, Wagner, Brady, and Knighthead’s ‘masterplan’ is a valid business model, turning a failing company into a profitable one, but it is less of a romantic story.

Reynolds and McElhenney are actors known for their charm who are used to projecting a likeable persona onto our screens. Brady, on the other hand, is a renowned sporting figure with experience in pushing and striving for success no matter the cost. His harsh words are a reflection of the hard work and devotion he has to sporting achievement.

Birmingham’s documentary is in its early stages; the first series was released a matter of days ago, and therefore has time to eventually win over fans' opinions. Critics never shy away from a negative comment, as even Wrexham’s series received its disapproval. Nevertheless, there shall always be a haunting possibility that this is not just an initial backlash, but instead permanent damage to an authentic club's reputation.