Necaxa’s got next. Welcome to Wrexham spinoff series Necaxa, which follows the Liga MX’s Club Necaxa, has a release date. The spinoff is premiering Aug. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FXX, with episodes available to stream the next day on Hulu and available on Disney+ internationally.
Necaxa will release two episodes each Thursday for the first three weeks of its (TV) season. The subsequent four episodes will roll out one per week each Thursday until the season finale on Thursday, Sept. 18.
In Necaxa, which hails from FX and Disney+ Latin America, Eva Longoria “sets out to reignite the soul of one of Mexico’s oldest and most storied football clubs, Club Necaxa — enlisting the help of fellow owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds, fresh off their headline-making revival of Wrexham AFC,” the logline reads.
Wait, who the hell is this Rob Mac fella? Why, it’s the international businessman formerly known as Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), of course! The actor and producer recently filed to legally change his name to Rob Mac. It’s easier to pronounce, he explained, especially for those whose first language is not English. As far as we can tell, Tuesday’s Necaxa press release doubles as the world’s official introduction to Rob Mac.
It was an ongoing problem, Mac said, and it’s been a bit of an inside joke among the Wrexham boys (the owners, but perhaps also the soccer team).
In 2023, Reynolds created a musical video for McElhenney’s birthday in which he taught people how to pronounce the name with the help of some famous faces, including Kaitlin Olson, McElhenney’s wife and Sunny co-star.
“Sure, he’s got a pretty face that people know they know,” Reynolds sang. “They think they recognize him from his big-time TV show. But despite the accolades, despite the load of fame, one thing that they do not know is how to say his name.”
The lyrics go on to explain that the name rhymes with “tackle penny.”
“It’s McElhenney, it’s McElhenney, while ways to massacre and mispronounce it there are many. It’s McElhenney, it’s McElhenney, if there was doubt, now there won’t be any. It’s McElhenney!” the song continued.
For her part, Olson previously said the couple’s two young sons were still getting used to the idea: “The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name. And so do I, legally!”
So… Kait Mac?
Rob McElhenney with Kaitlin Olson.
JC Olivera/Variety/Getty Images
OK, back to Necaxa, which FX and Disney+ Latin America further describe as “a gripping bilingual docuseries chronicling a turbulent, transformational time marked by staff shake-ups, career-defining injuries and the relentless grit of a football team determined to defy expectations and deliver hope to its city of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Once a powerhouse in Mexican football, Club Necaxa has spent decades navigating instability including relocations and near-constant reinvention. Though its legacy has flickered in and out of the national spotlight, a passionate core of diehard supporters continues to believe, clinging to the dream that their beloved ‘Rayos’ will one day rise again.”
There’s more, but you get the picture — it’s Welcome to Wrexham, just below our southern border (and well beyond Wales’ borders).
Necaxa is executive produced by Eva Longoria, Cris Abrego, Rachelle Mendez, Nicholas Frenkel, Jackie Cohn, George Dewey, Rob Mac, Ryan Reynolds, Alex Fumero and Diana E. Gonzales. The series is produced by Hyphenate Media Group, More Better Productions, Maximum Effort and 3 Arts Entertainment.