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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, September 8, 2023 20 By Caroline Collacutt TV Media Football frenzy: The boys are back in town — and this time, they might even know what they're doing. Season 2 of "Welcome to Wrexham" premieres Tuesday, Sept. 12, on FX, and will be available to stream the following day on Hulu. When actors Rob McElhen- ney ("It's Always Sunny in Phil- adelphia") and Ryan Reynolds ("Deadpool," 2016) an- nounced their intentions to buy the Wrexham football club — a Welsh professional associa- tion club located in Wrexham, North East Wales, operating as the third-oldest club in the world — in 2020, the North American duo was met with many curious glances from football fans across the U.K. and soccer fans back home. At the time, Wrexham AFC was operating in the National League (the fifth tier of English football, ranked below the Pre- mier League and all three tiers of the English football system), previously described as a mis- managed team barreling to- wards the brink of collapse. McElhenney and Reynolds, however, saw nothing but op- portunity. With no prior experi- ence, the duo packed their bags and, joined by a crew of cameras, made off to help the team succeed. A description from FX shares: "'Welcome to Wrex- ham' is a docuseries tracking the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, U.K., as two Hollywood stars take own- ership of the town's historic yet struggling football club. "From Hollywood to Wales, from the pitch to the locker room, the front office to the pub, 'Welcome to Wrexham' will track Rob and Ryan's crash course in football club owner- ship and the inextricably con- nected fates of a team and a town counting on two actors to bring some serious hope and change to a community that could use it." Throughout the course of the first season, viewers watched as McElhenney and Reynolds took over the team (the Red Dragons), first at- tempting to qualify for the playoffs before playing to- wards promotion and eventu- ally taking on Wembley Stadi- um. The team — and the duo's knowledge of the game — im- proved throughout the year, eventually landing them in sec- ond place. Despite a successful season, the Red Dragons failed to advance to the fourth tier of the EFL League Two after being knocked out in the semifinals of the promotion playoffs. Details have been kept tight- lipped, but it is assumed that Season 2 will feature the club's eventual promotion to League Two, with pressure mounting as the club gains notoriety and attention – even from royalty. No matter who's watching, the Red Dragons and their Holly- wood helpers continue chasing their promotion dream in Sea- son 2 of "Welcome to Wrex- ham," premiering Tuesday, Sept. 12, on FX, and streaming Wednesday, Sept. 13, on Hulu. Video stars: The 39th an- nual MTV Video Music Awards show is set to broadcast live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, celebrat- ing music from all genres and videos from some of the most talented players in the indus- try when it airs Tuesday, Sept. 12, on MTV. The event began in 1984 with a show held at the Radio City Music Hall. Since then, many categories have been added, changing the industry and making history along the way. This year, for example, all nominees for Artist of the Year are women – this will be the first time any one gender has dominated the category since it was first introduced in 2017. This year's nominees were announced on Aug. 8, 2023, seeing Taylor Swift ("Mid- nights," 2022) in the lead with eight total nominations, fol- lowed by SZA ("SOS," 2022) at six and Doja Cat ("Scarlet," 2023), Kim Petras ("Feed the Beast," 2023), Miley Cyrus ("Endless Summer Vacation," 2023), Nicki Minaj ("Pink Fri- day 2," 2023), Olivia Rodrigo ("GUTS," 2023) and Sam Smith ("Gloria," 2023) all fol- lowing with five. Unlike some award shows, the "VMAs" allows viewers to vote for their favorite artists and videos from the comfort of their own homes, putting pow- er in the hands of fans. While a full list of nominees (and fur- ther voting procedures) can be found on MTV's website, nomi- nations for a few top catego- ries have been listed below. Video of the Year: Doja Cat for "Attention"; Miley Cyrus for "Flowers"; Nicki Minaj for "Super Freaky Girl"; Olivia Ro- drigo for "Vampire"; Sam Smith and Kim Petras for "Un- holy"; SZA for "Kill Bill" and Taylor Swift for "Anti-Hero." Song of the Year: Miley Cyrus ("Flowers"); Olivia Ro- drigo ("Vampire"); Rema and Selena Gomez ("Calm Down"); Sam Smith and Kim Petras ("Unholy"); Steve Lacy ("Bad Habit"); SZA ("Kill Bill") and Taylor Swift ("Anti- Hero"). Best New Artist: GloRilla ("Anyways, Life's Great," 2022); Ice Spice ("Like…?," 2023); Kaliii ("Toxic Choco- late," 2022); Peso Pluma ("Gé- nesis," 2023); PinkPantheress ("Take me home," 2022) and Reneé Rapp ("Snow Angel," 2023). Finally, the ladies ruling the Artist of the Year category are Beyoncé ("Renaissance," 2022), Karol G ("Mañana Será Bonito," 2023), Shakira ("El Dorado," 2017), Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. More categories, including Best Collaboration, Best Pop, Best Hip Hop, Best K-Pop, Best Visual Effects, Editing, Direc- tion, and Video for Good can be seen as the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards show plays on, broadcast live from New Jer- sey, Tuesday, Sept. 12, on MTV. realtalk Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in "Welcome to Wrexham"

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