New owner Eva Longoria works with Mexico’s Club Necaxa to turn things around for the struggling soccer team.
Welcome to Wrexham has become an award-winning hit, chronicling the efforts of actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac (formerly known as Rob McElhenney before just recently undergoing a legal name change) using their Hollywood magic to reverse the fortune of Welsh soccer team AFC Wrexham. With production on that show’s fifth season underway, its makers are bringing fans a new series with a similar theme: Necaxa, in which Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria sets out to reignite the soul of one of Mexico’s oldest and most storied football franchises, Club Necaxa.
“Necaxa is a gripping bilingual docuseries chronicling a turbulent, transformational time marked by staff shakeups, career-defining injuries and the relentless grit of a football team determined to defy expectations and deliver hope to its city of Aguascalientes, Mexico,” teases the synopsis. “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 ‘Los Rayos’ will one day rise again.”
As a new investor in the team, Longoria — a.k.a. “La Patrona” — has plenty of enthusiasm and fresh ideas to bring to the table. She’s not alone, however; the team’s other new co-owners are Reynolds and Mac, and in the series opener she calls on the duo to bring their experience to the fabled Mexican team as its future hangs in the balance.
Also in the mix are sports director José “Pepe” Hanan and coach Eduardo Fentanes, who are cheered on by a new generation of supporters as they guide the team through the Leagues Cup while attempting to defy expectations and prove the skeptics wrong. “Necaxa brings viewers onto the training pitch and into the locker room as Los Rayos and their supporters chase a playoff dream and hope that lightning can, in fact, strike again,” the synopsis adds. “A portrait of faith, resilience and the enduring power of hope, Necaxa dives into the lives and dreams of the people who surround the team. Will Club Necaxa make it, or will they lose another season and the hearts of Aguascalientes once and for all?”
Of course, there’s also a lot of synergy behind the scenes, with Longoria, Reynolds and Mac all serving as executive producers. “Rob and Ryan helped Wrexham AFC become one of the greatest sports stories of our time and what has happened in Wrexham, Wales, is truly magical,” said FX Entertainment president Nick Grad in a statement. “With Eva Longoria, they’re now teaming to support the dreams and aspirations of the Necaxa fans and Aguascalientes community too.”
Meanwhile, Longoria wants viewers to understand she’s no dilettante, but a longtime soccer aficionado with a keen understanding of just how seriously Mexican fans take their beloved sport. “Football in Mexico is sacred,” she says. “I’m coming here to invest in one of the clubs with a great history and legacy. I’m afraid to mess it up.” That said, she’s also realistic about how far the team has to come in order to achieve the lofty dreams she’s set for Club Necaxa. “We’re not at the level we’d like to be,” she admits, but adds, “If we’re down here, we can only go up, right?”
Necaxa airs Thursday, August 7 on FXX Canada