In episode 3 of Welcome to Wrexham Season 4, co-owners of Wrexham Holdings LLC, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds respond to an apparent ongoing taunt. Evidently, people, especially those on the internet, like to refer to the soccer club as Disney FC. So, Reynold and McElhenney discuss the team’s fortunes through the lens of a Disney movie. They include a midpoint hero, an “all is lost” moment, and a joyful closing song. The episode that follows nicely encapsulates everything that works about the series, its now veteran celebrity owners, and the team itself. It also highlights everything about the endeavor that might give one pause.

On the positive side, it mixes up the format a bit. That’s a necessity for Welcome to Wrexham Season 4. After all, it’s a show aimed at Americans about a sport Americans remain famously resistant to despite the rest of the world’s endorsement. For another, everything on the show is old news. Anyone who might be interested in Wrexham’s fortunes can know all about them via TV and the internet months prior. So offering a fresh angle is imperative.

It is also something the series has had a skill for since the start. To prevent Welcome from simply being a long-form highlight reel, the show has time and again found new and different ways to share the team’s ongoing journey. Whether filtering the team’s developments through stories of fans and players’ children with spectrum disorder diagnoses, shining a light on the women’s team, or giving the history of Wrexham’s mine tragedies, each episode looks for an angle. Not only has it kept the show from going stale, it has helped reinforce one of the thesis statements of the project. Wrexham isn’t just a football team. It isn’t just a city. It’s how those things interact with one another. Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 stands firm on the idea that a rising tide can lift all boats.

This season, in the four episodes provided to critics so far, has a similar eclectic approach. However, the emphasis on standalone episodes has shifted to a more integrated approach. For instance, in the past, one episode might have been mainly focused on the two new coffee shops in town that get coverage this season. This time out, however, that story unfolds over a couple of episodes that also cover a player’s gaffe while abroad and the women’s team’s struggle in transition. The effect is similar but allows for less timeline jumping—so far, at least—than previous seasons. So far, that makes it easier for viewers to truly grasp how the team’s fortunes are rising and falling.

On the negative side, the gimmicks and celebrity can sometimes feel like they are pushing the team and city out of the spotlight. Reynolds and McElhenney are clearly earnest in their goals. Investing another Brinks truck’s worth of cash would make the point even if that weren’t clear. Additionally, their celebrity undoubtedly helps fuel the team’s success with enthusiasm and press coverage. Additionally, while never stated, they potentially draw in players who might otherwise choose more lucrative contracts or more highly ranked teams. However, by their very nature, the two can sometimes cast a large shadow. For instance, in the Disney episode, they set up and abandon a gag in which they dress as dueling Walts. Disney, not White, to be clear. Bailing on it is a good choice. However, for those three or so minutes, they entirely push aside the team.

It’s a double-edged sword, because the show both creates those moments for the team, the town, and the duo, AND captures them. To use another example, Channing Tatum visits to watch a game and to film a commercial with the team. Would another team, say Birmingham, get a visit from Tatum? Likely no. That’s where one can feel the McElhenney and Reynolds influence. On the other hand, other teams absolutely film commercials for sponsors often, if perhaps not as frequently. So the doc crews and celebrity owners might create their own gravity to a point, but they’re also shining a light on a queasy part of sports that often remains either in shadow or uncommented on.

Birmingham won’t get a drop-in from a Magic Mike actor, but they also won’t have anyone around to catch them dancing, literally, for their sponsors. It’s fascinating and disconcerting, all at once. So the question becomes, does having “Hollywood” exacerbate the weird and uncomfortable symbiosis between athletics and commerce, or does it help give audiences a clearer picture of that reality? Fittingly, the show can’t resolve the question, leaving it up to each viewer to draw their own conclusions.

The morality of fame and capitalism asserting itself in athletic competition aside, Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 remains a compelling show. Its on-field editing is top-notch, making 1-0 squeakers feel intense and cinematic. Off-field, it continues to pay attention not only to the team’s wins, losses, and ties, but how those stats influence the business and personal challenges the city’s residents face. This writer may handwring about if there is too much of the celebrity owners, but there’s no denying they make for entertaining hosts. Their love for the team, the town, and each other feels genuine.

There is also a thoughtfulness to Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 that you won’t find in many triumphant sports documentaries. Even as it celebrates the team’s success, the show repeatedly discusses gaining too much ground too fast. As noted above, everyone generally believes that the better the team does, the better it is for the town. However, several times, people note that, at a certain level, it could fundamentally alter the chemistry of the place. Is Wrexham ready for millionaires to buy property and assert their self-interests? Can the team increasingly dominate the landscape without causing distress?

So, yes, the ratios may go askew at times. The influence of money on sports may rankle a bit. But all things considered, Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 has one job above all else. It is here to entertain and inform its audience. And on that front, it never flies over the crossbar.

Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 is taking a header on FX and Hulu now.

Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 Trailer: