Philly, Actually is a Deep Dive Studios original short-form series, presented by the Philadelphia Union and directed by British filmmaker Will Clark Smith. In an inverse of Ted Lasso, a British football obsessive arrives in Philadelphia already convinced he understands the game—and equally convinced he knows what to expect from America’s most notorious sports fans. Through the Union, he discovers a different side of Philadelphia fandom: still loud, sarcastic, demanding, and fiercely loyal, but also welcoming, global, multigenerational, and deeply connected by community.

The series begins with Calum, our fan, arriving in America. Over eight one-minute episodes, he moves from skeptical outsider to genuine Union supporter: hearing warnings about Philadelphia fans, attending his first tailgate, learning the chants, meeting families and supporters from around the world, experiencing the intensity of a rivalry match, and finally realizing that he has stopped referring to the Union as “they” and started calling them “we.”

Designed for release across the Union’s social channels, YouTube, website, matchday screens, and partner platforms, each episode combines British wit, culture-clash comedy, cinematic football imagery, and authentic human connection. The result is more than a story about adopting a new club—it is an opportunity for the Philadelphia Union to show the world a more complete version of Philadelphia sports culture: the passion everyone knows and the community they rarely see.

EIGHT ONE-MINUTE EPISODES

EPISODE 01 — WELCOME TO PHILADELPHIA

Calum arrives in America and is immediately warned that Philadelphia sports fans are loud, hostile, irrational, and quite possibly dangerous.

EPISODE 02 — PICKING A CLUB

A lifelong British football supporter searches for a new hometown team and discovers that the Philadelphia Union may be the obvious choice—even if he is not ready to admit it.

EPISODE 03 — FIRST TAILGATE

Calum approaches his first Union tailgate expecting confrontation and instead finds strangers offering him food, drinks, scarves, and extremely strong opinions about the starting lineup.

EPISODE 04 — LEARNING THE SONGS

The Sons of Ben attempt to teach Calum the chants, forcing a man raised around British football terraces to admit that he may not know everything after all.

EPISODE 05 — NOT THE FANS HE EXPECTED

Calum meets families, immigrants, young players, and lifelong Philadelphians who reveal a welcoming, global community rarely reflected in the city’s national sports reputation.

EPISODE 06 — RIVALRY NIGHT

A heated match proves that Union supporters are every bit as emotional, sarcastic, and unreasonable as advertised—but their intensity never overwhelms the sense of belonging.

EPISODE 07 — THE CONVERSION

Calum catches himself arguing with the referee, defending the club, and taking a loss personally, raising an uncomfortable question: has he become a Philadelphia sports fan?

EPISODE 08 — “WE”

By the final match, Calum no longer says, “The Union won.” He says, “We won”—and realizes that the city he was warned about has given him a new local club and a new sense of home.