Glen Powell has some unfinished business as a sidetracked football player who takes on a new personality to get back in the game.
Glen Powell is a Hollywood A-lister who’s also fashioning himself into a master of disguise. After blasting off in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick as a cocky flyboy, he played a would-be assassin dressed up in nine different aliases in 2024’s streaming smash Hit Man. Powell’s in disguise again in Hulu’s new comedy Chad Powers. But the master part for Chad? Not so much.
The six-episode series is based on a character Eli Manning played in his unscripted ESPN series Eli’s Places. Chad Powers (which Manning exec produces) follows Powell’s Russ Holiday, a former college athlete whose football career was derailed after an unforgivable mistake. Eight years after his fall from grace, Holiday finds inspiration to start over in an unlikely place: Mrs. Doubtfire. He’s able to transform into the affable Chad for a second chance at glory.
“I think that for as much as there’s obvious sports inspirations for the show – stuff like Bull Durham – [we] really looked at things like Mrs. Doubtfire and Tootsie as our biggest inspirations,” explains series co-creator Michael Waldron, who teamed with Powell to bring Chad Powers to life. Chad is “about flawed characters who put on a mask, and by playing a different character, learn a lesson that they maybe never could have about themselves without wearing the mask,” Waldron says.
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When Russ is introduced, he still has a lot of lessons to learn. “We wanted him to be this modern, very contemporary 2025 a**hole, but the kind of guy that you can still empathize with and love,” Waldron teases. The out-of-disguise Russ dons pricey earrings, drives a Cybertruck, and may believe in a conspiracy theory or two. “This guy’s life has been completely reshaped by the trauma that he’s encountered,” Waldron notes. “So what dark corners of the internet did he find refuge in?” That’s for viewers to uncover, but it’s clear early on when you see the individuals he’s surrounding himself with.
When Russ discovers there’s an opening on the South Georgia Catfish team, he walks onto the field as “Chad,” with some help from a new friend named Danny (Frankie Rodriguez), who’s the team’s catfish mascot.
On paper, Russ and Danny may sound like they’re worlds apart, but Waldron says, “The thing about Russ is he’s really not judgmental of other people. It’s because he feels so judged himself. And so it’s no big thing for him to become best friends with a gay Mexican kid and live on his couch.”
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While Danny helps Russ become Chad for the team and protects his real identity, the coaches and players are entirely in the dark, leading to comical scenarios as Russ covers his face in prosthetics while combating sweat, showers, and other elements that could damage the illusion.
One of the coaches is Ricky (Perry Mattfeld), whose efforts to prove herself as a member of the team don’t go unnoticed by Chad. “Russ is a guy who’s felt – right or wrong – the world has had a magnifying glass with the sun beam [and] he’s an ant that the world is cooking every day. He is a narcissist in that way, and I think by being Chad, he can see other people,” Waldron reveals.
“When they first meet, she’s somebody who doesn’t judge him. That means the world,” Waldron says of Russ’s perception of Ricky. “He also sees himself in her. She’s a competitor who doesn’t really get to compete anymore and feels like the world’s out to get her.” But their mutual respect on the field isn’t the only thing building this season as Waldron adds, teasing, “They bond and maybe sort of fall for one another.”
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Perhaps a bigger challenge for Russ, as Chad, is winning over head coach Jake Hudson (Steve Zahn). Along with a stressful personal life, Coach Hudson is also under pressure from the South Georgia Catfish board members breathing down his neck to lead a successful winning team. Disguised as Chad, Russ is free from his real-life notoriety and starting at square one. That can be humbling, but he’s also free to choose the paths he will take with his new persona, including his relationship with Hudson.
Waldron shares that Zahn’s Coach Hudson is “an amazing foil for Chad. And the show’s never better than when it’s Glen saying the craziest s**t in the world, and Steve having to react to it as if it’s the real thing,” Waldron says with a laugh, adding, “Those were the absolute funniest moments on set.”
Chad Powers‘ dual-character premise is certainly ripe for comedy, but being part of the new team will probably bring the real screen magic. Who wouldn’t root for that?
Chad Powers, Series Premiere, Tuesday, September 30, Hulu