Chad Powers is an American sports comedy television series created by Glen Powell and Michael Waldron, starring Powell in the titular role. Developed from a Omaha Productions skit by Eli Manning, the show follows Russ Holiday after he disgraces himself on the field while serving as a star quarterback at a major college program.[1] After ruining his reputation, Holiday undergoes a physical transformation, with the help of prosthetics and a wig, to disguise his identity in order to join the floundering football team at a small school under the name of Chad Powers.
Glen Powell as Russ Holliday, former arrogant, narcissistic college footballquarterback whose career has been nuked after disgracing himself in a championship game. He disguises himself as the titular Chad Powers to start over as a walk-on player for a college team.[2]
Perry Mattfeld as Ricky Hudson, the offensive assistant coach of the South Georgia Catfish and daughter of Jake
Russ Holiday rushes to a touchdown as a star collegiate quarterback. He inadvertently drops the ball before the end zone, however, leading the opposing team to grab the ball and win the championship game. A distraught Russ gets into an altercation with a fan on the sidelines, tipping the fan over a boy in a wheelchair who has cancer. Eight years later, his reputation ruined, Russ leads a free-wheeling life but desires to get back into athletics. He takes materials from his father, who works in makeup and prosthetics, to disguise his identity while trying out for the football team of a small college in Georgia. Danny, who plays the team's mascot (a catfish), offers to help Russ with the ruse. Russ impresses the coaches, and he briefly connects with Ricky, an assistant coach and daughter of the head coach, Jake Hudson. Russ admits that he isn't enrolled after being offered a spot, but the coach tells him to come back and register with his birth certificate, driver's license, and transcripts.
2
"2nd Quarter"
Tony Yacenda
Michael Waldron & Paloma Lamb
September30,2025(2025-09-30)
1NJK02
Chad obtains a fake id with the help of Danny. On the team, he is competing against the earnest and friendly Gerry for the position of starting quarterback. Coach Hudson tells Chad to show leadership and invites him to a team barbecue at his house. A pool party and water balloon fight ensue, posing a risk for Chad's disguise. Meanwhile, Ricky is embarrassed about being seen as the coach's daughter. Chad receives the news that Hudson has chosen Gerry as the starter.
In the first game of the season, Chad stays on the sidelines as a backup while Gerry takes the quarterback position. The team plays poorly, with Gerry struggling to make passes. Ricky presents an idea to turn the game around that would involve replacing Gerry with Chad. Her ideas are dismissed by the other coaches, and she is told to get off the field. Danny, playing the mascot, purposefully trips Gerry, taking him out of the game with an injury. Left with no choice, Hudson puts Chad in the game. Chad manages to score his first touchdown for the Catfish. In the final play, Chad decides to ignore the coaches' strategy in favor of Ricky's play, enabling the Catfish to win. Instead of celebrating with the team, Chad goes to find Ricky and shares a moment with her.
The series, created by Glen Powell and Michael Waldron, received a series order at Hulu in February 2024. The series is based on Eli Manning's character created for Eli's Places.[2] Eli and Peyton Manning were involved in the creation of the show, including helping to secure football arenas and paraphernalia for filming.[1] They also advised Powell on how to convincingly portray a star quarterback. Filming had begun by late August 2024.[8]Natalie Holt composed the score for the series.[9] Patrick Tuck served as an editor.[7]
Release
The series premiered on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the United States and Disney+ Internationally on September 30, 2025, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.[10]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 59% based on 39 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Pairing Glen Powell's charms with a frequently off-putting role, Chad Powers throws comedic curveballs that often backfire but don't necessarily strike out, either."[11]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 54 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average".[12]
Stuart Heritage of The Guardian awarded 4 out of 5 stars to season one, with praise for Powell's performance and the show's exploration of identity.[13] Heritage wrote: "It's a funny, touching, deliberately uncomfortable character piece with one of the most magnetic central performances in recent memory."
In a mostly negative review for Vulture, critic Nicholas Quah described the show as largely "a cynical corporate experiment, engineered within an inch of its life”, while noting that the show occasionally breaks through with flashes of heart and Powell's charisma.[14] Alison Herman of Variety wrote that the season felt rushed, without time to fully develop or explore the dynamics between characters, particularly the relationship between Russ and his father.[15]
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