I am not the biggest fan of American Football, despite growing up in Texas. Outside of watching the Superbowl and a couple of college football games, I find the sport to be incredibly mundane and boring. However, I do realize that it is a cult. Nope, sorry, American Football is a religion. However, I do love a good sports satire and comedy series. Hulu’s Chad Powers, based off the ESPN’s docu-sketch series Eli’s Places, is hoping to give American football the Ted Lasso treatment. And well does it succeed? Kind of.
We follow Russ Holliday (Glen Powell), a former college football player who is an arrogant, narcissistic asshole. After nuking his quarterback career at the national championships, his life is looked on as pathetic and washed up as he tries desperately to stay relevant to football. He hates himself and wants to change, but doesn’t see a way out. That is until he hears that South Georgia is doing walk-on try outs for their quarterback. Seizing the opportunity, he steals his father’s make-up kit and puts on a new, unrecognizable persona, Chad Powers.
What’s most admirable about Chad Powers is its sheer ambition. The series isn’t afraid to tackle big themes such as redemption, reinvention, and the question of whether a person can truly change, told through the messy lens of Russ Holliday. When we first meet Russ, he is the definition of an arrogant asshole. He is smug, arrogant, and convinced that he is still a star. But, society views him as a washed-up, deeply insecure football player who blew his chance at the big leagues. And deep down, Russ knows it too. He deeply hates the person that he has become. He desperately wants to change, but the terrible reputation that he has built up has made him a walking biohazard.
So enters Chad Powers, Russ’s alter ego. Chad is everything Russ is not. He is kind, emotionally sensitive, and a team player, though he is not the sharpest tool in the shed. When Russ first created this character, it was not out of a desire to change but his pure ego. Chad is a desperate ploy so Russ can get back into playing football. However, as the practices and games go by and Russ starts bonding with his team, his coaches, and his new found friend, Danny (Frankie Rodriguez), he begins to self-reflect. For the first time, Russ starts to actually look inward, realizing that maybe redemption isn’t completely out of reach.
It’s a bold, ambitious swing that demands a lot from its audience as we are being asked to invest in someone who’s downright unlikable and despicable. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the writers and the acting ensemble as they have to get us to cheer for this unlikable character. With Glen Powell’s natural charisma leading the charge in this dual role, it’s hard not to cheer for the guy. He slips seamlessly between Russ and Chad that I genuinely forgot that it was Powell buried under all of that make up. The writing however, doesn’t always meet him at that level. Sometimes it’s uneven, other times it’s sharp, while some moments are just clunky.
Sitting at just six half-hour episodes, the series feels frustratingly brief for what it’s trying to accomplish. The story is packed to the brim and moves at a sprinters pace as it’s trying to kick off Russ’s redemption arc as Chad Powers. I get that this season is meant to lay the groundwork for season two, but it often feels more concerned with what’s coming next than with the story it’s telling now. While episodes work well on their own, the moment you step back and look at the full picture, the season comes off undercooked and rushed. Culminating in a finale that lands with the weight of a mid-season break rather than a true season finale.
Yet, even with its overstuffed pacing and half-baked execution, it’s hard not to be won over by Chad Powers. There’s an undeniable southern charm to it. While not every joke lands, it’s an easy series to grin at as it finds a balance between absurd satire and earnest sincerity as it explores identity and redemption. Hopefully season two gets a bit more breathing room for its narrative because I am genuinely curious to see where they take Powers next.
My Rating: B
All episodes are now available on Hulu
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