Chad Powers

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.

Chad Powers
Promotional Cover (Hulu)
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Glen Powell & Michael Waldron
Based on	Eli's Places Segment by ESPN Omaha Productions
Starring	Glen Powell Perry Mattfeld Quentin Plair Wynn Everett Frankie Rodriguez Steve Zahn
Music by	Natalie Holt
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	Michael Waldron Adam Fasullo Glen Powell Eli Manning Peyton Manning Jamie Horowitz Ben Brown Burke Magnus Brian Lockhart Kati Fernandez Tony Yacenda Luvh Rakhe
Producer	Alex Orr
Cinematography	Mark Schwartzbard Jeffrey Waldron
Editors	Patrick Tuck Max Koepke
Running time	27–40 minutes
Production companies	Anomaly Pictures Barnstorm ESPN Omaha Productions 20th Television
Original release
Network	Hulu
Release	September 30, 2025 (2025-09-30) – present

The cast includes Steve Zahn, Toby Huss, Perry Mattfeld, Clayne Crawford, Wynn Everett, Frankie A. Rodriguez, Colton Ryan, Keese Wilson, Xavier Mills and Quentin Plair. It premiered on Hulu on September 30, 2025.

Cast

Main

• Glen Powell as Russ Holliday, former arrogant, narcissistic college football quarterback 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
• Quentin Plair as Coach Byrd
• Wynn Everett as Tricia,^[2] the chair of the booster trust
• Frankie Rodriguez as Danny, the team's mascot who's helps Russ with his Chad Powers' disguise
• Steve Zahn as Jake Hudson, the head coach of the South Georgia Catfish

Guest stars

• Toby Huss as Mike Holliday
• Clayne Crawford as Scott Dobbs, the quarterback coach of the South Georgia Catfish
• Colton Ryan as Gerry Dougan, the starting quarterback of the South Georgia Catfish
• Keese Wilson as Rod Mason
• Xavier Mills as Nishan Leonard
• Kevin Trainor as Press Conference Moderator
• Gabriel LaBelle as Tyler
• Eli Manning as Ole Miss Coach
• Haliey Welch as herself^[3][4]

Episodes

No.	Title [5]	Directed by	Written by [6]	Original release date [5]	Prod. code
1	"1st Quarter"	Tony Yacenda	Glen Powell & Michael Waldron	September 30, 2025 (2025-09-30)	1NJK01
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 comes back and register with his birth certificate, driver's license, and transcripts.
2	"2nd Quarter"	Tony Yacenda	Michael Waldron & Paloma Lamb	September 30, 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 ensure, 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.
3	"3rd Quarter"	Payman Benz	Jamie Lee	October 7, 2025 (2025-10-07)	1NJK03
4	"4th Quarter"	TBA	Ben Dougan	October 14, 2025 (2025-10-14)	TBA
5	"5th Quarter"	TBA	Jordan Mendoza	October 21, 2025 (2025-10-21)	TBA
6	"6th Quarter"	TBA	Luvh Rakhe & Gaelyn Golde	October 28, 2025 (2025-10-28)	TBA

Tony Yacenda directed episodes of the series.^[7]

Production

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]