Glen Powell is the man of the moment, and we couldn’t be happier.
After charming the world in films like Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You, Powell gets to flex more of his comedic chops in a brand new Hulu original series.
Powell stars as Russ Holliday, a disgraced college athlete who mounts a comeback by wearing an elaborate disguise to become — you guessed it — Chad Powers.
The series has been praised for its comedy and its performances, and it’s certainly among Watch With Us’s favorite shows right now. We break down why Chad Powers is a must-watch.
Glen Powell Is Unrecognizable in ‘Chad Powers’ Football Series: What to Know
It’s a Pitch-Perfect Expansion on a Popular Skit
While Chad Powers might seem like a wacky original idea, it actually started with a bit of sketch comedy starring former football star Eli Manning. In the funny video from Omaha Productions, Manning went undercover at Penn State University. He wore ample, humorous facial prosthetics and pretended to be a walk-on player named “Chad Powers” trying out for the football team.
The video was such a viral success that it spurred an entire series about a football player who tries to join a team by pretending to be someone else. While the name hasn’t changed, the circumstances have: Powell plays Russ Holliday, a star quarterback who ruins his reputation and is eager for a comeback. In order to do that, he puts on a goofy disguise, goes by the name Chad Powers and joins the football team at a lesser school. While the writing is very funny, the story is surprisingly compelling and Powell is absolutely perfect in the role. All-in-all, Chad Powers is the best case scenario for a sketch-turned-TV show.
Powell Gets to Show Off His Comedic Chops
Real heads know the Powell’s comedic roots date all the way back to 2015, when he played lunkhead football boyfriend Chad Radwell (another Chad!) in Ryan Murphy’s comedy-horror series Scream Queens. That was long before Powell became a household name, but the Top Gun: Maverick Star has a real knack for comedic flair, and has shown it off in films like Anyone But You, Set it Off and Hit Man.
Chad Powers allows Powell to indulge in his two main wheelhouses: “jock” and “himbo,” so Chad Powers is kind of the character that he was born to play. Critics agree — the series has received praise in particular for Powell’s captivating and occasionally uncomfortable performance, citing his boundless charisma and confidence. But it also takes away one of his most important aspects: his beautiful face, because there’s nothing funnier than when a handsome guy is made to look really silly.
It’s Not Just a Funny Show — It Has a Great Story, Too
Any fears that a show that originated as a six-minute sketch wouldn’t be able to sustain itself for a whole season of television were soon abated after watching Chad Powers, which manages to eke out an engaging long-form story from its simple premise. It’s also led by a character who is genuinely unlikable, which provides another bit of intrigue for its narrative.
It’s compelling when a show or movie is tasked with persuading you to align with someone reprehensible for multiple hours, and things become even stickier when the lines between Russ and Chad begin to blur. Russ struggles with his identity and questions of redemption in a show that questions whether you can truly find salvation if you lie the entire way there. In the end, Chad Powers is probably meatier than a lot of people would give it credit for.
It Features the Hawk Tuah Girl’s Acting Debut
That’s right, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for — Haliey Welch’s on-screen debut. Well, technically, she already debuted with her viral “hawk tuah” video that took TikTok and then the world by storm. But as it often goes for people who receive that amount of viral fame, eventually Hollywood comes knocking, and it surely did for Ms. Welch.
Glen Powell Booed at UGA Football Game While Filming ‘Chad Powers’ Scenes
We won’t spoil too much of her appearance, but Welch makes a brief cameo as herself as she encounters Russ/Chad in a nightclub. The two have a somewhat “charged” interaction in which Russ acts like a bit of a fangirl, and it doesn’t turn out well for him. If you want to know how it ends (and how Welch does in her performance) you’ll have to check out the show for yourself.
