You’d never think that the series “Eli’s Places” on ESPN+ would spawn a legitimate comedy series featuring Glen Powell with just one skit, but we’re loving in a very unlikely universe. In season 2 of Eli Manning’s sports show that explore college football’s history, there was a skit where Manning went undercover using prosthetics to crash a walk-on tryout for Penn State. Manning’ persona was called Chad Powers and would eventually spawn the idea for the upcoming Hulu series called, well… “Chad Powers”.
So far, the series has not been received well by critics or general audiences as the RT scores for both are exactly even at 56%. It’s rare that the reviewers and general public agree, but is it possible “Chad Powers” is just misunderstood? The IMDB score for the series is a little higher at 7.5/10, but probably nowhere near the initial reception that series Co-Creator and star Glen Powell had hoped for. The two episode premiere on Tuesday threw a lot out there on the screen, with moments of intense cringe, genius, hilarity and complete idiocy. Warning, beyond this point there are heavy spoilers for anyone who is not up to date on the new Hulu series “Chad Powers”.
So far, the series has not been received well by critics or general audiences as the RT scores for both are exactly even at 56%. It’s rare that the reviewers and general public agree, but is it possible “Chad Powers” is just misunderstood?”
The series start is reminiscent of Kenny Powers intro in “Eastbound & Down”, chronicling the fall of a talented athlete in front of a huge audience. Powell, who plays college football quarterback phenom Russ Holliday, blows the Rose bowl with a really idiotic mistake. The announcers comment on all the trouble he was in during the year, so this Bowl game was his last chance at redemption. The blunder rocks the character to his core, but a loyal fan is there to try to cheer him up. A cancer patient tries to get Russ’ attention, but he blows off the kid and his dad, which doesn’t go well. Russ ends up knocking out the kid’s father, who knocks over the kid, in his wheelchair on national TV. The opening doesn’t paint the main character in the most flattering gift, but it does give his character a lot of room to grow. 8 years later, the series returns to see Russ about to celebrate his signing to the XFL. He recaps his many struggles over the years but is ecstatic that all of his hard work paid off. As he is in the bathroom of his awkward celebration, the news breaks that the kid with cancer who he ignored all those years ago just died. This once again makes Russ toxic, causing him to lose his XFL deal immediately and to be dropped by his agent. This was a really clever way to jump back in to Russ’ life and justify this ridiculous 6 episode story.
Russ ends up going back to work for his dad Mike (Toby Huss), who is a Hollywood special FX makeup artist, but is disillusioned about his future. Mike tries to give Russ a pep talk about moving on with his life and he shows a lack of self awareness and an affinity for conspiracy theories. Russ’ character at times is frustrating in his arrogance, but it’s also enjoyable to watch the guy be humbled throughout the first two episodes. On the way to doing a delivery for his dad, Russ hears about open tryouts for a small Georgia college. Holliday then randomly sees a promotional billboard for “Mrs. Doubtfire” which gives him a REALLY dumb idea. This is where the series crosses the Rubicon into the land of the absurd. Russ steal’s his dad’s prosthetic equipment from Michael Bay so he can go and tryout for a random college football team. The team in question, the South Georgia Catfish are in the midst of a string of losing seasons which is what prompted head coach Jake Hudson (Steve Zahn) to hod. the open tryouts. Coach Hudson is informed by influential college trust member Tricia (Wynn Everett) that if he can’t win this season, he will lose his job. The pressure on the coaches end adds more depth to the story and gives a more redeemable character to root for while watching Powell’s uncomfortable moments like a bad car wreck.
Before Russ makes it to the tryouts, he does his prosthetics fairly quickly, but his suspicious activity draws the attention of the team mascot. The mascot Danny (Frankie A. Rodriguez) thinks that Holliday is a school shooter and ends up kind of pepper spraying him. The encounter destroys Russ’ makeup and Danny ends up recognizing Holliday from all of his scandal. Danny finds the situation ironic and decides he wants to help Russ with his makeup, which is sorely needed. Even at it’s best, the makeup makes Powell look very old, much too old to be a walk-on quarterback which might be part of the moronic charm. Although the situation is silly, it is worth noting that this is Russ’ last chance because if he is discovered, he will likely never live it down in the age of social media. Once Russ commits to the audition in his first interaction with Assistant Coach Ricky (Perry Mattfeld), things go from sad and weird to bizarre.
Russ blanks when asked about his name before coming up with a long winded monologue, only to declare he was Chad Powers. Chad seems to be a mix between Michael Scott from the office and a legitimately talented quarterback. There are points where Chad just says the most ridiculous phrase for no apparent reason. Does the character get Tourette’s when he impersonates people? Chad’s voice is an odd blend of accents but just subtle enough to not be a distraction. After some PTSD style jitters, Chad finally settles in and does amazing at his tryout. In a funny Easter Egg, Powers wore the same tryout jersey number (200) that Manning used for the original Powers skit in “Eli’s Places”. Hours after the practice, Chad Powers has already went viral. Is this truly believable? We’re going to move on but it is a funny story beat. Episode 1 ends with Chad telling the coach he isn’t a student after. The coach invites him t join the team. The coach says he can fix that, as long as Chad has all of his paperwork. Episode 2 starts with Chad and Danny trying to get his birth certificate and other important documents, which negates the semi-cliffhanger on the last episode.
After a hilarious intro scene, the series goes back to the football field, where Chad find out he will be competing for the top quarterback spot against the infinitely positive Gerry (Colton Ryan). Chad doesn’t do well with not being #1 and this leads to more very cringey and awkward moments during practice. After the pressure gets to Chad, he has a less than stellar practice. Afterwards in the locker room, a practical flaw in Chad’s plan reveals itself when the coach expects Chad to shower with his teammates. To make things worse, the coach invites Powers to a team building exercise at his lake house. Chad and Danny freak out about this, while the second act of the episode gives some incredibly uncomfortable moments where Chad is trying to avoid ruining his prosthetics. The team event doesn’t go great for Chad, who has a few shining moments but is too distracted by hiding his disguise to be the leader that the coach wants. Chad finds out at the end of the night that he isn’t getting the top spot, which makes him cry… and starts dripping out of his makeup. Chad hilariously storms off but after some soul searching he reports cheerfully as the backup QB.
The weeks to come trailer was packed with a lot of intense and funny moments, which tells us that Powell will be leaning into that cringe element for the next 4 episodes until the series concludes. Overall, this show does have potential, as long as you don’t hate cringe comedy.
What do you think? Was Glenn Powell’s performance a touchdown or a fumble? Will someone realize Russ’ true identity before it’s over? How far can Chad go as an aging athlete? Will the door be left open for a season 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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