Glen Powell Is Charming. His Hulu Comedy Chad Powers Couldn’t Be More Obnoxious

by

Glen Powell has quickly become a major movie star, and it’s been fun to watch. After gaining attention in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick – often compared to Tom Cruise – the 37-year-old actor has connected with younger audiences in the popular rom-com Anyone But You and brought new life to the Twisters franchise. His most impressive role so far is in the 2024 film Hit Man, where he plays a shy professor who ends up pretending to be a hitman. Powell convincingly portrays both the professor and the confident, fake assassin, and he also helped write and produce the movie, suggesting a promising future as a versatile actor and filmmaker.

Okay, let me tell you about Hulu’s *Chad Powers*. It’s a comedy co-created by Stephen Powell and Michael Waldron, and honestly, it feels a little…familiar. The whole thing started as a viral bit from Eli Manning’s ESPN show, *Eli’s Places* – you can definitely see the Disney connection there. Powell plays Russ Holliday, a former quarterback trying to revive his career after a disastrous Rose Bowl appearance. When a college team holds open tryouts, he sees his chance, but he’s got a problem: he needs to hide his identity. Luckily, his dad’s a special effects makeup artist, so he creates the persona of Chad Powers. Now, the premise is silly enough to *potentially* work, but unfortunately, both Russ and Chad are incredibly unlikeable characters. And the show just feels…derivative, like it’s pieced together from better sports comedies we’ve already seen. It’s not terrible, but it doesn’t really bring anything new to the field.

The creators of the show clearly intended for viewers to dislike Russ from the start. Within the first few minutes, he has a meltdown over a dropped ball, aggressively shoves a father’s wheelchair, drives a Cybertruck, rambles about cryptocurrency, reveals he was on *The Masked Singer*, and associates with Haliey “Hawk Tuah Girl” Welch, who immediately regrets it. Just as he’s about to play in the XFL, the boy whose wheelchair he bumped passes away, causing widespread outrage and even leading the league to drop him. His father yells at him, telling him it’s time to move on.

Rather than quit football, Russ decides to abandon his own identity. He transforms himself physically, trading his California look for a fake nose, puffy cheeks, and a messy wig. He also adopts a grating, high-pitched Southern accent. With a final assist from the team mascot, Danny, he attempts to join the South Georgia Catfish as “Chad Powers.” However, his disguise is unconvincing – his version of a goofy, ’90s-style character feels forced and awkward, even though the actor playing Russ does a good job portraying it. Everything about “Chad” is a sham, from his fake autograph to his lack of proper student identification, creating major problems. Despite all this, Russ is a remarkably talented player, which is enough to overcome the coaches’ concerns and secure his place as the team’s potential star.

While the main character feels like a lesser version of Adam Sandler’s style, the supporting characters strongly resemble those from *Ted Lasso*-another comedy that started with a viral video and became a huge hit, and whose influence is clear in *Chad Powers*. Jake Hudson (Steve Zahn, who elevates the writing) is a kind but stressed-out coach who offers fatherly advice, similar to Ted. His daughter, Ricky (Perry Mattfeld), a former athlete now benefiting from family connections, plays the role of Keeley-a smart young woman who is often underestimated and predictably becomes a love interest for Chad. Danny’s gentle nature and feeling like an outsider are reminiscent of Nate before he became a villain. Even the team owner, Tricia (Wynn Everett), a wealthy and influential figure who leads the booster club, echoes Rebecca from *Ted Lasso*, and the show uses a running joke about her extensive knowledge of adult films to highlight its humor. Ultimately, none of these characters feel original or stand out on their own.

While *Ted Lasso* isn’t my favorite show, I get why so many people enjoy it. It’s incredibly heartwarming and focuses on imperfect, but ultimately good-hearted, people-especially men-learning to be more loving and supportive. The character of Chad Powers suggests the show could be bolder and more insightful with its humor, but it often falls back on predictable and overly sweet jokes instead. Like many shows aimed at men, it relies heavily on sentimental portrayals of fathers and sons. Characters like Jake, Ricky, and Danny seem to exist only to help Russ, the protagonist, realize that the kind persona he’s adopted is genuine. He has a moment of supposed self-discovery, declaring “I’m Russ, but I’m also Chad,” but it doesn’t feel like a real improvement.

Read More

2025-09-26 16:06