The new comedy series Chad Powers, co-created and starring Glen Powell, made an unforgettable debut by provoking an entire stadium of fans to boo him—intentionally. This occurred last fall at a University of Georgia football game, where Powell turned the event into a unique promotional stunt by asking the crowd to heckle him loudly while on the field. The interaction, showcasing the blend of humor and college football culture at the show’s core, offers a glimpse of what audiences can expect when the series launches this fall.
In his own words, Powell explained the moment:
“Out of context, it seems like, wow, Georgia f—ing hates Glen Powell,”
he quipped.
“I put up on the jumbotron, I said, ’Please make an announcement that I — Glen Powell, Texas fan — am shooting a new show called Chad Powers, and to boo him as loud as humanly possible while he’s on this field.’”
The crowd obliged enthusiastically, and Powell reflected humorously,
“If I would’ve gotten booed without any sort of prodding, I may have felt differently about Georgia after that experience,
”
while acknowledging,
“But no, the Georgia fans did exactly what we asked them to do.”
How Chad Powers Brings College Football to Life With a Twist
Chad Powers is rooted in a viral sketch originally produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions, which featured Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning going undercover as an aspiring walk-on quarterback at Penn State. The new series expands on that concept by following the story of Russ Holliday, a hotshot quarterback whose promising career was derailed by a major mistake. Eight years later, Russ assumes the alter ego Chad Powers, a quirky but skilled player who joins the struggling South Georgia Catfish, a fictional college football team competing in the real Southeastern Conference.
The storyline carries a strong connection to real college football, with scenes filmed in authentic stadiums and opponents including genuine SEC teams such as Georgia. The series also spotlights cameo appearances from prominent sports media figures and features Eli Manning himself. Michael Waldron, who co-created the show with Powell, said of Eli’s involvement,
“It’d be hard to do the show based on Eli’s sketch without having Eli in it,”
adding,
“I wasn’t trying to draw the ire of that guy. So we knew we had to find a place for Eli in the show somewhere. We thought we did that in a really fun way… and there’s one or two other ones that we think are pretty fun.”
Authentic Characters and Actors with Team Spirit
The cast adds layers of authenticity and humor, rounding out the fictional world of Chad Powers. Wynn Everett portrays an affluent and obnoxious booster for the Catfish, having previously been recognized as the face of the SEC’s “It Just Means More” campaign. Frankie A. Rodriguez plays Danny, the team’s humorous and endearing mascot who shares a special bond with Chad. Other notable cast members include Perry Mattfeld as Ricky, a coach with empathy for Chad; Quentin Plair as Coach Byrd; and Steve Zahn as head coach Jake Hudson. Zahn’s portrayal has been likened to his iconic “Coach Taylor” role from Friday Night Lights, adding extra depth to the coaching character.
The team behind the show shares a genuine passion for college football. Both Waldron and Powell are avid followers, supporting rival programs—Waldron backs the Georgia Bulldogs while Powell cheers for the Texas Longhorns. Production partner Adam Fasullo roots for the University of Pittsburgh, Zahn is a Kentucky Wildcats fan, Mattfeld follows USC, director Tony Yacenda supports Penn State, and Plair has a history playing for North Carolina’s Tar Heels. This enthusiasm translates into a natural and heartfelt depiction of the sport throughout the series.
From Ridiculous Premise to Thoughtful Storytelling
Waldron and Powell’s creative partnership began over an unexpected shared admiration for the 1998 film Armageddon, which took a far-fetched idea seriously—a tone they wanted to emulate. When approached by the Mannings’ production company to adapt the original Chad Powers sketch, they embraced the challenge of developing a project that balances humor with sincerity.
Powell recalled their early brainstorming:
“Eli has served us up a lie in the basic IP of this,”
referring to how the premise lent itself to deeper layers.
“I said, let’s chase what makes the basic IP special. Let’s Mrs. Doubtfire this s—, right? Let’s try to take that completely seriously, and what would that look like? I think it’s so crazy it just might work.”
As writing progressed, themes beyond comedy emerged, touching on the challenges of cancel culture, societal rejection, and the struggle to maintain an identity in the face of irrelevance. Powell explained:
“The more that Waldron and I got under the hood of it and really started talking about the nature of cancel culture, the nature of what it is like to be sort of tossed out by society, to have a special gift and to no longer be relevant to society, to feel more comfortable wearing a mask than to actually have your own face to all these things, that we were like, I think we’re actually dusting around something that is not just funny, but something that’s actually incredibly heartfelt and incredibly layered and nuanced and very present to everything that’s going on in the world, and I think something that a lot of people would resonate with.”
Welcoming an NFL Star’s Insight and Production Support
Working alongside Eli Manning and his brother Peyton was a major bonus for the creators, blending expert football knowledge with production quality. Eli was involved as executive producer, script advisor, and even occasionally joined the writers’ room. Waldron shared,
“He helped me build confidence because I’d be like, ‘Oh s—, Eli Manning likes this,’”
and further explained,
“We’re doing right by Eli, which felt really good. He actually sat in with our writers’ room one day and just let us pepper him with questions about what’s a Tuesday look like for a college quarterback? We just see these guys on TV for three hours on Saturdays, but we’re telling a story about all the hours before and after that, and Eli helped us kind of fill out those days.”
The Mannings also contributed to authentic football portrayal by providing critical feedback on Powell’s on-field performance. Powell noted this mentorship saying,
“I would get feedback from Eli about exactly what I was doing,”
and quoted Manning’s coaching tips,
“Hey, here’s where your feet are sitting on the snap. Like, ‘Hey, your hands need to be more up. They’re too far down.’ So the weirdest part is, I had one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time literally just coaching me on how to play a quarterback at this level. It is humbling, but it’s also incredible.”
The Show’s Broad Appeal Beyond Sports Fans
While college football is a vibrant thread woven throughout Chad Powers, the creative team has worked hard to ensure the show is welcoming to viewers regardless of their sports knowledge. Waldron cited the movie Bull Durham as an inspiration for a sports narrative that transcends its genre, describing it as
“a love letter to baseball, but also you could enjoy that movie if you didn’t give two s—s about baseball — it’s ultimately about people and about love.”
He hopes that Chad Powers’ defining quality will be its heartfelt storytelling.
“I’d hope maybe that’s the show’s defining quality, is the surprising amount of heart that we were able to find in the show based on this sketch,”
Waldron said, adding,
“We realized early on in the writing process together that we could tell a really compelling story, not just about football, but about a guy trying to find his way back and trying to figure out who he really was.”
Powell confirmed the show’s accessibility by sharing how reactions from friends without college football backgrounds were overwhelmingly positive.
“Because obviously this needs to work for everybody,”
he noted, emphasizing the universal appeal intended by the creators.
Glen Powell’s Commitment to Genuine Entertainment
Powell expressed his ambition to contribute to projects that genuinely entertain audiences, rejecting the pressure of “must-watch” labels that can feel burdensome. He said,
“One of the things that I always find to be so silly about this business is there’s those things that people make, where you have to kind of do that deep breath before you watch it and you’re like, oh, I’ve got to watch this, everyone says so. No, I want to be a part of the thing that people can’t wait to watch, and you feel better afterwards.”
He hopes Chad Powers meets that goal by delivering a blend of cinematic energy and heartfelt storytelling, backed by a dedicated cast. Powell happily reflected,
“There’s just no better feeling than to be in a world that is full of this — it’s inherently cinematic, inherently energetic, and then everybody just brings it. Not to say that we’re like a championship team,
”
he said, laughing,
“but… I really feel like the cast here really is that. And it was awesome. I’m so excited to unleash this thing on the world.”
The Future of Chad Powers and a Hope for Texas Representation
Despite the series featuring authentic SEC teams, Powell lamented that his beloved Texas Longhorns have yet to appear on screen. With a new, more favorable Texas film tax incentive now in place, he hopes to correct that in a potential second season. Powell stated plainly,
“To literally have no representation of Texas on this screen, it kills me,”
and promised,
“I told Waldron, ‘Okay, I’m going to give you Georgia, but when it comes time for season 2 and we get this damn tax incentive, you better believe Texas is going to be on that screen.”
A second season has not been officially confirmed, but Powell remains optimistic about the show’s reception. Drawing a parallel to sports fandom, he remarked,
“America has to vote, that’s a democracy that we live in, and once the people vote, then they determine our fate,”
concluding with,
“But at the same time, I feel very confident that people are going to really respond to the show.”
Release Details: When to Watch Chad Powers
Chad Powers will premiere on Hulu on Tuesday, September 30, with a two-episode launch. Following the debut, new episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays, culminating in the season finale on October 28. This staggered rollout aims to build momentum and allow viewers to become fully immersed in the vibrant world of college football through the quirky and heartfelt lens of Chad Powers.
