Chad Powers (2025)

Chad Powers is an American sports comedy television series created by Glen Powell and Michael Waldron, starring Powell in the titular role. Developed from an Omaha Productions skit by Eli Manning, the show follows Russ Holliday after he disgraces himself on the field while serving as a star quarterback at a major college program. After ruining his reputation, Holliday 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 an SEC school under the name of Chad Powers.

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. In December 2025, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on September 3, 2026.

Cast

Main

Glen Powell as Russ Holliday, an arrogant former college football quarterback whose career was nuked after he disgraced himself in a National Championship game. He disguises himself as the titular Chad Powers to start over as a walk-on player for the South Georgia Catfish.

Perry Mattfeld as Erica "Ricky" Hudson, the offensive assistant coach of the South Georgia Catfish and daughter of the head coach.

Quentin Plair as Coach Byrd, the offensive coordinator of the South Georgia Catfish

Wynn Everett as Tricia Yaegar, the chair of the booster trust.

Frankie Rodriguez as Danny Cruz, the team's mascot who helps Russ with his disguise and later, becomes friends.

Steve Zahn as Jake Hudson, the head coach of the South Georgia Catfish.

Recurring

Clayne Crawford as Coach Dobbs, the quarterback coach of the South Georgia Catfish.

Toby Huss as Mike Holliday, Russ's father.

Colton Ryan as Gerry Dougan, the backup quarterback of the South Georgia Catfish.

Xavier Mills as Nishan Leonard, the star wide receiver of the South Georgia Catfish.

Becca Breitfeller as Sasha (season 2; co-starring season 1), the cheer captain of the South Georgia Catfish cheer team.

Colin Woodell as Jay (season 2), a rich booster who gets Ricky a coaching opportunity.

Craig Tate as Charlie Brooks (season 2), the new athletic director of the South Georgia Catfish.

Guests

Haliey Welch as herself

Eli Manning as Ole Miss Coach

Megan Ketch as Wendy Hudson, the wife of Jake Hudson and stepmother of Ricky.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2025)

Season 2 (2026)

Production

Chad Powers was created by Glen Powell and Michael Waldron and received a series order from Hulu in February 2024. It is based on Eli Manning's character from Eli's Places. Eli and Peyton Manning were involved in the show's production, assisting in securing football arenas and props for filming. They also provided guidance to Powell on authentically portraying a star quarterback. Filming began in late August 2024. Several of the football scenes were filmed at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta.

Natalie Holt composed the score of the series. Patrick Tuck served as editor.

On December 3, 2025, Hulu renewed the series for a second season. On January 7, 2026, the second season began filming. Waldron directed four episodes for the season, including first and final episodes for the season.

Release

Chad Powers premiered on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the United States, and on Disney+ internationally, on September 30, 2025. The first two episodes were released simultaneously, with subsequent episodes debuting weekly. The second season premiered on September 3, 2026.

Reception

Viewership

Chad Powers ranked No. 1 on both Disney+ and Hulu's top lists—daily updated lists of the platforms' most-watched titles—following its premiere. TVision, which tracks viewer attention, program reach, and engagement across more than 1,000 CTV apps, reported that it was the fourth most-streamed program in the U.S. between September 29 and October 12. Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the more than 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, announced that Chad Powers ranked among the ten most-streamed original shows in the U.S. from the week ending October 12 through October 19. Luminate, which measures streaming performance in the U.S. by analyzing viewership data, audience engagement metrics, and content reach across various platforms, announced that it debuted at No. 34 on its Top 50 streaming shows with nearly 1.6 million hours viewed from a single episode. The following week, Chad Powers rose to No. 19 with 2.2 million hours viewed across two episodes, and it remained on Luminate's weekly chart throughout its six-episode run.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 60% based on 52 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 6/10. 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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 53 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average".

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. Heritage wrote: "It's a funny, touching, deliberately uncomfortable character piece with one of the most magnetic central performances in recent memory." Alex Kirshner of Slate viewed the show as successfully balancing absurdity and humor, while building a fictional college football world that feels engaging despite its implausible premise.

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. 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. Herman also found that while Chad Powers shares tonal and structural similarities with Ted Lasso, it lacks the depth and emotional development that contributed to Ted Lasso's resonance.

The second season has a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Though it continues to mine the same jokes, Chad Powers gains several yards with its comedic timing thanks to Glen Powell steadily guiding this series to the end zone once more." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Accolades

References

External links

Official website

Chad Powers at IMDb