Chad Powers, released September 30th 2025, is a sports comedy show based on the 2022 viral skit from Eli Manning, where he disguised himself as his alter ego, Chad Powers, to go undercover at the Penn State football walk-on tryouts.
Throughout the show, the audience follows Russ Holiday, played by Glen Powell, as he morphs into the character of Chad Powers in order to move on from his messy past and create a new life for himself– one where he can do the thing he loves most: football, without being held back by his previous mistakes.
The show intertwines many small details from the original skit to connect the two together. Little things like Powers’ tryout number being 200 and his 40-yard dash time being the same in both versions supply the film a lively tone, making Powers seem more like a person and less like a character written for the screen.
The rights to the Chad Powers name were bought by lead actor Glen Powell to develop the character into more than just a seven-minute skit, but rather a show that offers a comedic break, while touching lightly on serious subjects.
By expanding this character, the co-producers of the show, Glen Powell and Michael Waldron, find ways to fit in different themes to teach their audience valuable life lessons they can take with them after finishing the show.
In the show, it is hard for Russ Holiday to understand his true identity, with the media constantly in his ears telling him what he should believe. Therefore, in a last-ditch effort to discover himself, he goes undercover to save the only thing he has ever known himself as: a football player.
On his way to the tryouts, he runs into a friend who agrees to help him. Working together to keep the act under control, they successfully fool people into believing that Chad Powers is a real person.
Putting on the prosthetics gives Russ Holiday a second identity and a second chance, providing him with the option to learn from his past and brighten his future.
The short six-episode season has left many fans hungry for more, especially with the cliffhanger the show leaves off on. It keeps fans questioning what will happen to Russ and if his last-minute plan was worth all of the stress.
While it is plausible that fans will receive a second season, ending it with only a first would not be the end of the world. The first season was able to incorporate many different ideas that are difficult for most to introduce in an entire show. It left fans with an exciting realization that if Russ has the guts to try again, they can too.
Although categorized as a comedy, that does not stop Chad Powers from being a well-rounded TV show that gives the audience what they did not know they needed. A comforting feel and a touch into the real world, leaving audiences with the understanding that the power of second chances lies in their own hands.
