If you're a fan of sport comedies like Ted Lasso , then you're going to love Glen Powell's new college football series: Chad Powers. Filmed over a year ago, the first two episodes of the series are finally out on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally), bringing a fresh bundle of laughs to the best streaming services.
The series is a redemption story about an arrogant college football quarterback called Russ Holliday (Glen Powell). After disgracing himself at a championship game and being exiled from the sport, he joins a struggling Atlanta college football team disguised as the made-up Chad Powers to revive his career.
Alongside starring in the two lead roles, Powell is the co-creator and executive producer of the show alongside Michael Waldron. The duo's combined creative genius have made for a heartfelt comedy series with sincere characters, and there could be more to come, according to Waldron.
The writer and producer, who was the creator of the sports drama Heels, talks to TechRadar about his attraction to sports, admiration for larger than life characters, the movies that inspired Chad Powers and whether a second season is on the cards.
The real life superheroes
As mentioned, Chad Powers isn’t Waldron’s first sports-focused TV series. Back in 2021, he made Heels (2021-2023), a wrestling drama that ran for two seasons, which gave Waldron an edge when it came to making Chad Powers.
“I’ve done enough now that I can look back and say, ‘what are the things that I keep finding myself interested in?’," Waldron says, adding that “it’s these tough, larger than life athlete-artists with really surprising vulnerability” that he keeps gravitating towards.
Waldron reveals that college football felt like “a natural fit” because “these college football players are – in many ways – the closest thing I think our country has to real life superheroes”. Considering that Waldron has previously written the screenplay for Marvel series like Loki, the crossover between the two genres makes a lot of sense.
“I keep finding myself interested in these people who are ostensibly lionised and find themselves put in really tough situations, and have to grapple with their identity and figure out who they really are," Waldron says. Indeed, despite the masculine exterior we see in these archetypes, Waldron gives the character Chad Powers a nuanced layer of vulnerability.
Comedy is the beating heart of Chad Powers
There are countless comedy movie influences that fuelled the writing of Chad Powers, but the pilot episode highlights one in particular, Mrs Doubtfire (1993) – and it’s not just because of the show’s extensive use of prosthetics.
“Mrs Doubtfire is right there, so anything with somebody hiding themselves under a mask,” Waldron says, adding: “I would also say just great sports comedies and sports romantic comedies because the show has such a big romantic beating heart at its centre.” Think Bull Durham (1988) and Jerry Maguire (1996), which are staples from the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Where does Chad’s story go from here?
As an audience, we’re only just getting to know Chad Powers, but for Waldron and the rest of the creative team behind the show, discussions about future seasons have been raised although nothing is yet confirmed: “We’ve talked about it a lot, and we hope to keep telling the story.”
Though a second season is not set in stone, Waldron offers a promising insight into the future of Chad Powers which – given how early we are into the show’s release – is a good sign indeed: "The point we’re making [with the series] is that it’s just going to get harder from here, and that it’s not going to be easy to do this and take it all the way.”
I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
The first two episodes of Chad Powers are now streaming on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally).
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