In “Chad Powers,” premiering Tuesday on Hulu, Glen Powell, who co-created the sequence with Michael Waldron (“Loki”), performs Russ Holliday, a disgraced collegiate quarterback. In a fast telegraphing of character, we meet him driving a Cybertruck, the official automobile of shallow narcissists, on his approach to a Hollywood nightclub (the official hangout of shallow narcissists). Eight years earlier, on the climax of a season that included suspension, tabloid headlines and “the Las Vegas freeway incident,” he blew an opportunity at redemption, when, after a game-losing mistake, he punched a fan on the sidelines, who crashed into his son, a sick youngster in a wheelchair.
So Russ is a foul man, however he’s additionally a tragic man, damaged inside, residing in a room crammed with outdated trophies in a home belonging to his father (Toby Huss), a film make-up artist. Despatched to ship some prosthetics to the Fox Studios lot, he sees a billboard for “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the 1993 Robin Williams nanny-impersonation movie, on the actual second he hears a report of open tryouts for the South Georgia Catfish, which has misplaced two quarterbacks to transfers. A light-weight goes on, and he takes off along with his father’s equipment and heads for Georgia, the place he’ll turn out to be Chad Powers.
Restricted by the supplies he has readily available, Russ provides himself an enormous nostril, inflated cheeks, lengthy hair and prosthetic tooth — not fairly Jerry Lewis-crazy, however nothing you gained’t discover — which he’ll prime off with an unplaceable hick accent. It’s the very look — and identify — that Eli Manning adopted for the 2022 stunt the sequence is predicated on, from his ESPN sequence “Eli’s Places.”
Russ Holliday (Glen Powell), left, decides to make use of the prosthetics his father created to turn out to be Chad Powers, with some assist from Danny (Frankie A. Rodriguez), who performs because the group’s mascot.
(Zac Popik/Disney)
Arriving on campus, he’s instantly tackled by Danny Cruz (Frankie A. Rodriguez), the group mascot, who takes him for a college shooter — not a lot to guard his fellow college students however for the superstar it’d give him. With Russ’ pretend face in disarray, Danny acknowledges him from the tabloids, grasps the state of affairs — useful to any viewers who haven’t figured it out for themselves — and appoints himself Russ’s helper, “partly because I want to believe that we’re all human and no one is beyond second chances and partly because if this works you’ll owe me, which I like.”
Any objection a viewer may elevate about, say, lack of identification, transcripts or not being enrolled as a scholar shall be rapidly allotted with, as Russ-as-Chad rapidly proceeds to tryouts, the place his howitzer arm impresses head coach Jake Hudson (Steve Zahn), beneath strain to ship wins. His daughter, and lately named assistant coach, Ricky (Perry Mattfeld), is a former observe star who misplaced her mojo and is now regarded merely as a nepo child, or fears that she is; she’s attempting to be taken significantly. Coach Dobbs (Clayne Crawford), the quarterback coach, is dismissive and insulting; Coach Byrd (Quentin Plair) isn’t. The group’s remaining quarterback, Gerry Dougan (Colton Ryan) is a caricature, a go-getting, God-thanking participant of little expertise and fragile ego expressly made to be mocked. (It feels slightly low-cost.) The remainder of the group stays undifferentiated.
The weird prosthetics and foolish voice make it laborious to take Chad fairly as significantly because the sequence would love us to. Though it serves the sensible and philosophical functions of the story, Chad, who comes off as a candy fool, doesn’t make sense as an individual Russ would think about or inhabit. (Russ disappears utterly when he’s Chad; oddly, or maybe not, he’s extra compelling firm when out of costume, if additionally a worse individual. It’s form of a reduction.) Different characters regard Chad as unusual with out seeing him as suspicious and settle for the more and more ridiculous tales Russ invents to maintain promoting the lie. Nicely, he’s profitable video games, so perhaps nobody desires to look too laborious. However that the reality finally will out is obvious from the second he places on the phony face, and that sooner or later, those that trusted him will really feel betrayed. That isn’t a spoiler, it’s simply Hollywood physics.
Because the six-episode sequence goes on, it slips out of comedy into drama, as Russ and Danny climate the stresses of their conspiracy, Chad and Ricky navigate their sub-romantic friendship, and Coach Hudson frets over protecting his job (and his notably absent spouse). The query of id that underscores the sequence rises to the floor. And the extra critical tone provides the precious Zahn — a really wonderful actor typically employed to be humorous however taking part in completely straight — and the quietly intense Mattfield some lifelike father-daughter scenes to play, in fraught and affectionate moods. (Solely Wynn Everett as Tricia, the brand new head of the boosters’ affiliation, is supposed to be humorous all through, and is.) There’s a variety of unfastened angst flying round by the top of the season, which is clearly not, or not meant to be, the top of the story. Nothing is concluded.
