Glen Powell is one of the new bright shiny things on the block. He starred with another new bright and shiny thing, Sydney Sweeney, this summer in a hit romcom called Anyone But You. Before and after, he worked with jock-poet writer-director Richard Linklater. First came Everybody Wants Some!! about a group of guys in university on a baseball team — a spiritual successor to the filmmaker’s much stronger Dazed & Confused. Then came Hit Man, a project that allowed both Linklater and Powell to stretch their talents. Powell, specifically, spends nearly half the money playing different characters — albeit with the added layer of the audience knowing they are meant to be disguises. We don’t have to actually believe that he is, say, a badass biker. However, Powell can expertly play into both layers simultaneously, combined with his leading man good looks, making him an exciting prospect each time he appears in a film or TV show with an interesting premise. Chad Powers is the latest. Created by Powell and Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), it’s inspired by NFL legend Eli Manning’s ESPN short film, in which the quarterback goes undercover, at middle age, as a kind of over-the-hill surfer dude, to try out for a university football team. Of course, he ends up blowing everyone away with his talents, only to reveal his identity at the end.
Chad Powers, the series, reformats that premise so that it can facilitate a longer plot, and puts Powell in Manning’s place. In the world of Chad Powers, Glen Powell plays Russ Holliday, a once-celebrated, famous-turned-infamous quarterback eventually spat out by the NFL due to bad boy behaviour. Years later, down on his luck, directionless, and working for his father, he sees an ad for the Robin Williams classic Mrs. Doubtfire, and it stokes the idea in him that he, too, should throw on a disguise and try and find a way back into the house that is American Football. He picks a name: Chad Powers. He picks a school, too. Lucky for him, they’re offering walk-ons, and they need all the help they can get. Badly. He wears prosthetics — a gamble that exposes him once, early on. One person who learns the secret is school mascot, Danny (newcomer Frankie A. Rodriguez). He meets and genuinely likes the team coach, Jake Hudson (a great Steve Zahn), and feels something like sparks with Hudson’s daughter, Ricky (Perry Mattfeld), who also works for the team but struggles with being taken seriously due to perceived nepotism.
Chad Powers is incredibly funny, and not just in the shallow way afforded to attractive stars, who are no doubt charming, but not actually laugh out loud funny. Powell is different. On a poster, he’s a leading man. In acting, however, it’s clear Powell is actually a bit of a goof. He’s willing to be stupid, or gross, or boorish. He’s willing to look stupid. That alone, for a Hollywood sex symbol, is enough to warrant appreciation and interest. It’s clear, too, he’s got a mind for the market, and for what might sell, based on the fact that he’s listed as a co-creator on Chad Powers, and that he seems to be surrounding himself with some of the best talent in the business as collaborators. It’s no wonder that he’s often cited as a successor to Tom Cruise. That’s an exciting comparison.
The music in the series is great, too. It’s clear that Disney really shelled out for this one. At one point we’re treated to a gorgeous, country-fied version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and it couldn’t work better. Just another example of how the series fires on all cylinders.
The humour isn’t only clever, or only gross, or only corny. Chad Powers finds a humour that feels both like the best of a mix of what audiences already love, and something fresh. Powell and company clearly had a game plan and it shows. From beginning to end, this series is a touchdown.
Chad Powers premieres on Disney+ in Canada on September 30, 2025.
