Aahana Swrup
Hulu’s ‘Chad Powers’ is a comedy sports series that follows the career of a football player years after his fall from grace. Back in his college days, Russ Holliday, a star quarterback, had a promising future ahead of him. That is, until one bad call, an unfortunate fan interaction, and a series of decisions thereafter tanked any chances of success for him. Nonetheless, years later, the disgraced football player comes up with a possible solution for redemption: Chad Powers. With the help of prosthetics, a wig, a distinct accent, and some sloppy character work, Russ creates a disguise for himself and applies for the QB tryout at a southern college football team that can use his athletic prowess for the coming season.
Nonetheless, when a one-off mask becomes a second identity, the player finds himself in uncharted waters. Created by Michael Waldron and Glen Powell, the latter of whom also leads the series in the titular role, this show brings an outlandish idea to life. Despite the various offbeat elements at play, the show manages to find a realistic overview for itself through thematic resonance and a strong footing in the world of sports. Naturally, intrigue is bound to arise regarding the central character, Russ Holliday, his eccentric choices, and their relevance to reality.
Chad Powers Started Off as an Eli Manning Eli Manning Skit
‘Chad Powers’ is a fictional story, penned by Glen Powell, Michael Waldron, and Paloma Lamb. Yet, despite its fictitious roots, the show possesses an engrossing origin story that isn’t all that detached from reality. The idea of Chad Powers, the character, first came into being as a part of a short comedy skit. The retired NFL player, a two-time Super Bowl MVP title winner, is also the host of the sports talk show ‘Eli’s Places.’ In 2022, as a part of the same show, the former pro football player participated in an Omaha Productions project wherein he put on a disguise and participated in the Penn State University football tryouts. Thus, Chad Powers, Manning’s alias of choice, was born. The video itself went viral, celebrated for its comedic charm. Soon enough, the idea turned into a potential multi-series show with both Eli Manning and his brother, Peyton Manning, another former NFL star player, attached to the production.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Powell discussed the process of extracting a scripted, fictional story from Manning’s skit. He said, “What made Eli’s thing so magical is the viewer knew Eli Manning was under (the disguise). So, let’s use the lie at the center of this thing, which creates inherent fun conflict over the course of the series. We were like, OK, we’re going to ‘Tootsie’ this thing. Let’s ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ it, and let’s see how far we can take this lie.” Thus, with such a strong grounding in the world of sports, the series inevitably retains relevant, authentic off-screen connections. For instance, even though the South Georgia University and its football team, The Catfishes, are fictional elements, their rival teams, stadiums, and more are entirely real.
Chad Powers Explores a Story About Redemption
Despite the realistic roots behind ‘Chad Powers,’ the show largely relies on fictional storytelling. This is mostly because while Eli Manning’s Omaha Production video was a humorous stint, Russ Holliday’s on-screen shenanigans have a little more nuance to them. In the show, the college football player dons the Chad disguise as a last-ditch attempt to play football and possibly reinvent himself in the world of sports. Therefore, the story significantly dives into Russ’ experiences as a public figure who has effectively been cancelled and written off by the masses. Consequently, cancel culture, particularly for all its negative effects, remains a core pillar of the series’ thematic identity.
Powell spoke about the same in a conversation with The Sydney Morning Herald. The show’s co-creator shared, “The world sometimes doesn’t let you have a second chance, necessarily, so people don’t take accountability. We bury people in their mistakes and don’t let them forget about them. And so often, especially with the internet, you’re defined by your mistakes.” He further added, “There’s a real special message here on this show. It’s the redemptive quality; it’s not isolated to any one person or type of person. It’s a universal feeling. I think there’s not one person that wouldn’t want to go back, turn the clock back, and fix something that they messed up the first time.”
Russ Holliday is a Fictional Athlete with Realistic Influences
Off-the-bat, the real-life influence of Eli Manning on Glen Powell’s on-screen character, Russ Holliday, remains evident. However, while the latter and the real-life former NFL player have Chad Powers in common, the two share no other prominent similarities. Instead, the character has a more intentional and apparent parallel in another off-screen athlete. Reportedly, Powell turned to the former football quarterback, Johnny Manziel, as an inspiration for his character. Manziel, also known as his nickname Johnny Football, played for Texas A&M University in the early 2010s. In 2012, he even became the first freshman ever to win the Davey O’Brien Award and the Heisman Trophy.
However, Manziel’s career took a turn after following issues with mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, and a charge of domestic violence, which was eventually dropped. Admittedly, the real-life player’s story remains different from Russ’ fictitious narrative. Yet, Powell was able to draw inspiration from Manziel’s complicated image as an athlete and a public figure. “We wanted Russ Holliday to be extremely likable, but also a guy who represented a really fun, charismatic, wild character to watch that would give in to his best instincts on the football field and his worst instincts off the field,” Powell told The Hollywood Reporter, “and I think Johnny definitely represented that.” Alternatively, the actor perfected the athletic demands of the performance through rigorous training under Nic Shimonek, as well as consistent guidance from Eli and Peyton Manning.
Read More: Where is Hulu’s Chad Powers Filmed?
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