This review was made possible by Disney+ providing Popped with advanced screeners for Chad Powers.
Glen Powell has been taking audiences by storm since the release of Top Gun: Maverick, only for people to realize “wow! has he been here this whole time” yes, the answer is yes. Powell has cemented himself as not just an action star, but also a romantic comedy heartthrob, but Chad Powers might be his most out there role yet, conquering a new archetype of Hollywood leading roles, the weird little freak.
Table of Contents
He’s Got The Power
Russell Holliday is a loser, he’s got nothing going for him, not after losing the Rose Bowl and knocking over that kid with cancer, yeesh. years after his life-shattering incident, Russ has nothing except the disappointment of his father weighing down on him, oh and a couch in the garage. That is until he see’s an opportunity to make something out of himself, well, no not himself, but a new man named Chad Powers.
To put it like Chad would, Glenn Powell is totally awesome here dude. It’s a performance that is so insanely goofy but so well maintained, never doing too much to the point where it could get annoying, and this surely could get annoying but Powell anchors it well. The fun of the character is the heat of the moment decisions that build this character in both the show and the reality in which the show takes place.
Powers doesn’t exist and everything Russ says then becomes canon to the Chad persona’s backstory and when you’re in the heat of the moment and just blurting anything out because you’re already super incompetent you start to really muddy the waters and overcomplicate the situation.
As things progress later in the season and situations become increasingly more complicated, Powell’s Russ Holliday begins to sink deeper and deeper into the persona he has created. At times it can feel a bit uncanny, and even slightly terrifying. This isn’t a criticism, more…a fascination? to see the Power’s fully take over can make you wonder if this dude is really all there, especially after everything he’s been through.
Go Catfish!
The premise of the series of course follows Holliday as he embarks on the journey to become the star quarterback of the South Georgia Catfish, a struggling college football team desperate for a win. As Chad Powers, he makes it onto that team and the façade really begins. The Six-episode first season really puts the pressure on to get moving and the show at times missteps and feels as if its focusing on the wrong thing.
Early on in the series, Holliday quickly becomes friends with Danny, the South Georgia Catfish mascot played by Frankie A. Rodriguez, who helps him hold this lie together. Their unlikely friendship is undoubtedly one of the best parts of the series. The two of them jumping through hopes to keep Chad’s backstory straight but Russ continuously overcomplicating things with drawn-out and overcomplicated lies for things like pee-holes and coyotes never fails to drive Danny up a wall. The two are such polar opposites but Danny’s insistence to help Russ get a second chance is what really powers the dynamic, with Russ himself basically on his own with no one else.
Powell finds himself surrounded by a good supporting cast led by Steve Zahn as Head Coach Jake Hudson. Zahn is never one to turn in a bad performance and excels in playing little freaks, those who’ve seen both The Righteous Gemstones and War For The Planet of The Apes will understand. Perry Mattfeld plays Ricky, Coach Hudson’s daughter who also happens to be a coach on the team and would rather everyone keep that little detail quiet. She quickly becomes one of Chad’s friends as he see’s the potential in her that the other coaches ignore.
Wrong Moves
Circling back to the aforementioned missteps the series takes, probably one of the biggest foils of the series is its decision to focusing less on Chad’s teammates and instead just a handful of coaches. When Powers first makes the team, the series actually begins to setup a rival of sorts for Chad, someone who could really pull back the curtain and leaves seeds of that rivalry throughout the series but quickly pivots to focusing on the head coach and his daughter, also a coach on the team.
The show really doesn’t develop any of the other teammates besides Nishan and Gerry. Anyone who has ever played on any football team knows that there are all sorts of dynamics and groupings, everyone has their people on their own team and it there’s always going to moments of conflict and admiration but the show fails to have Chad develop any sort of relationship with many of his fellow teammates and stays focused on Head Coach Hudson and his daughter, Coach Ricky.
This isn’t to say this story choice is bad, it’s still sufficient and enjoyable but the issue is that it just feels like a massively missed opportunity. It feels like something that could’ve added to the tension and the stakes of the series. This could of course be due to the series six-episode count and shorter runtimes that undoubtedly limit the series potential.
‘Chad Powers’ – Final Thoughts
Chad Powers is an enjoyable, all be-it, short and fun time led by Glenn Powell who delivers what might be one of his best and surely his most unique performance yet. The real fun of the series comes from the lengths that Russ and Danny will go to keep this secret under wraps as well as the friendship between the two that really makes the plays here. The story can feel held back at times and unaware of the potential it has if it allowed itself to explore Chad’s dynamics with his fellow teammates.
Chad Powers premieres September 30 on Disney+ and Hulu in the US. Check out a trailer below:
The Review
Chad Powers
Chad Powers is an enjoyable, all be-it, short and fun time led by Glenn Powell who delivers what might be one of his best and surely his most unique performance yet. The real fun of the series comes from the lengths that Russ and Danny will go to keep this secret under wraps as well as the friendship between the two that really makes the plays here. The story can feel held back at times and unaware of the potential it has if it allowed itself to explore Chad's dynamics with his fellow teammates.
