Chad Powers was born as a successful sketch on EPSN that had Eli Manning wearing bad prosthetics and walking on at Penn State with no one knowing who it was. Now, the idea is getting its very own Hulu series from Michael Waldron starring Glen Powell as Russ Holliday, a failed quarterback who is trying to get a second chance at it all. Manning is part of the series as an executive producer, and the rest of the cast includes Perry Mattfeld as Ricky, Quentin Plair as Coach Byrd, Wynn Everett as Tricia, Frankie A. Rodriguez as Danny, and Steve Zahn as Jake Hudson. The series is not exactly like the Manning sketch, but it is still very much what the Chad Powers bit feels like.

The series is described as follows: “When bad behavior nukes hotshot QB Russ Holliday’s college career, he disguises himself and walks onto a struggling Southern football team as the talented, affable Chad Powers. Based on the sketch produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions that aired on ESPN+ as part of the Eli’s Places series, the half-hour comedy from 20th Television will stream on Hulu. Powell and Waldron co-wrote the pilot.”

In a new sneak peek of the show, it features Powell as Russ running, saying “Everyone says I’m done with football, there’s no such thing as bad press.” Russ drops the ball when he’s about to get a touchdown, forcing everyone on the internet to turn on him and writing things like “THE WORLD HATES RUSS HOLLIDAY.” Russ decides to play football as “someone else,” and the transformation into Chad Powers begins, and as one girl says in the trailer: He’s not the prettiest.

The Best Kind of Adaptation

It isn’t rare to have things based on weird sketches. Ted Lasso became a show all because of a bit that Jason Sudeikis did years prior. It happens. But those are also the best kind of shows. They’re rare and unique, and they already have a unique fanbase built in. With Chad Powers, the series will bring fans in who may not have tried to watch a Hulu show, and casting Powell will have others who maybe didn’t interact with the sketch before. It is very different from the Manning sketch, which was the successful former New York Giants quarterback walking on at Penn State just for a bit, and that seems like a great change for the show.

You can see Powell take on Chad Powers this September 30 on Hulu!

via Collider