According to retired NFL great Eli Manning, actor Glen Powell might be best known as “the guy with his shirt off the whole time in Anyone But You.” But as a teaser trailer dropped by Hulu this weekend makes clear, Powell is also the guy who picked up the football pads and ball that Manning dropped—and ran with it.
Let’s back up. Manning, who was a quarterback with the New York Giants for 16 seasons, retired in 2020. As with many name-brand players post-career, Manning ended up at ESPN, working both as an analyst and in a show called Eli’s Places, in which he took a humorous look at the college football scene. In one episode of that show, a nearly 40-year-old Manning dons a not-especially convincing (he’s no Jackal, to be sure) set of facial prosthetics, as well as a mustache and wig as a walk-on player for Penn State named “Chad Powers.” Awkward confusion ensues.
The segment inspired a Hulu series announced last year, but this time, it’s Glen Powell in the Powers role, not Manning. Also different is this show’s premise, as this time Chad Powers isn’t the pseudonym for a two-time Super Bowl MVP, it’s the assumed name of a fictional character named Russ Holliday, who—per Hulu—exhibited behavior so bad that it derailed his college ball career. No longer college-aged (Powell, who also co-created, co-wrote, and co-executive produces the series, is 36), Holliday disguises himself to walk on to “a struggling Southern football team.” Here’s hoping he has good insurance.
“I don’t know if I like you playing Chad Powers,” Manning jokingly told Powell in an interview in May. “I’m Chad Powers.” Manning, who along with brother Payton Manning is listed as an executive producer on the show, also noted that Powell had previous onscreen gridiron experience in Top Gun: Maverick. “I saw you throw the football, and I was like, ‘yeah, I don’t know about this guy.’”
We already know that Powell has what it takes to put on silly wigs and disguises, based on his role in Hit Man. Is Manning’s gentle ribbing of Powell’s pigskin prowess warranted, or will he be able to convince viewers of the series, which is slated for a 2025 release on Hulu, that he is a middle-aged football rookie? Perhaps the show’s teaser, released Saturday, will answer that question.
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