“Chad Powers” returned to Hulu on Sept. 3 with six new episodes and immediate improvements from the first season of the show.
A quick refresher for those who haven’t seen season one or the Eli Manning skit that inspired the show: A disgraced college football star, Russ Holliday (Glen Powell), discovers that the fictitious University of South Georgia Catfish are holding walk-on tryouts to find a quarterback. After stealing special effects makeup from his father (Toby Huss) and disguising himself as a student named Chad Powers, Holliday earns a spot on the team but must fight to keep his identity hidden while looking to lead the Catfish to an NCAA championship.
From the first episode of season two, viewers can already feel a difference in style. Coach Ricky Hudson (Perry Mattfeld) is in on the secret, changing the overall feel of the show. Instead of Holliday trying to deceive his love interest, he instead works with her to keep the illusion of Powers alive. The natural chemistry between the two allows for their relationship to somehow be rebuilt after Hudson’s bombshell realization at the end of season one of Powers’ real identity.
A different yet similarly strong chemistry can be found in the further strengthened relationship between Holliday and his best friend and co-conspirator Danny (Frankie A. Rodriguez).
Also back for season two is the absurdist humor that characterized the first six episodes of the show. From various characters alluding to Holliday’s conspiracy theories on the Unabomber to him fighting team doctors like a rabid animal to keep them from seeing the dangling prosthetic nose that detached from his face, the shock humor will miss for some but complements how awkward yet charming both Holliday and Powers are as characters.
Powell himself once again does a remarkable job presenting both Holliday and Powers as separate characters while also knowing the right times to blend the two together. While the identities feel distinct from each other, moments when the compassionate traits of Powers leak into Holliday’s thoughts show character growth and help to strengthen the connection with Hudson.
The biggest negative with the show is both ironic and a step back from season one. There is a distinct lack of football shown, with games that took place off screen often only being referenced verbally.
That is not to say that the episodes cannot be effective without showing game play. Most episodes do center around a football-related storyline, especially those rapidly becoming more prevalent in the college sports landscape. These concepts include coaches on the hot seat, sports betting and backups struggling without playing time.
The latter of those three reveals another standout, Colton Ryan as Gerry. By the end of season one, we see Gerry’s sanity regress as he is once again unceremoniously benched for Powers. Season two takes this anger and allows it to explode into a full-on rampage.
From photo surveillance to open accusations and even blackmail, Gerry will do just about anything to ruin Powers’ life even before discovering more about what’s under Power’s mask (or that there’s a mask at all).
From the beginning of season one to the apparent end of his character arc in the season two finale, both Ryan and the writers do a fantastic job of slow playing Gerry’s declining mental state. By the time Gerry is shown wearing a cracked Chad Powers novelty mask to hide his own identity, it feels completely natural.
Ryan’s Gerry is just one example of the memorable character acting that defines “Chad Powers” and makes season two stand out as a clear improvement over season one of the show.
Rating: 4.25/5