Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | October 15, 2025
In my review of the first two episodes of Hulu’s Chad Powers, I complained that the series had a serious Mrs. Doubtfire problem — meaning most of the comedy and tension come not from the football field but from the face of Chad Powers. Nearly half of those opening episodes focused less on the odd guy with a cannon arm joining a college team and more on his prosthetics.
Four episodes in, the situation hasn’t improved. In fact, the fourth episode is almost entirely about… glue. Someone left the cap off the prosthetic adhesive the night before an away game, and Russ (Glen Powell) and Danny (Frankie A. Rodriguez) must find glue before the 11 p.m. bed check — otherwise, Russ can’t play.
It’s late, the hobby stores are closed, and the only option is a Spirit Halloween open until 9 p.m. There’s just one tube of glue left, and another customer grabs it first. Danny steals it from the guy’s bag and bolts to the car, only to discover that Russ’s entire prosthetic (and Danny’s AirPods) have been stolen.
Russ cuts his hand on the broken car window, but they use FindMyPhone to trace the AirPods to a random house, where Russ inexplicably brings a gun. They find pieces of the prosthetic before being shot at; Russ cuts his hand again and ends up in the ER. Russ and Danny have a falling out, but Russ manages to scrounge up materials in the hospital to craft a new Chad Powers mask.
They eventually make up. Russ shares a brief connection with Ricky (Perry Mattfeld) and encourages her to reconcile with her dad — which she does the next day — but she also starts to suspect that maybe Chad Powers might be Russ Holiday.
And that’s the entire episode: 80 percent devoted to ensuring Russ has a mask for the next day’s game. That’s episode four. Out of six. The show keeps wasting time on a disguise, and whatever character growth exists seems to revolve around the logistics of maintaining it.
Only two episodes remain, and next week’s plot centers on ESPN wanting to profile Chad Powers — which, of course, promises another prosthetic-related fiasco.
I really thought this show would be a comedy about a disgraced former college football player getting a second chance and finding redemption. Instead, it’s mostly about a disgraced player struggling with the practicalities of wearing a fake face in public. For a series starring an A-lister like Glen Powell and backed by the Mannings, it’s been maddeningly frustrating to watch.
