Glen Powell’s New Sports Comedy Makes a Redemption Play for the Manosphere

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The new Glenn Powell sports-comedy Chad Powers tells the story of Russ Holliday, a once-promising quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. His football career falls apart after a crucial mistake in the Rose Bowl. With nowhere else to turn, Russ transforms himself into ‘Chad Powers’ – a fresh face from the South – using makeup and prosthetics. He then tries out for the South Georgia Catfish football team, hoping for a chance to prove himself and redeem his career.

The initial two episodes of Chad Powers, which you can now find on Hulu, really highlight how much Russ needs to turn things around. When he takes on the Chad Powers identity, he’s going through a rough time. Russ has become a pretty unpleasant person, largely because he felt rejected by the world. He clings to old-fashioned styles and ideas, hoping to feel like he still matters. Chad is completely different from Russ, so hopefully, throughout the six episodes, Russ will reconnect with who he really is.

Russ Holliday Is a Textbook Toxic Male


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Eight years after a career-ending mistake, Russ Holliday is now living in Los Angeles. He’s adopted a new look with a beanie and an earring, and he drives a Tesla Cybertruck. He tells his agent that losing his football career was actually beneficial, opening doors to things like appearing on The Masked Singer and investing in cryptocurrency. At a party, he repeatedly brings up the viral meme “hawk tuah,” which upsets Haley Welch, who originally created the phrase. He refuses to apologize and keeps calling her the “hawk tuah” girl instead of using her actual name, as she requests.

Following the party, Russ returns to his dad’s house, where he lives. He spends time looking at the trophies he earned playing football when he was younger. He then sends an offensive video to a group of teenagers who had been teasing him. It’s clear he struggles to take responsibility for his past mistakes. His dad asks him to run a quick task, and while driving, Russ distractedly watches short videos on his phone – videos that, unfortunately, portray women negatively. Adding to this, he already has a prior DUI conviction.

When Russ starts college, he doesn’t really change his behavior. His only friend at South Georgia University is Danny (played by Frankie Rodriguez), who also works as the school’s mascot. Danny tries to help Russ transform into Chad Powers, offering advice, but Russ largely ignores him. Danny even lets Russ stay with him, but Russ acts entitled and criticizes Danny for not having things like decorative throw pillows.

The Meaning Behind Russ Holliday’s Toxic Traits in ‘Chad Powers’


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Russ Holliday embodies a particular type of man who quickly jumps on popular but often short-lived trends. Things like cryptocurrency, Cybertrucks, and the phrase “hawk tuah” all gained attention for a while. However, “hawk tuah” ultimately led to a podcast for Haley Welch that’s now inactive, Cybertruck sales haven’t met expectations, and crypto prices remain unpredictable.

Russ’s interests are quite fascinating, especially because they frequently overlap with those of Elon Musk – Musk has mentioned “hawk tuah” online, invests in cryptocurrency, and leads Tesla – and the ideas found within the Manosphere. However, there’s more to Russ than initially appears. When the show begins, Russ mirrors the trends he follows, desperately attempting to recapture past achievements without a clear vision for what’s next.

Another aspect of Russ’s portrayal is that he embodies elements of cancel culture. During the podcast Therapuss with Jake Shane, Glen Powell explained what he aimed to examine through his Chad Powers character – specifically, the idea of cancel culture, which became widespread online:

With some people who face backlash, it feels like they deserve the consequences. But in Russ’s case, he genuinely messed up. He acted badly, and it seemed like neither the public nor he himself could move past it. What’s really striking to me is that today, cancel culture is so prevalent – the world doesn’t easily let you forget your errors. I’ve been fascinated by how people respond in those moments – whether they defend their actions, take responsibility, or resort to blaming others or believing in conspiracy theories.

As Powell points out, Russ can’t outrun his history because of the internet. Just when Russ sees an opportunity with a new football league, reports come out about a past incident with a fan. This leads the league to cancel his contract, leaving him once again without future plans. The reason Russ struggles to move forward with his career explains why he’s so focused on what’s currently popular. He desperately wants to regain his popularity, and he’s willing to jump on any new trend to achieve that.

It’s All Setting up a Redemption Arc


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Russ definitely has some issues, but he’s not completely unsympathetic in the initial two episodes. The beginning of the series establishes him as flawed, but this is intentional – it sets the stage for his growth over the rest of the season. We already see glimpses of this development in the early episodes, like when Russ buys Danny throw pillows to say he’s sorry. He still needs to improve a lot, and he might have to speed things up since there are only four episodes left.

The incident with the fan could be a key turning point for Russ Holliday as he tries to change. It’s been the core issue holding back his career, but we haven’t seen the full story yet. The beginning of the show gives us a glimpse of what happened, but doesn’t show the details. Facing this moment could help him understand he needs to let go of the Chad Powers identity and be honest with his teammates about who he truly is. The first two episodes of Chad Powers are now streaming on Hulu, and new episodes are released every Tuesday.

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2025-10-04 19:41