Eli Manning’s ‘Chad Powers’ sketch will be adapted into the Hulu series
The name is Powers. Chadian powers. And it comes (back) to a screen near you.
Hulu ordered Eli Manning’s character “Chad Powers” into its own comedy series, according to a company press release. Manning created and transformed into Powers for an episode of his docuseries “Eli’s Places” after Manning’s curiosity about college football’s walk-on process led him to try out for Penn State under the pseudonym and disguise. With the help of a special effects artist and a Matthew McConaughey-esque personality, Manning successfully attempted to be a Nittany Lion. He almost succeeded, too, as Penn State assistants took a natural liking to the two-time Super Bowl champion before head coach James Franklin, the only person seemingly aware of Manning’s true identity, Powers at the end of canceled the tryouts.
The episode aired on ESPN in September 2022. It was produced by Peyton Manning’s media company Omaha Productions.
“The love for Chad Powers has taken me by surprise in a spectacular way,” Manning said in a statement. “I played in the NFL for 16 years, but now when I’m in a restaurant or walking through an airport, it’s not unusual for fans to shout, ‘Hey Chad!’”
The new series is co-written and co-created by Glen Powell, the actor who played Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick,” and writer/producer Michael Waldron, known for “Loki” and ‘Rick and Morty.’ Both will serve as executive producers, along with Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz and Ben Brown of ESPN and Omaha Productions.
“I hope Glen is working on his QB skills, I saw him throw a football in Maverick…he has some work to do!!” Crew said on Xformerly known as Twitter, Thursday.
In the new Hulu series, bad behavior dismantles QB Russ Holliday’s college career, leading him to walk incognito onto a struggling Southern football team as the charming Chad Powers.
“We are both diehard college football fans,” Powell and Waldron said in the release. “When we saw Eli as Chad Powers, we knew this was the path to a big, fun story about this world. We’re excited to be part of this team and can’t wait to get Chad into the game. Think fast, run fast.”
Get ready to think fast, run fast, @glenpowell. pic.twitter.com/nLNf5COZ3E
— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) February 22, 2024
It’s another media venture for the Manning brothers. Ahead of the 2023 season, both Peyton and Eli Manning announced their alternate broadcast “Monday Night Football” on ESPN2 in partnership with Omaha Productions.
The release date for the Hulu series has not yet been announced, so stay ready to think fast, run faster to a screen near you.
(Photo: Amir Hamja/Bloomberg via Getty Images)