‘Chad Powers’: Michael Waldron On His Glen Powell-Led Sports Comedy, Its ‘Ted Lasso’ DNA, & His Pick For Marvel’s Nova [Bingeworthy Podcast]

You don’t have to know a damn thing about football to get swept up in “Chad Powers.” The new Hulu comedy from Michael Waldron and Glen Powell takes an absurd premise, a fallen quarterback disguising himself as a walk-on to reclaim his dream, and builds it into one of the funniest, sharpest, and most heartfelt sports stories of the year. Adapted from Eli Manning’s viral sketch, the show follows Russell, a disgraced, washed-up pretty-boy QB who reinvents himself as the mustachioed, mulleted Chad Powers to chase glory once more. It’s “Mrs. Doubtfire” meets “Rudy” meets “Ted Lasso,” with Powell delivering a tour-de-force of charm, cringe, and full-body commitment.

Joining the Bingeworthy podcast, Michael Waldron, the writer and co-creator behind “Loki,” “Heels,” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” discussed shaping the series, collaborating with Powell, and finding its balance between satire and sincerity.

Waldron said the series’ spark came the moment Powell insisted on keeping the cheesy, practical make-up disguise that Waldron assumed they’d toss aside. “Glen said, ‘Yeah, but what if you did?’” Waldron recalled. “Everything that felt scary as a writer, pulling off a guy living two lives, became the entire engine of the show. From that moment on, we were off to the races.”

READ MORE: ‘Chad Powers’ Review: Hulu’s Sports Comedy Reinvention With Glen Powell Fumbles The Fundamentals

Of course, comparisons to “Ted Lasso” were inevitable. Both began as sketches that evolved into heartfelt, character-driven sports comedies. Waldron welcomed the parallel. “I thought ‘Ted Lasso’ was great and exactly the show we needed when it came out,” Waldron said. “If there’s any DNA we share, it’s that feeling of, ‘Wait, this is actually really good!’ But where we diverge, it’s probably a little weirder. Comedically, I’m inspired by Danny McBride and ‘Eastbound and Down,’ ‘Vice Principals.’ And unlike ‘Ted Lasso,’ this show really has a romance at its heart.”

That romantic thread gives “Chad Powers” an emotional throughline amid its locker-room chaos. “If you asked me to classify the show as anything,” Waldron said, “I’d probably say it’s a romantic comedy above all else.”

Waldron and Powell’s creative partnership is central to that chemistry. “He’s my co-creator and my star, so he’s literally Chad Powers,” Waldron said. “At any time, I can just hit him up and say, ‘Would Russ do this?’ We built this character together and charted out a multi-season journey for him. He’s got a great sense of story structure, and then he goes and delivers this incredible physical performance under prosthetics. Damn him for being so good-looking while doing it.”

The disguise also led to some chaotic moments off-camera. “We took Glen through the stadium at the University of Georgia during halftime to see if people recognized him,” Waldron laughed. “We thought it’d be funny. It was terrifying. We were like, ‘Get him out of here, he’s going to get ripped apart like the witch at the end of ‘Weapons.’“

As for how far that journey could go, Waldron said he and Powell have already mapped out “at least two more” seasons. “This first one takes you through half a college football season,” he explained. “If we kept going, we’d pick up from there.”

Another vital player was quarterback Eli Manning, who played the original Chad Powers, and remained a supportive creative partner throughout. “Eli was the dream IP rights holder,” Waldron said. “He was nothing but positivity and fun. He couldn’t believe we were making this out of that silly sketch, and he came to the writers’ room to help Glen with the quarterback training. He was amazing.”

Thematically, Waldron sees overlap between “Chad Powers” and his past work, like “Heels” and “Loki.” “Athletes are sort of real-world superheroes,” he said. “My favorite stuff, in sports stories and superhero stories, is taking these high-status characters and finding their vulnerabilities. That’s what I did with Loki, and I find myself doing it again here.”

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He also left the door open for the return of “Heels,” which found new life on Netflix. “Never say never,” he said. “Almost everyone who saw it loved it. Maybe it just needs its ‘Suits’ moment.”

Before wrapping up, Waldron was asked about who he’d cast Powell as if given free rein inside the Marvel universe. He didn’t hesitate to suggest Nova, the cosmic hero long rumored to make his debut in the MCU. The character, also known as Richard Rider, is a member of the intergalactic Nova Corps and often compared to Marvel’s answer to Green Lantern. Waldron grinned at the idea. “He’d be a pretty good Nova,” he said. It’s a fitting fan-cast, especially given that Marvel Studios has been teasing Nova’s arrival since “Guardians of the Galaxy” introduced the Nova Corps nearly a decade ago. With Powell’s mix of charisma, athleticism, and sincerity, it’s not hard to imagine him donning the gold helmet if and when the call finally comes.

New episodes of “Chad Powers” drop exclusively on Hulu through the October 28th finale. Listen to the full conversation with Michael Waldron below:

The Playlist Presents: Michael Waldron’s Film & TV Recommendation Playlist

• “One Battle After Another” (Paul Thomas Anderson)
• “Chad Powers” (of course)