Chad Powers is back for a second season, with all six new episodes dropping on Hulu on Thursday, September 3. Glen Powell returns as disgraced quarterback Russ Holliday, still hiding in plain sight as the wide-eyed, prosthetic-faced walk-on who’s somehow become his struggling Southern college team’s best shot at a playoff run.
The full-season drop follows the same binge format as the show’s first outing, letting fans burn through the entire story in one sitting rather than waiting week to week.
Where Season 2 Picks Up
Season 2 opens right where the first season left off, with Russ still maintaining his disguise as Chad Powers while leading the South Georgia Catfish through a season that’s building toward a real shot at the College Football Playoff. His father continues supplying the makeup and prosthetic work keeping the ruse alive, but the pressure of sustaining the lie only grows as the team’s stakes get higher.
Coach Jake Hudson, played by Steve Zahn, grows increasingly suspicious that something isn’t right about his star player, while Ricky Hudson, who uncovered Chad’s real identity in Season 1, remains his only real ally, despite still being angry about the deception. Layer in a nosy booster determined to dig into Chad’s background, and Season 2 gives Russ considerably less room to hide than before.
Who’s In the Cast
Glen Powell leads the cast as Russ Holliday, alongside Steve Zahn as Coach Jake Hudson and Perry Mattfeld as Ricky Hudson. The supporting cast includes Quentin Plair, Frankie A. Rodriguez, Wynn Everett, Toby Huss, Clayne Crawford, Colton Ryan, Xavier Mills, and Keese Wilson, with several ESPN personalities expected to make cameo appearances, continuing the series’ roots in the real ESPN+ sketch that inspired it.
How Critics Are Responding
Early reviews for Season 2 have been notably warmer than the mixed reception Season 1 received, which landed around a 60% critics’ score. Only a handful of reviews were out at the embargo lift, but all came back positive, with critics praising the season for “crafting an easy-to-follow ride filled with hilarious moments.” One review leaned into the show’s inherent silliness, writing that rehabilitating “a selfish failure who’s finally ready to change feels so good,” even while acknowledging the premise still doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny. A few critics did raise the same question that dogged Season 1: how long can audiences realistically buy into Russ getting away with the disguise before the show needs to change gears?
From ESPN Sketch to Hulu Series
Chad Powers began life as a comedy sketch produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions for ESPN+’s Eli’s Place, inspired by Eli Manning’s own undercover stunt at a Penn State walk-on tryout. Glen Powell co-created the Hulu expansion with Michael Waldron, turning a one-off bit into a full ongoing series with its own supporting cast, season-long stakes, and recurring emotional throughline about Russ trying to actually become a better person while literally wearing a disguise to hide from his past.
That origin story is part of why the show has drawn comparisons to other sports-adjacent comfort comedies, even as critics debate whether the prosthetics-and-wig disguise can carry a full ongoing series the way a more grounded premise might. The show leans hard into physical comedy around Chad’s disguise holding together under pressure, balanced against quieter, more sincere moments about Russ actually starting to like who Chad Powers lets him become.
What Fans Should Expect
With six episodes dropping all at once and reviews trending noticeably more positive than last season, Chad Powers Season 2 looks positioned to win back some of the critics who found the disguise premise thin the first time around. Whether the show can sustain the “how long can this lie last” tension over a full second season, without it feeling repetitive, looks to be the main test critics and fans will be watching for as the binge gets underway.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Chad Powers Season 2 premiere?
All six episodes of Season 2 premiered on Hulu on Thursday, September 3, 2026, as a full binge release.
Who stars in Chad Powers Season 2?
Glen Powell stars as Russ Holliday/Chad Powers, alongside Steve Zahn as Coach Jake Hudson and Perry Mattfeld as Ricky Hudson.
How many episodes does Chad Powers Season 2 have?
Season 2 has six episodes, matching the length of Season 1.
Is Chad Powers based on a true story?
It’s inspired by a comedy sketch Eli Manning made for ESPN+, itself based on his own undercover walk-on tryout stunt at Penn State, though the Hulu series is a fictionalized expansion of that premise.
Chad Powers joins a growing lineup of feel-good sports comedies drawing Ted Lasso comparisons this year, even as critics debate whether its disguise premise can sustain a second season the way Ted Lasso’s ensemble format did across four.
