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Glen Powell will adapt Eli Manning's ESPN Chad Powers sketch into a Hulu series. The series has added a White Lotus star: Steve Zahn.
Deadline reported the Zahn casting. He will play Jake Hudson, the Head Coach of the series' football team. “He's about to be out to pasture when along comes the talented oddball Chad Powers (Powell) — and with him, one last shot at glory,” the report reads.
The series is a joint venture between Powell and Michael Waldron. They co-created and will produce the series. Waldron will also write the pilot of the series.
Per Deadline's report, “the series follows a hotshot quarterback whose college career ends after bad behavior. He then discovers himself as the talented and affable Chad Powers, who walks onto a struggling Southern football team.”
Eli Manning will executive produce the series along with Omaha Productions' Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, and Ben Brown. ESPN will also produce the series. Waldron and Adam Fasullo are producing on behalf of Anomaly Pictures while Powell will also executive produce under his Brainstorm banner.
Steve Zahn is an acclaimed actor known for his roles in Happy, Texas, Reality Bites, Daddy Day Care, Stuart Little, Chicken Little, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He also starred in Dallas Buyers Club, The Good Dinosaur, and War for the Planet of the Apes.
On the small screen, Steve Zahn has starred in several HBO series. He starred in Treme from 2010-13 as Davis McAlary. More recently, Zahn starred in the first season of The White Lotus. Zahn earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in The White Lotus. He also starred in George and Tammy as well as The Righteous Gemstones.
What is Chad Powers?
In 2022, Eli Manning went undercover as Chad Powers for an ESPN sketch. He attended Penn State's walk-on tryouts as Chad Powers, a happy-go-lucky quarterback with a stellar arm.
The sketch took off. Powell and Michael Waldron (who created Loki) will adapt a fictionalized series based on the character. With Powell's charm, he makes a perfect fit for the Hulu series.
Who is Glen Powell?
Glen Powell has quickly become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He got his start by appearing in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, The Wendell Baker Story, and the TV series Jack and Bobby. As the years went on, Powell continued working steady with roles in CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Dark Knight Rises, Ride Along 2, Hidden Figures, and Set It Up.
His breakthrough came in Scream Queens. Powell starred in the first season of the show before being delegated to a recurring role in the second season.
He then starred in Top Gun: Maverick which greatly rose his stock. That same year, he starred in Devotion. The following year, Powell starred with Sydney Sweeney in Anyone But You. The rom-com grossed over $200 million during its theatrical run.
Recently, Powell has begun collaborating with Richard Linklater more frequently. He first appeared in Linklater's 2006 film, Fast Food Nation. Powell then starred in Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood.
They then co-wrote and produced Hit Man together. Powell starred in the film while Linklater directed the film. Netflix acquired the rights to the film and will release it on their streaming service on June 7 after a limited theatrical run.
