Chad Powers premieres Sept 30 on Hulu with prosthetics-heavy humor

Glen Powell’s Hulu series Chad Powers, a comedy about a disgraced college quarterback who disguises himself to join a struggling team, premieres Sept. 30 with the first two episodes, and the star has spent the lead-up to the launch describing the show’s oddball tone, physical demands and behind-the-scenes moments at a series of publicity events. Powell, who co-created the series with Michael Waldron and leads an ensemble cast, has highlighted the project’s heavy use of prosthetics, its ties to a viral Eli Manning sketch and the involvement of former NFL figures on and off the field.

Chad Powers expands a 2022 sketch in which Eli Manning posed as a walk-on under prosthetics. Eli and his brother Peyton Manning serve as executive producers, and Eli makes a cameo, Powell and producers said. The series follows Powell’s Russ Holliday, a quarterback who self-sabotages his career in a championship game and later adopts the persona Chad Powers to get a second chance at a new school. Powell and Waldron co-wrote the pilot.

At a Rose Bowl premiere event, Powell described filming with former NFL players as immersive and moving. When I was actually on the field, it felt very immersive, he...