Chad Powers will play another game, and that’s excellent news. Hulu has confirmed Chad Powers Season 2, giving the Glen Powell comedy a chance to finish what it started. Because while Chad’s debut season was a bit chaotic, there’s plenty of untapped potential left in the story and in Powell’s go-for-broke performance.

The premise of Chad Powers was risky from the outset. It’s always been a gamble to take a TV sketch and extend it into anything (just look at all the movies based on characters from Saturday Night Live). But beyond that, the idea has a finite shelf life. Russ Holliday hiding in plain sight as Chad only carries tension if someone eventually finds out. And while the first season flirted with that reveal, it was clear that Powell and co-creator Michael Waldron were only really telling half of a story.

The entire Chad Powers Season 1 finale was a setup for Season 2, rather than a conclusion—plot-wise or emotionally—for the first six episodes. That’s what made it feel underwhelming; there wasn’t a sense of accomplishment after viewers had gotten to the end. It was more of a stepping stone to the future, including the cliffhanger with Ricky Hudson keeping Chad’s identity a secret. Yes, she found out, but there were little actual consequences for Russ because Ricky chose (however angrily) to play along. On top of that, audiences never saw a snap of the critically important Georgia game. Many TV shows have open ends to try and lure an audience back, but this one felt especially incomplete.

That creates a clear jumping-off point for Chad Powers when it returns. The writers asked audiences to care about this game and this South Georgia Catfish team; they have to give viewers some resolution for the squad. (One thing the show needs to do better in Season 2 is figure out its pacing; it spent one episode on one game, and then another having skipped ahead several games.) But beyond just answering questions, there are a lot of other parts of this world worth exploring.

The most obvious is Powell’s continued development of Russ Holliday. Speaking of Saturday Night Live, anyone who saw him hosting SNL is fully aware of how he’s a natural when it comes to self-deprecating humor. Russ took some significant strides forward in self-awareness by the end of Season 1—albeit not enough. It’s going to be interesting to see how much he actually has changed, because the audience is rooting for him to be a better person. His whole character arc is a classic: the egotistical jerk who is humbled by his friends. And when it comes to the quirkiness of the Chad Powers persona, Powell’s proved that he is willing to be as foolish or strange as any script can throw at him. Not many actors can consistently gearshift between the absurd and the genuine as well as he does.

Yet while the series is called Chad Powers, there are other characters who also deserve a bigger spotlight. Ricky is first and foremost on that list. She is so much more than Russ’ potential love interest; that’s the least interesting thing about her. The dynamic between her and her aloof but well-meaning father Jake is far more compelling, and at times often funnier, because Steve Zahn is so earnest in his performance. And there’s a whole arc for Ricky as she continues to try to establish herself as more than “the coach’s daughter.” Jake has a lot on his plate; the man ended the season in the hospital, plus his marriage is quite clearly done. It would also be great to explore him more seriously, and see how much his aw-shucks attitude really falters. Even though this show is an outrageous comedy, that doesn’t prevent it from giving its characters depth. It just has to be handled differently.

And as for the comedy, there are plenty of ideas there, too: Colton Ryan’s character Gerry finally coming unhinged at the end, the total lack of self-awareness by Coach Dobbs (an also fully committed Clayne Crawford) causing some kind of program scandal so there’s more to worry about than just the Chad of it all, maybe a few mascot fights for Danny in the Catfish costume—because mascots are in themselves fun characters, and such a thing would be exactly the kind of go-big-or-go-home humor that Chad Powers loves. This show still hasn’t had its “Enrico Palazzo” moment yet, but it is definitely out there somewhere.

Chad Powers is great entertainment for what it is: an absurd comedy that leaps before it looks and rolls with the punches. It’s not going to be an Emmy-winning smash hit, but it’s not trying to be. This is a risk-taking show about characters taking their own ill-advised risks, and stocked with actors who are game enough to drive the ball as far as it takes. Chad Powers Season 2 is their chance to finish the story and take this crazy roller coaster ride to another level.

Chad Powers Season 1 is now streaming on Hulu. Season 2 does not yet have a premiere date. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Hulu.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.