In the midst of college football season, “Chad Powers” arrives with a witty, absurdist take on the life of a former football star trying to both rebuild his career and, more importantly, find his identity.

Based on a skit from former NFL quarterback Eli Manning’s docuseries “Eli’s Places,” the show follows Russ Holliday (Glen Powell), a former star quarterback for the Oregon Ducks who becomes disgraced after an altercation with two fans during a Rose Bowl championship loss. Holliday — with lost credibility and a nonexistent shot at the NFL — turns to a struggling SEC football team holding open tryouts to re-invent himself and get his spark back.

Early on, Russ’ unlikability makes it difficult for viewers to root for him. By creating a bad-mouthed, egotistical, and one-track minded character, the writers pave little way for an early connection with Russ and his backstory, making the beginning of the first episode a somewhat difficult watch. However, the tried, bad-boy narrative is flipped midway with the introduction of student Danny Cruz (Frankie A. Rodriguez), the mascot Russ meets while on his way to football tryouts for the South Georgia Catfish. Forming an unexpected early bond through a joint effort to hide Russ’ secret identity, the dynamic between Russ and Danny keeps viewers on their toes throughout the season with playful banter; never dull and ever-entertaining. With this new friendship, Russ’ toxicity is balanced out by Danny’s can-do attitude, and his story becomes far more engaging as viewers follow the development of his new football persona, Chad Powers.

Powell’s compelling acting as Chad Powers cannot be understated. Covered in prosthetics ranging from cheeks, a forehead, and nose, Powell’s transformation into a socially inept, unknown football player captures attention, full-stop. With a high-pitched Southern accent, Chad’s introduction marks a needed, light-hearted shift in the series, especially through unhinged comments ranging from pee-hole disorders and child-eating wolves. Powell’s comedic timing throughout the series hits the mark every time too, in particular through the addition of awkward mannerisms from Chad and a lack of social awareness by Russ whenever either character appears in a scene.

Aided by a fantastic supporting cast including the likes of Coach Jake Hudson (Steve Zahn), Assistant Coach Ricky Hudson (Perry Mattfeld), and sports booster Tricia Yeager (Wynn Everrett), the show sustains its comedy with continuously strong performances and equally strong scripts from the writers’ room. In particular, Everrett effortlessly portrays Tricia’s confusion when assuming that Chad must “have a touch of the ‘ceeti,’” to which Coach Byrd (Quentin Plair) clarifies that she meant CTE, the neurodegenerative disease linked to brain trauma.

Beyond excellent comedic timing from all parties, the juxtaposed portrayal of both of Powell’s characters creates an opportunity for viewers to reflect on how central Chad is to Russ’ emotional growth, even if Russ himself is unable to identify that early on. Here, Michael Waldron and Powell — alongside the rest of the writers — create a unique, intricate television character who, through his Chad persona, discovers what it means to be a true team player and allow humility to peek through his hardened exterior. Russ’ progression from focusing solely on football to internally his sense of belonging and identity is partly — yet importantly — because of his growing connection with Ricky. Through recurring conversations about her role on the Catfish’s football team and struggles to feel like a legitimate coach, it's evident that Russ sympathizes with Ricky because of his own personal failures and feelings of unimportance. From here, the show finds a way to successfully navigate this tone shift in a delicate way.

The show doesn’t make an intended romance between Russ and Ricky blatantly obvious, but the signposting with moments — such as short scenes of Russ glancing at Ricky more than usual after their deep conversations —seem to set the characters up for an overused romantic interest trope. However, the show avoids following the conventions of characters falling head over heels and living happily ever after — instead, it opts to create an organic relationship between the two where betrayal doesn’t lead to immediate forgiveness. After a shocking revelation on multiple fronts in the season’s last episode, Mattfeld excels in her portrayal of Ricky, subverting the audience’s expectations during a tense scene with Chad. With kindness, anger, and disappointment balled into a stellar scene just short of 5 minutes, viewers are left with little certainty of what will happen next.

While incredibly strong, the show fumbles with the length of its episodes. As earlier mentioned, the show is based off of a skit created by Eli Manning. While remaining true to the character Manning originated, the show partially deviates to create a full storyline — or at least attempts to. It would be inaccurate to say that the length of the episodes fully fleshes out Powers’ backstory. Averaging a 30-minute run, the episodes pack a lot of content into that time; but for a show focused on a disgraced football player’s unique rise back to stardom, there isn’t as much football content as there could be in the second half of the season. While this choice sets up the stage for a commentary on Russ finding himself, added time could bring the best of both worlds into the show, strengthening its appeal to college football fans.

“Chad Powers” at its core is pure fun. With strong acting, dry yet fully effective humor, and excellent prosthetic makeup, Powell and the rest of the cast have something special on their hands. In an age where television storylines can seem repetitive, “Chad Powers” stands out and keeps viewers wholly engaged until the last quarter.

—Staff writer Emily G. Fallas-Chacon can be reached at [email protected].