ESPN/YouTube ; Daniel Delgado Jr./Disney Chad Powersstars Glen Powell as a former footballer who tries to get a second chance by disguising himself as a new, younger player The Hulu series was inspired by Eli Manning's real-life skit from his docuseriesEli's Places Eli and his brother Peyton Manning helped create and produce the sports comedy Glen Powellis suiting up as Chad Powers in the Hulu sports comedy,Chad Powers. However, beforePowell portrayed the fictional athlete, former professional football playerEli Manningoriginated the character. While the show itself is fictional, it is based on andinspired by Eli's characterof the same name in the 2022 ESPN docuseries,Eli's Places.The episode from the viral miniseries starred Eli, using professional hair and makeup artists to disguise him as Powers, trying out as a walk-on quarterback for Penn State. The following series, out on Sept. 30, follows Powers, whose actual name in the series is Russ Holliday, a former talented quarterback trying to "resurrect his dreams by disguising himself as Chad Powers — a talented oddball who walks onto the struggling South Georgia Catfish," per the show's description. In addition to Powell, the Hulu series also featuresPerry Mattfeld, Quentin Plair, Wynn Everett, Frankie A. Rodriguez andSteve Zahn, who plays Coach Jake Hudson. He told PEOPLE that he frequently "broke" character over Powell's looks and acting chops. "I could barely keep my ... Ibroke a lot with him. Oh, yeah, it's ridiculous," he said at the premiere on Sept. 25. "He's brilliant in this part and he's an incredible human being. He was a joy to work with, and I hope we get to go back and shoot his second season." So, isChad Powersbased on a true story? Here's everything to know about the real Eli Manning skit that inspired the show. DJ Delgado/Disney Chad Powers, which premieres on Sept. 30, is a six-episode television show that stars Powell as Holliday, a former hotshot college quarterback who blew his chance at a national title and professional football career because of his ego. Nearly 10 years after his demise, Holliday decides to go undercover as Powers to try and get a second chance with a struggling college team at South Georgia. Powers uses various prosthetics to disguise himself and go undercover for the walk-on tryouts. After Powers makes the team and seems to successfully hide his true identity, he tries to make up for his past mistakes and use his second chance to better himself and the team. Zac Popik/Disney Chad Powerswas inspired by the real-life events of Eli going undercover at Penn State to try out as a walk-on quarterback during a 2022 episode ofEli's Places. "We took that concept and that inspiration and have doubled down on the prosthetics, updated it, improved it, new model, new Chad, and we're making a hell of a show here," Powell explained in an interview withGood Morning America. ESPN/Youtube Eli, a two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP, previously starred in an ESPN docuseries,Eli's Places, where he looked at different aspects of college football and explored the country's obsession with the college sport. During season 2 in 2022, Manning released one of his most famous episodes about what it's like to walk onto a football team. In order to truly understand the college walk-on process, Manning transformed into Powers by using skin and hair prosthetics — which resemble Powell's portrayal of the character — and signed up for the real Penn State football tryouts. Eli successfully played with other walk-on hopefuls and drew the attention of coaches and players alike. However, the stunt didn't grant him the same longevity as Powell's fictionalised version, as the Penn State coaches quickly discovered that he was ineligible. After learning all he could about the process, Eli removed his wig, fake facial hair and prosthetics to reveal his true identity — leaving all the students stunned. "I'm sorry," he told the coaches and athletes. "I'm just a 41-year-old who just wants to play ball. I'm just trying to get back out there. I appreciate you letting me try out with y'all." Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Both Eli and his brother,Peyton Manning, had extensive involvement in both the creation and the production ofChad Powers. Eli serves as an executive producer, along with Peyton and his production company, Omaha Productions. In addition to working on the sidelines, Eli has a cameo as a frustrated coach from an opposing team, as shown in thetrailer. Powell has also reflected on both brothers being "extremely involved" in all six episodes of the series. "One of the coolest things about the Manning boys is that they are extremely involved," the actor said onGMA. "What makes this show different is we wanted this thing to be funny and heartfelt but to have the football be legit. You know what a real quarterback looks like and when it doesn't, so the fact that I have these guys as my coach, it's a nice little lifesaver." Read the original article onPeople
