‘Chad Powers’ co-creator on Dan Harmon, ‘Community’ and college football
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who loves Saturday college football games and … catfish?
This week saw the premiere of “Chad Powers,” Hulu’s new comedy starring Glen Powell, who co-created and co-wrote the series with Michael Waldron. It’s based on a viral sketch by former NFL Giants quarterback Eli Manning (he’s a producer on “Chad Powers” as well), who birthed the character. But Powell and Waldron have expanded the premise and backstory of a man named Russ Holliday who makes another go at playing college football by donning a disguise à la “Mrs. Doubtfire.” In a conversation with reporter Kaitlyn Huamani, Powell said the show was an attempt at making the “greatest football experience, whether in movies or TV shows, that people have ever seen.” Times TV critic Robert Lloyd says while the show has some tropes, characters played by Steve Zahn, Perry Mattfeld and Wynn Everett add drama and laughs. Waldron, whose previous TV work is instrumental to the show’s ethos, stopped by Guest Spot this week to talk more about “Chad Powers,” and what he’s watching lately.
Meanwhile, if you’ve been staying up this week, late-night TV has been not only a hotbed of laughs, but also political discourse. On Tuesday, Jimmy Kimmel, who has been taping his L.A.-based show in Brooklyn this week, and Stephen Colbert took turns as guests on each other’s shows, creating a memorable crossover event thanks to some fortuitous timing. It was the first time either has discussed in detail how their shows were disrupted this year — Colbert’s “Late Show” was canceled in July (it will air through May 2026) and Kimmel was suspended by Disney for several days in September. We have a rundown of the conversations along with clips of their visits, which are worth watching. And don’t forget “Saturday Night Live,” another late-night show that’s been in the crosshairs of politicians, returns this weekend for its 51st season, with Bad Bunny as host and Doja Cat as musical guest (we’ll be recapping the show again this season).
This week, our streaming recommendations include films from a master of horror, who is much more multifaceted than he might get credit for, and a new action-packed film on Prime Video.
ICYMI
Must-read stories you might have missed
Loren Bouchard, creator of the adult animated comedy series “Bob’s Burgers.”
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
‘Bob’s Burgers’ creator and cast celebrate 300 episodes of their heartfelt and edgy ‘comfort show’: “Bob’s Burgers” creator Loren Bouchard and cast discuss how it achieved “comfort show” status, the Belcher’s family dynamic and their favorite episodes.
This ‘Love Is Blind’ star had Season 9’s most cringey breakup. But he’s OK: Patrick Suzuki, a participant on Netflix’s hit reality dating series, spoke about his connection with two women on the show.
All the movies of Paul Thomas Anderson, ranked from worst to best: The director’s latest, “One Battle After Another,” is now in theaters, but the career of the Valley’s No. 1 filmmaker stretches over three decades. What’s his best?
‘Maigret’ on PBS is the latest version of Simenon’s sleuth. Here are 6 more to watch: PBS’ “Maigret” follows a long line of portrayals of the Parisian fictional detective created by Georges Simenon. Here’s a guide to other great versions to watch.
Tony Shalhoub loves bread, and he thinks it can get you ‘out of your own sphere’: “Breaking Bread,” the actor’s new CNN travel show premiering Sunday, is centered on the food staple, but it also uncovers stories about how it relates to migration, labor and his own family history.
Turn on
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Jeff Bridges in John Carpenter’s 1984 movie, “Starman.”
(Sony Pictures)
John Carpenter (Criterion Channel)
An extensive October series on the director who redefined the season of the witch — but one without “Halloween” or “The Thing”? We love it. John Carpenter contains multitudes and it’s high time people began thinking beyond his twin horror landmarks. You could think of these collected movies as being about antiheroes navigating a broken America (“Escape from New York,” “They Live,” “Assault on Precinct 13”). Or maybe they’re cracked romances (the Oscar-nominated “Starman,” “Christine”). Vicious comedies? (“Dark Star” and “Vampires” both have their share of laughs.) One thing they’re decidedly not is boring. And if you let a more metaphysical dimension in (“Prince of Darkness,” “In the Mouth of Madness”), Carpenter suddenly becomes profound. I’m stoked to return to the ones that let me down at first — looking at you, “Memoirs of an Invisible Man” — because I know I’ve grown up since. This is a filmmaker who was always a few steps ahead of me. — Joshua Rothkopf
Chai Hansen, left, Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield in “Play Dirty.”
(Jasin Boland / Prime)
‘Play Dirty’ (Prime Video)
It’s Christmas in New York, and one pack of amoral thieves with little regard for human life are at odds with another pack of amoral thieves also with little regard for human life in this action film based on Parker, the Donald E. Westlake character. The inspiration under another name (Walker) for John Boorman’s “Point Blank” and (in a very roundabout way) Jean-Luc Godard’s “Made in USA,” the character is played here by Mark Wahlberg, with a cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Tony Shalhoub, Keegan-Michael Key and Gretchen Mol dignifying the violent fluff. (Shootings, crashes, runaway subway train and the like.) Many things go wrong before they go (sort of) right, heists follow heists, and there’s a high body count, mostly of characters without names, but some with. (You do need to be in the right mood for this.) I am here above all for “Atlanta’s” Stanfield, as Parker’s laconic partner, who brings spacey warmth to the icy goings-on. — Robert Lloyd
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Glen Powell, left, with Michael Waldron on the set of “Chad Powers.”
(Daniel Delgado Jr./Disney)
How do you attempt to create a show that you hope is the best depiction of college football ever? Well, it helps to be a superfan of the sport, which is precisely what Waldron and Powell are (ESPN’s Tori Petry even spoke to Powell on the sidelines of the Texas vs. Sam Houston game last week). Deep knowledge of college football was essential because Waldron wanted to convey to fans that they were not going to leave any detail untouched. While the school the show is set at, South Georgia, is fictional, the rest of the world on “Chad Powers” is not. “We always wanted real schools to be the teams that they were playing, just to ground our show and the world in authenticity, the real world of college football,” Waldron told The Times this week. “I think that’s what fans want to see.”
But even if you aren’t a superfan of college football or sports in general, Waldron, whose work on television includes creating Marvel’s “Loki” on Disney+ and “Heels” on Starz, a short-lived but critically acclaimed show about pro wrestling, knows that the writing on a TV show is key to getting viewers hooked and wanting more. “Chad Powers” is infused with references to internet personalities and memes, which anyone who is very online will understand and relate to, giving the series an opportunity to spark interest with a more expansive audience. And it works, especially if you are a looking for a comedy that will deliver some easy belly laughs. The Hulu series drops new episodes every Tuesday through Oct. 28, easily filling the time between the next Saturday game. Here, Waldron tells us about how he and Powell first connected, a special cameo on the series and a couple of films you should watch. — Maira Garcia
How did you and Glen Powell first meet and how did it lead to your new show? Are you big followers of sports or football?
Like all legendary Hollywood friendships, ours began on a Zoom general meeting during a pandemic. We hit it off talking about our mutual love of college football (I went to UGA [University of Georgia] and Glen went to [University of] Texas), which is why we were both excited to do a series set in this world.
You were a writer on “Community” and “Rick and Morty,” both shows that have reverberated among millennial viewers because of their self-awareness and/or pop culture references. Did either of those shows inform your approach to “Chad Powers”?
Well, to be clear, I was just the writers’ PA on “Community,” but that show might have been where I learned the most. Dan Harmon is one of the best writers alive and was doing “meta” before we had a word for that. In writing stuff that is “self-aware,” there’s an instinct to be cynical. Dan runs in the opposite direction, and he taught me that genuine earnestness can be a very subversive tool.
A very surprising and funny moment we get right at the start of the show is a cameo from Haliey Welch, aka Hawk Tuah Girl. How did that come about?
We were reshooting the nightclub sequence in Act 1 of the pilot to get more comedy and L.A. scope, and include the character of Russ’ agent. We wanted to populate his world with other people who felt defined by a singular viral moment, and for a show set in 2025, who better than Haliey?
What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?
Have you heard of this movie “One Battle After Another”? It’s pretty damn good.
What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?
I think I watch “Tenet” [VOD] once a month. That’s as cool as a movie can possibly be. Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.
