November Binges: Chad Powers & The Lowdown

As the weather gets chilly and the cozy couch beckons to you, are you in need of a binge? Well, here are two suggestions.

Chad Powers: Created by Glen Powell and Michael Waldron, based off an ESPN program where Eli Manning went undercover at a football practice as a rookie named Chad Powers, this is a very silly but twisty story about a man named Russ Holliday (Powell), who was a star college quarterback, but then made some mistakes that turned him into one of the most reviled men in America. Eight years later, he is trying to make a comeback, but he is foiled. Through a series of events, he hits upon the idea of covering his face in prostheses (his father is a Hollywood make-up artist, conveniently) and embracing the alter ego of Chad Powers, a deeply weird man who goes to the open tryouts at the fictional University of Southern Georgia and wows the coaching staff with his incredible throwing arm. He gets a spot on the team, but now has to figure out how he will keep the ruse going, creating ever more insane lies in the mythology of Chad Powers.

The first season lasts all of six episodes so it's a quick and dirty binge that packs a lot of laughs and Powell doing the silliest Southern voice on the planet every time he becomes Chad Powers. The finale does veer into a tone that was not in keeping with the rest of the show and got decidedly dark, so I'm not sure how they're going to dig themselves out of the plot hole they've dug themselves into. But I can heartily recommend this show if you want something extremely fun and diverting to while away an afternoon. 

The Lowdown: Created by Sterlin Harjo, of Reservation Dogs fame, this is another Oklahoma-based show starring Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon, a journalist who calls himself a "truth-storian." When a local author who was from a rich family dies by apparent suicide, Lee starts digging into the suspicious circumstances. What follows is a very elaborate plot that involves many conspiracies, greedy white people, exploited Native Americans, and a general romp that is going to involve a lot of bloodshed and violence. While still maintaining a comic tone throughout.

The show is pretty vibey and watching it week to week meant I kept forgetting large swathes of plot. Most episodes end in a cliffhanger so you'll get sucked right in, but this is the type of show that probably works best as a binge when you can just mainline it in one go and enjoy Hawke's performance, alongside the excellent work Keith David is offering up as a private investigator who also gets caught up in these shenanigans. It's a perfectly adequate murder mystery, elevated by the setting, but I think it would have been better if we were spending more time with the Native American characters, rather than just having them be supporting characters in this whole enterprise. I suppose I was craving more Reservation Dogs and ended up with more Killers of the Flower Moon. Alas.