Chad Powers Star Perry Mattfeld Breaks Down Ricky and Chads Forbidden Romance, Gerrys Threat and That Season 2 Cliffhanger

[This story contains spoilers from the season two finale ofChad Powers, “12th Quarter.”]

Following the unmasking of Chad Powers‘ season one finale, Ricky (Perry Mattfeld) learns that the South Georgia Catfish’s star quarterback is actually disgraced former football player Russ Holliday (Glen Powell) in disguise. She agrees to keep his secret so their team can continue winning, but that secret becomes harder to protect in season two.

Gerry (Colton Ryan), the original starting quarterback who Chad replaced, grows suspicious of Chad’s strange behavior and eventually discovers his true identity. When Ricky comes to Chad’s defense, Gerry realizes she’s in on the scheme, putting both of them at risk of being exposed. Meanwhile, Coach Hudson (Steve Zahn) continues to struggle with his health while remaining the Catfish’s head coach, even as he grows closer to Chad. “He really — no pun intended — carries so much of the heart this season,” Mattfeld tells The Hollywood Reporter of her onscreen dad. Ricky is also weighing a new career opportunity as a quarterback coach at Syracuse University, while her friendship with Chad/Russ begins to blur the line between platonic and romantic.

Those tensions come to a head in the season two finale, when Gerry threatens to expose Chad’s secret after discovering the stash of prosthetics in the basement. But after Chad refuses to follow Gerry’s demands during the team’s final game, Gerry storms onto the field to reveal his secret — only to be tackled by Tricia Yeager’s (Wynn Everett) bodyguard. Tricia, meanwhile, reveals that she knows Chad and Danny’s (Frankie A. Rodriguez) secret and plans to keep them on her ranch so Chad can continue playing football.

The season’s final moments delivered the romantic payoff viewers had been waiting for: Chad and Ricky hide out in a stadium laundry room, where he tells her that he loves her. Rather than saying it back, Ricky kisses him for the first time — only for Coach Hudson to walk in and Chad to quickly hide his face. In an interview with THR below, Mattfeld unpacks Ricky and Chad’s complicated dynamic, what’s next for her character and Coach Hudson, how Tricia and Gerry could impact a potential third season, the funniest moments audiences didn’t get to see and how the season “reinvented itself” by leaning “deep into a thriller,” with showrunner Michael Waldron pushing the cast to go further.

***

Season one ended with Ricky saying some pretty harsh words to Chad. So stepping into season two, what was it like to play this different dynamic between them?

She’s totally backed into a corner at the end of season one, and we meet them a week later after this huge win. The entire season, she’s really struggling with feeling like, “this is wrong.” But then at the same time, as Russ is evolving, she starts to… I think “fall” is maybe too strong (laughs), but she already really liked Chad, and now as she’s forced even closer to him, she’s starting to really, really like Russ.

Ricky really is the only person who sees Russ in a different way, for who he is underneath Chad. What do you think it is that she sees in him that other people don’t? And why does she continue to believe he’s a good person, despite all these lies?

There’s this really, really beautiful scene in episode five, after Russ has just punched Coach Dobbs (Clayne Crawford) in the face after he comes face to face with him at Gerry’s apartment. They drive away, and then Ricky pukes on the side of the road and they get into this blow up argument. Just so you know, that was one of the coldest days I’ve ever filmed. We were shaking. [Chad Powers shoots in Atlanta, Georgia.]

But we get out of the car and have this very emotional scene where Russ says, “Part of me doesn’t know what to do when this ends. I don’t want it to end.” One of the lines I loved, and exactly what you’re talking about, is Ricky says to him, “You’re the same person. Chad and Russ are one now. Your fear that Chad is the better version of you, of who you wish you could be, you are him.” Hearing that from her, it’s really the one who matters the most to him.

Michael Waldron is so brilliant — he has set up really heroic things for Russ to do in season two. And he’s become our hero now. I think Ricky seeing his selflessness is what she’s drawn to. Also, nobody’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. I think the aftermath is more important than the event, and she’s seeing all the heroic things he is doing in season two to turn his life around.

When Ricky and Chad finally kiss at the end, what was your reaction when you read that in the script or were told they would finally have their moment?

The kiss was actually scripted in a few episodes earlier. Obviously, it’s such a big deal, and it’s so taboo. There’s so much buildup, so when that happens, it has to be so right. And actually, Michael, Glen and I had all decided, you know what? It’s not earned yet. So the way Michael wrote it into our finale ended up being so beautiful because it’s so emotional too, and there’s a lot of heartbreak in it. Russ is scared now that he’s so invested in this personal journey and in these people. Russ is scared this might end, and now Ricky potentially has the opportunity to leave — so there’s this heartbreak.

And you get an “I love you.” Then she doesn’t stay back, but she initiates breaking that boundary, and I really think it’s earned. It’s such a beautiful moment, while, of course, checking the boxes of being steamy too, which we know is what people want. (Laughs.)

While Ricky doesn’t say “I love you” back, do you think she does? And if so, why do you think she’s hesitant to verbalize that? Does she still need to admit it to herself?

What’s so great about Ricky’s character, and all of these characters, is that they’re all fighting their own uphill battle. Ricky is already swimming upstream, being a female in this male-dominated world. There’s this amazing scene with her and Coach Hudson, where he says to Ricky, “If you mess this up with the player, this would ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for.” So she’s battling that, knowing that, and then on top of it, there’s this character Jay [Colin Woodell], who represents exactly who she should be pursuing. It’s clean. (Laughs.) He’s got everything going for him. He’s the right age. He’s handsome. He’s charming. He believes in her. But yet there’s this very passionate friendship and secret, very, very exciting, budding love that she’s obviously developed for Chad and now Russ, but she knows that would be against everything she’s already had to fight so hard to earn.

What do you think your dad, Coach Hudson’s, reaction will be, and how could it affect season three?

Part of what I love so much about the way season two ends is because we don’t know what he saw. Did he just see that Ricky is with a player? Did he see that it’s specifically Chad? Did he see Chad’s face half off? What did he see? We don’t know. Someone asked Steve recently, “What do you think is worse news? Potentially losing Chad, the idea, of potentially losing your quarterback? Or potentially the mess of knowing what Ricky is involved with?” And we don’t know. We’ll get to find out.

But the relationship between Coach Hudson and Ricky is so special, and the threat to that relationship makes the stakes even higher. Especially since a lot of what Ricky has done in terms of facilitating things with Chad is because she wants more than anything for her dad to succeed and get this national championship.

Ricky tells Chad she accepted the Syracuse job, but with them winning this game and her developing feelings for Chad, do you think that could sway her decision to leave? What do you personally, as Perry, want to see?

I personally want the best case for this female character. I want to see her succeed, and our writers have done such an incredible job of writing for women. I love how it’s set up, and I love seeing her win. She’s emotionally conflicted, but I love seeing her potential. I want Ricky on top, obviously. (Laughs.) But I’m biased.

Do you think Ricky has any idea that Tricia is the puppeteer behind all of this?

No. I think she thinks she’s insane, because she is. But we’ve talked a lot about as a cast when you come across some sort of a generational talent like Chad is ,there’s so much money involved in football, which is unlike a lot of other sports and it’s crazy. What people will do to win, what people will ignore when people will turn a blind eye, what people will do to win, and that’s not only what makes it so fun for us and what makes the stakes so high, but I think all of the coaches know what you have to deal with in order to in order to win, so they tolerate it. They need her just as much as she wants that win. But I don’t think she has any idea, at least for now, the depths that she might become involved in this controversy.

Do you think Ricky can trust Jay given his connection to Tricia?

You know, you never know. I was so excited when I found out Colin was cast as Jay. He’s a good friend of mine. We actually went to college together at USC, and we were in the acting program. He’s such an incredible actor, and it was so fun to jump right into that comfortability with him. You never know. Tricia is the puppeteer of it all, and that sets us up for a lot of places to go in season three.

Going into a potential next season, do you still think Gerry is a threat, or do you think that Ricky would ever be willing to make a deal with him to protect Russ?

Totally. I love that it’s left open-ended. Gerry is such a great character, and Colton is such an incredible actor. At this point, they’d do about anything to get there. Yet, at the same time, nobody has really figured out what there is — or means. You could think it’s winning a national championship, but then what? And Ricky and Russ even have that conversation. He spins out at that banquet and says, “I’m gonna come back for another season. And she’s like, “What are you talking about? Where is this gonna go? How does this end?” They’re all moving one foot in front of the other. So never say never. I wouldn’t put it past them to need to keep Gerry on the inside somehow. And now we have Tricia involved, so there’s no way of knowing where that could go either.

Looking back from the beginning of season one to the end of season two, Ricky has grown so much. She’s become a lot more confident. She’s not afraid to speak up to Coach Hudson and the other coaches. And she’s a very talented coach, as shown in the finale, where she was the one studying Russ’ plays and using all those tricks to win. So, what’s it been like for you to explore her arc throughout the show?

I’m so impressed that you notice that. Looking back at even the first couple episodes of season one, and seeing how Ricky struggles to speak up, and now here we are at the complete other end of the spectrum. (Laughs.) I think a lot of that is inspired by Russ’ boldness as well, and having someone not only really listen, but be really curious about her.

Michael has said before that he planned this as a three-season show. Spoilers aside, do you know how this series ends, either for your character or just overall?

Well, I am working very, very hard. Maybe I’ll find my own way to blackmail him into making at least five seasons, because I don’t ever want this job to end. So it’s an ongoing joke on set that I’m always like, “Oh, are we saving that for season four or season five? And he’s like, “No, Perry, no, no.” He has had it arced in his head for three, but this is my favorite job I’ve ever had. Our show moves so fast, and yet there’s so much we haven’t even gotten into. I personally think there’s plenty more we can do, but I’ll get working on a petition and see how many people I can get to back me. (Laughs.)

This show is a sports comedy, but this season it really felt more like a romantic comedy underneath. Glen has starred in some very notable rom-coms over the last few years: Anyone but You, Set It Up, Hitman. What’s it like having him as a scene partner, and especially for this season?

For sure. He’s such a comedic genius. It’s so fun to work opposite him because the sky’s the limit with him. I just don’t know what he’s gonna do next, and that’s part of what keeps our scenes so alive. It’s so much fun to have that trust with each other and know that you know genuinely we just want to make the other person look good. So, however you set me up, I know you’re ready to throw it back. I’m so lucky to have him as not only a leader, but just to get to play with him and and to have an up close view of the magic that he’s able to bring in the moment.

Glen is so, so, so good at walking that line of looking as absurd as he does [as Chad] and playing into this comedy, and yet with his eyes showing the audience the empathy that he’s feeling. It’s a hard line to walk, and between that absurdity and the grounded emotional reality, he does it so well. This role, in particular, showcases his talent unlike any other role in the past.

Is it hard to keep a straight face when he’s in full Chad Powers mode?

There’s a scene in episode two right before the party, which, by the way, Ricky is not at that frat party. I went to watch it [film] because I was so excited about that scene, and when Glen is singing, “You want to be a bad bitch.” He had been practicing that monologue, because he had to sing those lyrics right in front of everybody at that party. So we were on set singing that song leading up to that filming that episode, and so I was like, I have to go watch this. That is one of my favorite moments on television is him at that party dancing.

There’s another scene right before the party where Ricky finds Chad and Danny in the cafeteria, and she’s like, “Coach is gonna ambush you.” And Glen said a line about his slit. Ricky says something like, “Telling my dad your pee hole the size of a blueberry isn’t gonna cut it anymore.” Then Glen ad-libs, “It’s not just so you know, it’s normal size.” Then, Michael from across the room yells, “OK, do it again, but say ‘It’s normal, just in case you were wondering, I have a normal-sized slit.’” And I lost it — we’re trying to finish this scene, and Glen is improvising. He and Michael are going back and forth about different alts for the slit line. We could not get through a single take without me just busting up, and that happens a lot. But I remember that scene in particular took much longer than it was supposed to because our writers keep us on our toes. I hope the audience can feel why it’s so funny; it feels like it’s happening in the moment, and oftentimes it really is.

***

The first two seasons ofChad Powersare now streaming on Hulu/Disney+.