Chad is a fictional character from ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', portrayed by

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He began his career in the early 2010s with minor guest roles on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', ''Friends of the People'', ''Guy Code'', and ''Wild 'n O ...

Background

The character was created by Pete Davidson, Streeter Seidell, and Mikey Day, and is played by Davidson. The name Chad has been used during the last couple of decades as slang for a range of male stereotypes, which the ''SNL'' character plays on ironically. He first appears in the SNL sketch "Pool Boy," which is part of the episode that aired on April 16, 2016, in which he is depicted as the 23-year-old pool boy of a housewife named Mrs. Handler (

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...

), who has an affair with him. In the sketch, Mrs. Handler dramatically breaks off the affair with Chad, wanting to protect both their families from the scandal and citing her own personal conflict; Chad responds with little enthusiasm or care, and twice ignores Mrs. Handler to continue cleaning up the pool.

Personality

Chad is an easily distracted, chill, apathetic man. He has no known last name. In the sketch "Pool Boy," it is stated that he is 23. Many of the sketches depict him as doing various things such as going to a

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a ...

-like world through his closet, being targeted by a serial killer, going to a haunted mansion, touring with

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

, and going on a

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mission. He is oblivious to the things that are about to happen to him, and usually just responds with "OK" or "cool." He is usually well-liked by other characters, and even unintentionally saves the world in his SpaceX sketch. In other sketches, Chad becomes the target of affection of various individuals, typically the celebrity host, such as his tutor, doctor, or

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

, who similarly to Mrs. Handler, confess their love of Chad and personal problems while he reacts apathetically.

Reception

Chad was generally well received by different sources. ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'' described the character as "hilariously stupid," and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described him as a "stereotypical stoner bro".

References

{{Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live characters Television characters introduced in 2016