If there’s one arena where Kate Hudson is an undisputed all-star, it’s the comedy genre, and the new Netflix series Running Point certainly provides the court for the actor to perform her charm offense. Yet it’s somewhat wasted in a series attempting to blend the idealistic gusto of Ted Lasso with the witty familial tensions of Succession, while doing justice to neither.
Running Point takes place in the hypercompetitive world of professional basketball, where Hudson’s tough-but-messy female protagonist Isla Gordon is thrust into the role of president for the LA Waves, “the greatest basketball franchise in the history of the game” and a business her family has run for decades. With the support of Ali (Brenda Strong), her sassy best friend and chief of staff, she has to prove herself in the sexist world of men’s sports and break that glass ceiling for extremely rich, reformed party girls everywhere – an overly sympathetic depiction of a difficult-to-relate-to character type that rarely offers any meaningful commentary on the wealth and comfort Isla otherwise lives in.
From the get-go, Hudson’s narration and flashbacks to a childhood of being overlooked by her formidable (and long deceased) father make it very clear that she’s an expert on the game. But as she tries to secure team sponsorships and broadcast deals, rally players and turn the Waves’ losing season around, her expertise and decision-making are constantly questioned and disrespected This is mostly because she’s a glamorous girl who likes to wear unbuttoned blouses and keeps banging into glass doors – a running gag that quickly wears out its welcome.
As with Succession, Isla is the only daughter among her father’s children – but unlike that modern HBO classic, each of those brothers suffers from stock character syndrome. Ness (Scott MacArthur), a player-turned-Waves general manager, is a sweet but idiotic dude bro. Sandy (Drew Tarver) is her uptight, gay half-brother and the Waves’ chief financial officer. Cam (Justin Theroux) is the Type A eldest brother whose secret drug addiction lands him in trouble in the first episode, freeing up the Waves presidency for him to offer Isla – just so she can keep his office warm while he’s in rehab.
Running Point GalleryThen there’s affable and naive Jackie (Fabrizio Guido), who starts out selling concessions for the Waves before learning he has a more personal connection to the team: His late mother had an affair with Papa Gordon, who was Jackie’s biological father. Jackie’s scenes dangle awkwardly off the first couple of episodes, and then he spends the rest of the season trying to connect with the dysfunctional family he never knew he had. Ultimately, he serves as a tool to humanize these self-involved assholes, especially towards the tail end of the season when Ness, Sandy, and Isla let the sibling rivalry go and begin opening up to each other about each of their half-baked romantic subplots.
Of course, it couldn’t be a series about a woman leaning in without a personal cost, and from the minute Isla’s pediatrician fiance Lev Levinson (Max Greenfield) is introduced, the sign-posting that they aren’t built to go the distance is egregious. Like the Gordons, Lev’s characterization is thin – he’s generically nice, Jewish, and little else – while Greenfield and Hudson’s chemistry is so tepid that it’s a real struggle to ever invest in their relationship. Especially with how often the camera lusts over the Waves’ divorced head coach, Jay Brown (Jay Ellis), who’s thrown in as a hot, zen romantic rival to Lev. Ellis and Hudson certainly generate more heat, but Running Point never establishes a more intimate connection that might explain their attraction. As a result, this workplace romance comes off as trite.
The writers are so desperate to make the Gordons likeable that they pull their punches.
Theroux’s screentime is limited, but his blunt delivery and cut-throat attitude make him the MVP of Running Point. He sharpens the comedy notes as Cam tries to undermine Isla and secure his release from rehab. Theroux earns extra laughs with his curt requests for drugs and attempts to fast-track his recovery; unfortunately, the writers are so desperate to make the other Gordons likeable that they pull their punches. There are some amusing slapstick scenes – namely involving Ness’ moronic behavior and comments towards his siblings and wife – but the show rarely provides the type of biting dialogue that could puncture the family’s arrogance or entitlement.
And for a show that makes a song and dance about its female lead being an authority on basketball, Running Point really shortcuts how Isla manages to take the Waves from zeroes to heroes. Instead, the writers offer undercooked subplots about a redneck player with a painkiller addiction, a rookie struggling to score free throws, and a stoic star stepping up to lead. It does, however, outdo Ted Lasso when it comes to shooting some of its game sequences – which, considering the soccer action on that Apple TV+ comedy, is admittedly a low bar. Still, there are pick-up games on TikTok that offer more athletic thrills than Running Point.
VerdictRunning Point has its charm, and Kate Hudson proves she still has some leading lady chops. But its stock characters and superficial storylines amount to a tepid first season that doesn’t have the narrative depth nor comedic tenacity to engage and unpack the high-stakes subject of running a professional basketball franchise. Nor does it get under the skin of its elite characters, choosing placid likeability over weighty class commentary to its detriment.
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Running Pointmediocre
Despite its all-star lineup, Running Point is an unremarkable addition to the sports comedy genre with a hackneyed take on women breaking the glass ceiling.
Hanna Ines Flint
