Running Point is a show that thrives on familiarity. Plotwise, it’s Ted Lasso meets Succession sprinkled with some elements of the life story of executive producer-slash-Lakers president Jeanie Buss. In terms of behind-the-scenes personnel, the series touts names like Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz. On camera, cameos abound alongside a cast made up of big names and comedic character actors. As both a workplace comedy and a family sitcom, the show mashes together tried and true story elements; there’s not much new happening here, but Running Point is amusing enough for a quick and easy Netflix binge.
The series centers on the Gordons, a self-described “fucked up family,” and their equally distressing family business. They run the LA Waves, a storied NBA franchise. The family tree is fairly gnarled, so an emergency involving eldest boy Cam (Justin Theroux) leads to the surprise appointment of Isla (Kate Hudson) as President. The only daughter of an overly traditional father, Isla has long taken a backseat despite knowing more about the team than her older brother and Waves GM Ness (Scott MacArthur) and her younger half-brother and CFO Sandy (Drew Tarver). Her rapid ascension through the ranks is inevitably questioned by the media, coach Jay (Jay Ellis), players like Marcus (Toby Sandeman) and Travis (Chet Hanks), and even her brothers, meaning Isla has to prove herself at every turn.
Being that it is a sitcom, the stakes of Running Point are never all that high, “oh no” moments resolved by the next time the credits roll. It’s light entertainment by design, but there’s that not-so-special kind of Netflix sheen to it that somehow makes it even slighter. It’s a show that would probably benefit from being on network television instead of the streaming giant—the season feels truncated and rushed at 10 episodes, and every installment is just a hair too long. It’s all quite basic for a series with so much talent involved, and while it’s never actively unfunny, it can be a shrug of a show. Kaling is a master of the modern sitcom, so all the pieces are in the right place, but it’s hardly one of her best outputs.
The main cast delivers some solid sibling sentiment, from the sweet stuff to the inevitable arguments. It’s a new kind of role for Hudson, who anchors things with perfect middle-child, only-sister energy. MacArthur’s Ness is a worthy weirdo match to The White Lotus’s Saxon, while Tarver plays a very different kind of fame-adjacent gay brother than he did on The Other Two. There are some kinks in the chemistry, but the actors gel as the season goes on, and they end up sharing dynamics you want to see more of. Supporting characters like Isla’s chief of staff Ali (Brenda Song) and fiance Lev (Max Greenfield) help round out the world of the Gordons and the Waves, as does stadium worker-turned-assistant Jackie (Fabrizio Guido). Again, the season is a little too short for the show to get you all that invested in each and every character, but that’s not for the ensemble’s lack of trying.
Ultimately, Running Point is totally fine work from people we expect more of. It earns laughs easily enough (though jokes about sexism in the male-dominated basketball industry are delivered with diminishing returns; how many times can I be expected to laugh at a guy inappropriately commenting on Kate Hudson’s boobs?), and it has plenty of potential for inevitable future seasons. There’s a good team dynamic on and off the court, with expected but not unwelcome workplace romances, family tiffs, and gameday setbacks galore. At the end of the day, it’s a serviceable sitcom, not much more and certainly nothing less.
