Stop me if you've heard this one before: An underestimated woman takes over a failing sports team whose players include a gruff veteran, a talented but out-of-control diva, and a sweet newbie. That's Ted Lasso, right? Wrong! It's Running Point.
Or what about this one: A dysfunctional group of four siblings — three brothers, one sister — fights over their father's lucrative empire. Is that Succession? No! It's Running Point!
All this is to say that Mindy Kaling, Elaine Ko, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen's basketball comedy Running Point feels like the love child of two of the biggest shows of recent years — and that's not a bad thing. (Ted Lasso definitely has the dominant genes.) The series mixes familiar storylines with a tone more akin to Kaling's other shows, resulting in a glossy sports comedy buoyed by a winning ensemble.
Running Point remixes the Ted Lasso formula with basketball.
Like Ted Lasso, Running Point brings us behind the scenes of a high-level sports team that's seen better days. This time around, it's the Los Angeles Waves, a fictionalized version of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Waves executive suite is a family affair, with the four Gordon siblings running the organization in the years since their father — the legendary but brash Jack Gordon — passed away. Eldest son Cam (Justin Theroux) is the president, former pro player Ness (Scott MacArthur) serves as the GM, and business-savvy Sandy (Drew Tarver) is the CFO. Meanwhile, the oft-excluded Isla (Kate Hudson) is left to manage the Waves charity, even though she knows more about the game than her brothers care to acknowledge.
Isla gets the chance to put her extensive basketball IQ to the test when Cam unexpectedly appoints her team president. (Isla is loosely based on current Lakers president Jeanie Buss, who serves as an executive producer on Running Point.) Suddenly, she finds herself at the head of a very male-dominated sports organization full of people — including her own family members — ready for her to trip up. Ted Lasso viewers may see quite a bit of Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) in her, from her competitive spirit to her high-profile position in men's sports. However, there are major differences, too, from Isla's bubblier personality to the fact that she doesn't start the series wanting to tank the Waves. Instead, she's tasked with the impossible: turning around a lifeless team.
That's easier said than done, especially when decorated team captain Marcus Winfield (Toby Sandeman) is checked out of the season and point guard Travis Bugg (Chet Hanks) courts controversy at every turn. They're not not similar to Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), just as the players' himbo locker room antics don't not call to mind the Richmond Greyhounds. Yet the basketball elements keep the team dynamic feeling fresh, even if you don't understand much about basketball.
You don't need to watch basketball to love Running Point.
Sure, a bit of basketball knowledge may come in handy while watching Running Point's game sequences or boardroom scenes, where characters rattle off facts about salary caps, outside shooting, and player trades. Still, if you don't know your free throws from your three-pointers, don't worry. Running Point is much more interested in what's happening in interpersonal relationships off the court versus the details of what happens on it. That's because Running Point is, at its heart, the story of a screwed-up family who just happens to run a multi-billion dollar basketball team.
At the start of most episodes, Isla recounts stories about her father Jack in voiceover, recalling his casual misogyny, his judgmental nature, and the way he viewed his players as assets instead of people. Running Point explores the ways these qualities have trickled down into his children and how they're trying to unlearn them. It's as if Succession's Roy kids actually learned to open up emotionally and were way less intense. Plus, Running Point throws in a curveball in the form of Jack's secret son Jackie (Fabrizio Guido), who yearns for familial connection with the other Gordons.
The Gordon family ties allow for a number of laugh-out-loud story beats, including a squabble at an engagement party and an argument about player trades that devolves into a paintball shootout. It also allows Running Point's core cast to showcase their killer chemistry. Hudson leads the team with pitch-perfect comedic timing, committing totally to Isla's many pratfalls. As support, MacArthur and Tarver make for a delightful odd couple: Ness is loud and bro-y, and Sandy is more reserved yet cutting. Theroux is less present, but he's an absolute hoot whenever he shows up, and Guido rounds out the Gordons with an endearing innocence that contrasts nicely with the rest of his siblings' billionaire blunders. Closing out Running Point's all-star team are Brenda Song as Waves chief of staff Ali, Max Greenfield as Isla's fiancé Lev, and Jay Ellis as Waves coach Jay.
Running Point's endlessly watchable cast carries the show through some bumpier pacing moments since, like with many streaming comedies, Running Point feels like it would benefit from a longer season. That way, it wouldn't have to squeeze important events like the lead-up to playoffs into such a short amount of time.
Despite these pacing issues, Running Point remains a sharp comedy that skewers both professional basketball and dysfunctional families with glee. Here's hoping it joins Never Have I Ever as another multi-season Kaling Netflix series. It has all the right pieces, and with a little more time, it could cement itself as an absolute slam dunk.
Running Point is now streaming on Netflix.
