Running Point bounces onto Netflix on February 27.
Netflix’s Running Point is a slick, entertaining workplace comedy set in the high-stakes world of professional basketball management. Created by Mindy Kaling, the show is full of the sharp humor and messy-yet-lovable characters that have defined her past work. While it doesn’t reinvent the sitcom, setting the story in a major sport club’s front office is definitely fresh, as is Kate Hudson’s winning performance at the center that seals the deal.
Hudson plays Isla Gordon, a former party girl who unexpectedly inherits control of the Los Angeles Waves after her brother’s (Justin Theroux) scandal forces him out. The setup is a clear nod to the real-life drama of Jeanie Buss and the Lakers, but with all the names changed for legal reasons. While the fictionalized version of the NBA feels a little too polished and cheesy at first, once you buy into Running Point’s world, it becomes quite fun to watch.
Hudson is terrific, proving she has the comedic chops to lead a show like this. Isla is ambitious and capable but constantly underestimated, making for a fun underdog arc as she fights to prove she belongs in the boys’ club of pro sports ownership. She’s surrounded by a stacked ensemble, and surprisingly, Chet Hanks emerges as one of the season’s biggest standouts. His dirtbag, high-maintenance star player, Travis Bugg, is a riot, constantly throwing Isla for a loop. His scenes with Hudson are among the show’s funniest. Jay Ellis and Drew Tarver also shine in their roles, while Max Greenfield and Brenda Song’s characters feel a bit underwritten—though that’s to be expected in a fast-moving sitcom where the focus is on the front office chaos.
Where Running Point thrives is in mining the sports world for comedic gold. The dysfunction of a professional franchise is a natural fit for workplace shenanigans, and the show leans into it with Isla navigating clueless team owners, egotistical players, and the nonstop media circus. The humor is classic Kaling: characters make objectively terrible decisions but are still written in a way that makes you root for them. Isla’s actions aren’t always noble, but they’re always entertaining.
The biggest challenge the show faces is its lack of real NBA integration. Obviously, the legal hurdles to using actual teams and branding would have been impossible to clear, but it does take a little time to fully buy into Running Point’s fictional league. Whether you’re a basketball junkie or just in it for the banter, it’s absolutely worth a watch.
I give Running Point a B+.
TV and City 