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A winning Kate Hudson leads Netflix's series as the new president of a pro-basketball team
Created by: Mindy Kaling, Elaine Ko, Ike Barinholz, and David Stassen
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s a basketball team run by the over-privileged kids of its former illustrious president doomed? And is Netflix the best place for a workplace/family sitcom that needs room and space to grow its many, many characters? These two questions quickly come up while watching Running Point, the new series created by Mindy Kaling, Elaine Ko, Ike Barinholz, and David Stassen.
After dabbling with young adult stories in Never Have I Ever and one other show, Kaling returns to the streamer with her first sitcom about grown-ups since 2018’s Champions.
Kate Hudson (winning, hilarious, and a dream get for a noted romantic-comedy aficionado like Kaling) plays former party girl Isla Gordon, who works in a Brutalist building for her family’s professional basketball team, the Los Angeles Waves. When the eldest boy and organization head Cam (a sur-prisingly present Justin Theroux, who wears a series of cozy scarves) goes to rehab, he names Isla as acting president over her brothers, the team’s general manager Ness (an obvious Barinholtz stand-in played by Scott MacArthur) and CFO Sandy (Drew Tarver).
While not unlikable, Sandy feels a bit toothless in the first half of the season, especially compared to the more cruel and desperate character Tarver portrayed on The Other Two. Their comedic talents emerge eventually, which is not uncommon in an ensemble sitcom. But the streaming season episode count is not enough here for all of the necessary table-setting.
What’s more, the 10 episodes barely scratch the surface with the team itself. They’re led by Jay Ellis’ charming yet slightly guarded Jay, the head coach who’s also a newly divorced dad and a converted Buddhist. Unsurprisingly, given that the role feels tailored to his public persona, Chet Hanks is a scene-stealer as the wannabe rapper Travis Bugg. Meanwhile, the team’s star player, Marcus (model and Olympic gold medal sprinter Toby Sandeman in a reserved performance), grows into a leadership position as he mentors working-class rookie Dyson (Uche Agada), the most relatable character in the series.
The show functions a little bit like a sitcom version of “what if Shiv Roy became CEO on Sports Succ-ession?”—or, better yet, “what if Ted Lasso’s Rebecca Welton actually understood and cared about the team she ran?” Isla has strong instincts about the game, and she doesn’t have to worry much about men taking her opinions seriously. That type of sexist storyline about women in the workplace feels appropriately in the past.
“The show functions a little bit like a sitcom version of “what if Shiv Roy became CEO on Sports Succession?”—or, better yet, “what if Ted Lasso’s Rebecca Welton actually understood and cared about the team she ran?” Just like the best basketball games, the last five minutes of Running Point season one are its most thrilling. The finale is suspenseful in a way that makes you hope Netflix has at least one renewal planned. This is a comforting and intelligent sitcom.”
However, as her best friend and the Waves’ chief-of-staff Ali Lee (a very welcome Brenda Song) says in the pilot, Isla won’t be granted any grace or the opportunity to “get her sea legs” when she takes the job the way her brothers might. Every mistake she makes will be scrutinized harder by the organization, the fans, and the media.
And there’s another, more subtle double standard about women leaders brewing on Running Point. Whether it’s dealing with insubordination on the team, her coworkers, or a player’s health issue, the men around Isla tell her that they expected her to be different compared to her brother and father–that is, nicer. It’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, why can’t Isla be just as ruthless as the men in her family? Why does she have to foster positive change? But on the other hand, if you can open doors and create a more decent environment, even if the stakes are higher when you fail, shouldn’t you at least try? It’s a deeply unfair position that one imagines Kaling herself may have been in as a showrunner. Flawless is not enough.
If Dyson is the everyman on the team, a subplot about a secret Gordon half-brother named Jackie (Fabrizio Guido) adds a fish-out-of-water element to this wealthy family’s insular world.
His Cinderella story gets very messy very fast once people start giving him attention—even messier than most of his new half-siblings. For all we’re told about their arrested development, the billionaire Gordon siblings are all pretty tame. If it weren’t for Cam’s addiction, they would be the most domesticated rich family on television. All four are in monogamous relationships. Max Greenfield is definitely too likable as Isla’s fiancé Lev, given that the ancient laws of episodic storytelling (and a gentle sprinkle of second-wave feminism) dictate that their relationship is doomed to fall apart the second that she figures out how to make her new job work. And Scott Evans and Jessalyn Wanlim, who play Sandy and Ness’ respective partners, pop in their scenes.
Just like the best basketball games, the last five minutes of Running Point season one are its most thrilling. The finale is suspenseful in a way that makes you hope Netflix has at least one renewal planned. This is a comforting and intelligent sitcom. While some of the cast feels overstuffed and underused at first, everyone eventually has their moment and you can clearly see the many directions that things could go next.
– Courtesy: avclub.com.com
Rating system: *Not on your life * ½ If you really must waste your time ** Hardly worth the bother ** ½ Okay for a slow afternoon only *** Good enough for a look see *** ½ Recommended viewing **** Don’t miss it **** ½ Almost perfect ***** Perfection
