I have to admit that Running Point, one of Netflix’s newest comedy series, almost slipped right by me. I feel like a theme this year is that I’m slipping or something. Actually, I’m choosing to believe it’s something like too many new things and virtually no marketing being done for them.
As is the Netflix way, they throw bunch of stuff out and if you bother to take the time to look around on the home page the first week it’s out, then you might just be able to see something. Now, as someone who’s not the biggest Kate Hudson fan, did I think this series was going to be any good? Absolutely not. But, even the first episode of this series proved me wrong. No, it’s still not the highest quality television out there, but I’m always willing to be a bit more forgiving with comedy series, because comedy is hard!
In this particular series, Hudson plays Isla Gordon, the only daughter of the family that owns the fictional NBA team, the Los Angeles Waves. Though that name sounds so silly I realize it’s really no different than the Phoenix Suns. At the very start of the series, Isla’s lifelong dream of being more involved with the teams comes true in bigger ways than she can imagine when her eldest brother gets sent to rehab. He names Isla as interim president of the Waves and from there it is an uphill battle. One where she doesn’t have too many allies.
At first, her other two brothers, Ness and Sandy, are convinced that she’s not equipped for the job no matter how many fires she puts out. Many of which aren’t even her own making! She’s just got fresh ideas that they don’t want to hear. At first. I was thankful they came around to supporting her more quickly. The Waves’ chief of staff, Ali Lee, is really the only one who has her back from day one, but she’s the person you want on your side! She’s tough, real, and doesn’t put up with any crap. Her longtime fiancé, Lev, is also as supportive as he can be, but this new position puts them in a tough bind.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle Isla had to work through was learning that the Gordon’s have another half sibling. Jackie is young, a little naive, and apparently the child of their father and a maid at one of their many houses from back in the day. Though he could be getting rich off of this new knowledge, all he really wants is to connect with his new family. His mother had some what recently died, so there wasn’t anyone left in his immediate family. Isla is welcoming, though as rich people with plenty of problems, they do neglect Jackie for most of the season.
I was thrilled to see that this series already has a second season ordered because there was quite the cliffhanger at the end! I was also pleased to learn in the credits of the first episode that Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz were co-creators of this series alongside Elaine Ko and David Stassen. I can definitely see where these two former co-stars lend their comedic flair in the writing. And I could easily see Ike playing the role of Ness if he really wanted to. All in all, this was a really fun series that you should consider checking out instead of doom-scrolling Netflix’s site.