Running Point on Netflix: Kate Hudson sports comedy is much more than a Ted Lasso rip-off

There is easily a universe in which comedy series Running Point would’ve been little more than a Ted Lasso rip-off.

The contours were there. The set-up is a fictional Los Angeles basketball team who have been on a losing streak. A rogue choice is installed as the chief executive and everyone assumes they have no shot of succeeding.

So far, so familiar.

But it’s in the shading where Running Point stands out as its own thing.

Kate Hudson’s Isla Gordon is a nepo baby, the only daughter of four kids whose iron-fisted dad ran the LA Waves. Her oldest brother Cam (Justin Theroux) is caught in a scandal when he drives his car into some tourists (they’re OK) while high on heroin. It’s not a good look.

So, Cam steps down and instead of naming one of his brothers to replace him, he elevates Isla, who has been running the team’s overlooked charity outreach programs. One of the other brothers – finance head Sandy (Drew Tarver) and general manager Ness (Scott MacArthur) – would’ve been the more conventional choice.

Isla is shocked but determined to do the job, even in the face of opposition from her brothers, the board, the team and especially the media including a loudmouth podcaster (Jon Glaser).

On top of that, the sibs discover their late dad had an affair that resulted in a love child, 19-year-old Jackie (Fabrizio Guido), who already works for the Waves as a snack seller during games.

Running Point is both workplace comedy and family sitcom, mining a lot of the conflict from the way the two worlds don’t always mesh, or at least shouldn’t. But it’s adept at exploiting that intersection with sharp, astute jokes rooted in recognisable family dynamics.

When you consider the creative forces behind the series, you understand why Running Point hits its mark – Mindy Kaling, who is an absolute comedy powerhouse, Elaine Ko spent many years writing on Modern Family as well as a season of Only Murders in the Building, and Kaling’s writers on The Mindy Project, David Stassen and Ike Barinholtz, the latter was also her co-star.

These are funny people who know how to write funny TV shows and movies, and Running Point greatly benefits from their experience and know-how. The show has genuinely laugh-out loud moments from witty wordplay, silly scenarios and proper physical comedy.

The cast are also game, especially Hudson who, more than once, runs into a very clear glass door at full force, and it works.

Hudson is a star with perfect comedic timing and the dramatic chops for the pathos Running Point occasionally throws up.

It also doesn’t hurt that as a nepo baby herself, she imbues Isla with that determination to prove that she’s more than her lineage while also respecting the specific responsibility and burden that comes from being in the family business.

The supporting cast are also all bringing it, especially Brenda Song as Isla’s cracking number two, Ali, and MacArthur’s Ness, whose sometimes bombastic exterior belies a softie.

The more you get into Running Point, the more it’s clear it’s not Ted Lasso. The similarities are only skin deep and the show very much leans into its own sense of humour and heart.

Running Point is on Netflix