Running Point is an American Sports film comedy television series created by Elaine Ko, Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen,
Premise
Isla Gordon, a reformed party girl, gets the shot of a lifetime to prove herself as she is left in charge of her family's pro basketball team, but she soon learns that running a basketball team comes with its own set of problems and surprises both on and off the court.
Cast and characters
Main
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Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon, the former coordinator of charitable endeavors who recently became the president of the Los Angeles Waves
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Drew Tarver as Sandy Gordon, Isla's younger half-brother who is the chief financial officer of the Waves
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Scott MacArthur as Ness Gordon, Isla's older brother who is the general manager of the Waves
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Brenda Song as Ali Lee, Isla's best friend and chief of staff for the Waves
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Fabrizio Guido as Jackie Moreno, the younger half-brother recently discovered by the Gordon siblings
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Chet Hanks as Travis Bugg, the problematic point guard of the Waves
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Toby Sandeman as Marcus Winfield, the long-time star player of the Waves
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Justin Theroux as Cam Gordon (season 2;
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Uche Agada as Dyson Gibbs (season 2;
Recurring
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Jay Ellis as Jay Brown, the head coach of the Waves
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Dane DiLiegro as Badrag Knauss, a Waves player from Slovenia
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Jon Glaser as Sean Murphy, a popular sports podcaster
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Roberto Sanchez as Stephen Ramirez, the chairman of the board of the Waves
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Max Greenfield as Lev Levenson, Isla's fiancé who is a pediatrician
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Scott Evans as Charlie, Sandy's boyfriend who is a dog groomer
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Ray Romano as Norm Stinson (season 2)
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Ken Marino as Al Fleischman (season 2)
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Tommy Dewey as Magnus (season 2)
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Richa Moorjani as Aruna (season 2)
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Jake Picking as Tommy White (season 2)
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Blake Anderson as Leroy (season 2)
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Duby Maduegbunam as Benson (season 2)
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Aliyah Turner as Zoé Debay (season 2)
Guest
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Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Ana Moreno, Jackie's cousin who is a lawyer
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Jessalyn Wanlim as Bituin, Ness' wife
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Andy Favreau as Charles Tracey, the owner of the Boston team
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Utkarsh Ambudkar as Malkeet Dasari, the owner of the San Francisco team
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Jim O'Heir as Irv Plotkin, the owner of the Chicago team
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Peter Allas as Frank Schaughnessy, the owner of the New York team
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Marissa Reyes as Sofia, captain of the Waves dance team
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Nicole Sullivan as Bonnie Bugg, Travis' mother
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Diedrich Bader as Assistant Coach Tony Spagnoli
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Rebecca Rittenhouse as Olivia Anne, Jay's ex-wife
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Ryan Caltagirone as Marcel, Olivia's new husband
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Phil Reeves as the league's Commissioner
Episodes
Production
Development
In June 2021, it was announced that
Netflix had given a straight-to-series order to an untitled Los Angeles Lakers themed comedy series created by
Mindy Kaling. The Los Angeles Lakers controlling owner and president,
Jeanie Buss, will co-executive produce the series with Kaling.
The series was initially going to be written, executive produced, and showrun by
Elaine Ko.
In January 2024, it was reported that the series had a new creative team, with Ko leaving the series, and Kaling now co-writing and executive producing the series with Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen.
Casting
In January 2024, it was announced that
Kate Hudson had joined the series as the protagonist, Isla Gordon, and also as an executive producer.
In February 2024, it was announced that
Brenda Song had joined the series as Ali Lee,
Drew Tarver as Sandy Gordon, and
Scott MacArthur as Ness Gordon.
Also in February 2024, it was announced that
Chet Hanks had joined the series as Travis Bugg, Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Ana Moreno, Fabrizio Guido as Jackie Moreno,
Toby Sandeman as Marcus Winfield, and Roberto Sanchez as Stephen Ramirez.
In March 2024, it was announced that Max Greenfield had joined the series as Lev Levenson, Dane DiLiegro as Badrag Knauss, and Uche Agada as Dyson Gibbs.
Filming
The series began filming in February 2024, in
Los Angeles.
The outside of the Los Angeles Waves basketball stadium is the
OVO Hydro in
Glasgow, Scotland.
During filming, Song's husband
Macaulay Culkin visited the set and decided to cameo in the background. As the script had a heckler character, Culkin was invited to play him.
Legal matter
In February 2025, Pepperdine University sued
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery for alleged trademark infringement. The university claimed that the TV series used their team's logo, the Waves.
Pepperdine University also accused
Running Point for the use of their "basketball team's colors, orange and blue", highlighting the number 37 of a fictional player (number 37 also being synonymous to Pepperdine athletics), in addition to other similarities.
Release
Running Point was released on
Netflix on February 27, 2025.
Reception
The review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes reported an 79% approval rating with an average rating of 6.4/10, based on 53 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "
Kate Hudson continuously makes three-pointer shots with her dynamite charisma in
Running Point, carrying this amusing series while it straightens out its game strategy."
, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 65 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Viewership
According to data from Showlabs,
Running Point ranked first on Netflix in the United States during the week of 3–9 March 2025.
External links
