Running Point tells the story of Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson), who is unexpectedly and abruptly tasked with running her dysfunctional family’s business: the Los Angeles Waves, aka the greatest basketball franchise of all time. The lone underestimated sister among three competitive brothers, Isla deflects initial skepticism from across the (score)board when she comes off the bench as the team’s new president. She leads the Waves into Game Seven of the playoffs — and their strongest year yet — in the finale of this comedy series.
From writer-producers Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen, Running Point opens with Isla, her hands already full from working in the Waves’ front office, suddenly promoted. Her brothers Ness (Scott MacArthur), the team’s general manager, and Sandy (Drew Tarver), their CFO, don’t think she has what it takes — and can’t understand why their eldest brother Cam (Justin Theroux) chose her as his successor over them when he was forced to step down.
But Isla has her best friend — the Waves’ chief of staff, Ali (Brenda Song) — and her pediatrician fiancé, Lev (Max Greenfield), rooting for her. The arrival of Jackie Moreno (Fabrizio Guido), a younger half-brother none of the Gordons previously knew about, also shakes things up, helping the siblings learn what a real family actually looks like.
With Isla’s heart on the line in more ways than one, how does Season 1 of Running Point end? Take a leap of faith with us and Coach Jay (Jay Ellis) to find out below if the family motto, “Gordons don’t lose,” is really true.
Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon in Running Point.
We’re so glad you asked, because she sure is. Not only is Jeanie Buss the controlling owner and president of the Lakers, she’s also an executive producer of the show. So is Linda Rambis, who is the Lakers’ executive director of special projects.
“Jeanie is such an iconic figure, a legend in basketball, and her journey as a woman leading a major sports franchise was both inspiring and ripe for storytelling,” Kaling told Netflix. “We feel so lucky that she’s an executive producer on this show, so she could watch every cut and tell us if anything felt false.”
Kaling, Barinholtz, and Stassen found the idea of exploring the behind-the-scenes world of a professional basketball team too good to pass up. They researched extensively and worked closely with Buss and her team to get the details right. “Her insights and feedback were invaluable in shaping the story and characters,” Stassen told Netflix. The show takes creative liberties to craft a narrative that balances comedy and drama while simultaneously honoring her legacy and contributions to the sport. “Jeanie’s story provided a rich foundation for the show,” Barinholtz told Netflix.
Buss tells Tudum that she enjoyed sharing her experiences and stories from more than 30 years in the business. “There’s so many things that have happened that it’s hard to understand when you’re on the outside,” she says, “trying to explain the mechanics of how the league works, how the egos are involved, and agents, and all the things that can trip you up.”
Toby Sanderman as Marcus Winfield in Running Point.
After coming close enough to taste victory, the Waves lose when Portland makes a last-minute score. That half-court shot knocks the Waves out of the playoffs, and is an extremely crushing blow to the little team — and owner — that could.
But that doesn’t mean the season is a write-off: Isla handles things her way. She hops into the race right alongside the team when they need her, doggedly refuting rumors about a trade involving all-star Marcus Winfield (Toby Sandeman) and taking wild card Travis Bugg (Chet Hanks) to rehab instead of sending him in to play. Isla shows up for her players, which deeply endears them to her. As Marcus tells her early on, “I always liked your dad and brother, but I knew they saw us as horses. If we broke our leg, we were done.”
Hanks tells Tudum that he has high hopes for Travis’ future. “Hopefully he cleans up his act,” the actor says. “When I saw the episodes, I was happy with my performance. But the main thing I was excited about is just how everybody is so funny. Everybody stands on their own within each one of their characters, and the way we all interact with each other just feels so natural.”
Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon and Max Greenfield as Lev Levinson in Running Point.
When Isla steps into the role of president and becomes a matriarchal figure for her players, it leaves less room for her to show up for her fiancé of six years. When she takes Travis to rehab, she misses a major career award presentation for Lev, and by the Season 1 finale, he’s had enough of feeling left behind. Lev moves out of their shared home and decides to take a new job in Minnesota.
Isla races to his office to tell him how much she loves him, but for Lev, it might be too late. He doesn’t show up to watch the big game.
Although the team almost ekes out a major win, the Waves ultimately lose and Isla commiserates with her pal and confidant, Coach Jay. They’d bonded throughout the season, and she even lets him leave his contract early so he can move to Boston to live near his daughters and ex-wife. Isla and Jay share an unexpected and intimate post-game moment, kissing on the court when no one else is around. Where does that leave Isla and Lev? And does that mean Jay isn’t going to Boston after all? Just like Isla, we’ll have to wait and see.
Scott MacArthur as Ness Gordon, Fabrizio Guido as Jackie, Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon, and Drew Tarver as Sandy Gordon in Running Point.
Growing up, the Gordons didn’t have the best role model in their absent, workaholic dad, Jack Gordon. And as for their mothers, well, they’re quite the characters, too.
But in Cam’s absence, Sandy, Ness, and Isla come to learn that they can lean on each other for real unconditional love and support. They also realize they haven’t been showing up for their newly discovered little brother, Jackie, nearly as much as he has for them. So, just before the Game Seven tip-off, they race to Lincoln Heights to comfort him on his late mom’s birthday.
When they arrive, Isla explains that their parents didn’t really teach them how to be a family, but Jackie’s mom did. “So maybe you could teach us?” she asks. Jackie says he’ll help, but jokes that it’s “only because you’re [all] so fucked up.”
Justin Theroux as Cam Gordon in Running Point.
For most of Season 1, Cam is in rehab, wearing the kind of massive scarves you’d expect to find in Lenny Kravitz’s closet. At first, out of all the brothers, he’s the most encouraging when it comes to Isla, bringing her into the Waves fold when she’s at a low point in her life. In a flashback, he repeats one of their dad’s lines: “Never get rid of a distressed asset, you just raise its value.” And then he tells her, “I think there’s some good in you yet.”
Isla returns to these words to steady herself while she’s finding her footing. After all, when Cam made her the president, he told her, “I’m picking you, dumbass. Ness is too close to the players. Sandy doesn’t know shit about basketball … You’re decisive, and you are the best person for this job.”
So it’s a shock for her to learn, later in the season, that Cam is the one spreading rumors that the Waves were looking to trade Marcus –– seemingly trying to stir up trouble for his sister.
A few episodes before the finale, we see Cam attempt to bribe his way out of rehab and get discharged early. He apparently succeeds, because the season ends with Isla arriving at her office the morning after Game Seven to find him sitting in her chair, feet on the table like he owns the place. “What’s up, sis? I’m back!” he says to her gobsmacked face. Talk about a cliff-hanger.
So: Who is running point now for the Los Angeles Waves? You’ll have to keep coming back to Tudum for more.
Get your head in the game with all 10 episodes of Running Point Season 1, now streaming on Netflix.
Additional reporting by Christopher Hudspeth and Brookie McIlvaine.
