Running Point

It’s such a relief to see a show actually respect, and take advantage of, the television form! Hudson has an eye-catching wardrobe (courtesy of costume designer Salvador Pérez Jr.) and the episodes have a thematic and visual brightness that is an essential component: The show is an easy watch and the aesthetics subconsciously tell your brain “relax, this is fun.”

Running Point won’t be the best TV you see this year. But it goes down easily and boasts so much star appeal that it doesn’t have to be. Give the creative team a bit of time, and who knows? Maybe Running Point has what it takes to grow into the four-quadrant hit it wants to be. But please, a little less Chet Hanks rapping next time.

“Running Point” has its serious storylines, but nearly everything is handled with a sun-baked and relatively light touch, making this an easily digestible binge-series with multi-season potential.

Perhaps the second season implied by the cliffhanger ending will have more room to grow, even if “Running Point” looks expensive enough for a network-length season to be a stretch. The show deserves it.

Compared to Kaling projects “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and “Velma,” “Running Point” has a far more consistent tone, though that isn’t saying much. When the writing gets predictable or the pace lags, it’s the performers who do the heavy lifting.

Running Point has its charm, and Kate Hudson proves she still has some leading lady chops. But its stock characters and superficial storylines amount to a tepid first season that doesn't have the narrative depth nor comedic tenacity to engage and unpack the high-stakes subject of running a professional basketball franchise.

Are you in the mood for a basketball comedy that has some leaden jokes and some even more leaden things to say about sexism and prejudice in the US industrial sports complex? Of course you’re not. Nobody is. But it’s here, it stars Kate Hudson and it’s called Running Point.

Extremely bingeable and lots of fun. I absolutely love Kate Hudson and the rest of the case is great too. Often literally laughed out loud. This has broad appeal as well--my mother-in-law, my husband, and my teenage daughter and I were all immediately hooked.

Just like “Succession,” this series starts with 3 brothers and 1 sister vying to run their family’s biz. In this case, it’s the LA Waves, a fictional basketball team. There are also major differences from the HBO hit. First, it’s a sports team: Fortunately, there’s almost no actual game footage, but comparisons are also inevitable with another recent hit, “Ted Lasso.” Second, it’s a more obvious comedy, but the family’s smug entitlement is on full display. After one brother (Justin Theroux) ends up in the hospital, he assigns his sis (Kate Hudson) to take over as president of the franchise. Meanwhile, she faces continual conflict from her two other hapless siblings (Drew Tarver as the frustrated gay and Scott MacArthur as the sweet, dumb one). The direction is tight, the soundtrack is cool and the performances are all enjoyable, although a bit more quirk might have added to the fun. If you decide NOT to watch the entire series, skip ahead to Ep 7 because Nicole Sullivan is an absolute hoot as one of the player’s moms. As comedies go, this one doesn’t provide many outright laughs, but there’s a spritely energy and upbeat attitude that keeps it “running." (First season is ten 30-minute eps and judging from the final show, a 2nd season is planned.)

1st season was great until the excessive amount of gay sex scenes. There’s no need for this homosexual content with a basketball based show focused on a woman working her way up the ladder. Super unnecessary and NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THIS.Leave the GAYNESS for GAY based shows and movies! Praying Season 2 is LESS with the GAY and more with the YAY! Enough with trying to force Gay communities onto us. PLEASE GET RID of this. HAD MY FAMILY WATCHING THIS, and THEY ARE DISGUSTED! Make it stop! Outside of that. Great sho, great acting, funny topics, great upswing in content toward her ladder growing bigger in her career life. Excited to see what comes with season 2.

A television program supposedly about a professional basketball team where not one person on camera looks or sounds like they know anything about basketball. Kate hudson wandering around looking smug. Ted lasso for dummies.

Absolutely terrible character development, boring, and if you make the mistake of trying to watch it, you'll lose out on time you'll never get back without anything to show for it. I can't imagine who this was intended for.