{"id":407119,"date":"2026-04-23T16:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T16:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/407119\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T16:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T16:50:12","slug":"netflixs-running-point-benches-the-dramedy-trend-for-pure-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/407119\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix\u2019s \u2018Running Point\u2019 Benches The Dramedy Trend For Pure Comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Netflix scores a win with its basketball comedy Running Point. The Kate Hudson-led series<\/a> stays in a league of its own, delivering a standout second season loaded with razor-sharp one-liners, a best-in-class ensemble, and scene-stealing cameos.<\/p>\n

Creators and executive producers Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen sat down just ahead of the April 23 premiere to break down what sets their comedy apart.<\/p>\n

Kaling made one thing clear: they committed early on to classic comedy rather than dramedy trends. \u201cThis is not one of those comedy shows that\u2019s basically a drama. This is the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Netflix,<\/p>\n

Kate Hudson in ‘Running Point’ Season 2 on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Photo by Katrina Marcinowski\/Netflix 2025<\/p>\n

Stassen, who also serves as showrunner, said season two finds Hudson\u2019s Isla Gordon fighting to hold onto what she earned in season one, which was becoming president of her family\u2019s basketball empire, the Los Angeles Waves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show is about being underestimated\u2026being the underdog. It feels like Isla is trying to hold on to what she earned in season one,\u201d said Stassen. \u201cShe wants to win. She didn\u2019t win in season one, so it was very incomplete. She says in episode two that she doesn’t want to be a one-hit wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The season opens with the return of Justin Theroux\u2019s Cam Gordon, Isla\u2019s brother, who stepped down as team president in season one to enter rehab. He pegged Isla as a safe placeholder, someone who\u2019d fail while he cleaned up and reclaimed his seat. That plan didn’t quite pan out.<\/p>\n

As Barinholtz put it, to laughs all around, \u201cIt\u2019s very sibling rives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Netflix,<\/p>\n

Drew Tarver, Justin Theroux, Kate Hudson, Scott MacArthur, and Ike Barinholtz in ‘Running Point’ Season 2 on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Photo by Katrina Marcinowski\/Netflix 2025<\/p>\n

Isla Gordon\u2019s character is loosely based on Jeanie Buss, the controlling owner, president, and CEO of the Los Angeles Lakers. Since taking over in 2013 from her father, franchise icon Jerry Buss, she led the team to its 2020 NBA championship, cementing her status as one of the most powerful women in professional sports. She also serves as an executive producer alongside Hudson, who portrays her.<\/p>\n

Buss\u2019 success in a male-dominated world fuels both the comedy and the stakes. Kaling noted that she, Stassen, and Barinholtz identify as feminists. \u201cWe want to write characters that are strong, smart, and funny, but also very flawed. We want them to be entertaining, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Netflix,<\/p>\n

Kate Hudson, Scott MacArthur, and Drew Tarver in ‘Running Point’ Season 2 on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Photo by Katrina Marcinowski\/Netflix<\/p>\n

The trio, who previously collaborated on The Mindy Project from 2012 to 2017, explained why her story and a Hudson-led basketball comedy felt like the right fit. As Stassen noted, Hudson was the ideal choice, thanks to her comedic chops and real-life connection to Buss.<\/p>\n

\u201cJeanie came to us many years ago and wanted to do a show based on her life. I mean, of the incredible accomplishments that she has, the thing that I probably admire the most about her is the fact that she is willing to let us examine her life and pull things from it,\u201d said Kaling. \u201cI would never do it in a million years. And she has so much to lose, and I think that\u2019s what makes the show so funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaling broke down what makes Isla so watchable. \u201cShe\u2019s incredibly ambitious, but she’s also vain. She’s also a little selfish. She can be a little cheap sometimes, you know? But she’s that way because of the way that she was raised. We see all of her bad qualities flare up, but then we see the part of her that is a good person, the part that\u2019s the underdog, and I think that\u2019s the heart of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Netflix,<\/p>\n

Ray Romano and Kate Hudson in ‘Running Point’ Season 2 on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy of Netflix 2026<\/p>\n

Season two ups the ante with standout additions, including Ray Romano as socially awkward but brilliant coach Norm Stinson, and Barinholtz as the Gordons\u2019 hilariously annoying cousin, Bennie.<\/p>\n

Asked about joining the cast, Barinholtz admitted he was envious watching season one from the sidelines and was mock-offended by how his character was described.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnnoying? This is a very serious character with gravitas. Please don\u2019t refer to him as annoying, or stupid, or a clumsy oaf, or a con artist,\u201d he laughed, alongside Kaling and Stassen. It was Kaling, he said, who ultimately suggested he take a role.<\/p>\n

\"Netflix,<\/p>\n

Ike Barinholtz in ‘Running Point’ Season 2 on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy of Netflix 2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, maybe I could be a love interest kind of romantic thing. Kiss Kate Hudson. And Mindy was like, \u2018You\u2019re gonna be a subhuman, a grifter moron whose pants are falling down because he has so much candy in them.\u2019 I gotta tell you, I\u2019m still going to figure out a way to hook up with Kate on the show, even though the characters are cousins,\u201d Barinholtz teased.<\/p>\n

Kaling leaned into the joke. \u201cIke is so funny on the show, and I know, like, listen, he\u2019s a handsome guy. We can all tell he\u2019s a cool guy. He\u2019s a handsome guy. He\u2019s wearing Dior; he’s friends with Jonathan Anderson (Dior\u2019s creative director). We get it. We get it, Ike. But on this show, he’s cousin Bennie. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

On a more serious note, Kaling praised Barinholtz\u2019s range, comparing him to comedy heavyweights like Steve Carell and Emma Thompson. \u201cI know he can do drama and be a leading man. He could do all that. But it is so much rarer to find someone who can be truly funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Netflix,<\/p>\n

Kate Hudson and Brenda Song in ‘Running Point’ Season 2 on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Katrina Marcinowski\/Netflix 2025<\/p>\n

Hudson and Brenda Song, who plays Isla\u2019s best friend and colleague, Ali Lee, shared their perspective in a separate interview. After years of film work, Hudson relishes the shift to TV.<\/p>\n

Fresh off an Oscar nomination for her role in the musical biopic Song Sung Blue, where her vocals earned her critical praise, Hudson shows off her dance moves in Running Point this season.<\/p>\n

\"Netflix,<\/p>\n

Kate Hudson in ‘Running Point’ Season 2 on Netflix. <\/p>\n

Photo by Katrina Marcinowski\/Netflix 2025<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, my God, it’s so fun. How did I get so lucky? I love doing comedy because it requires a playfulness and an intelligence at the same time that is specific to certain people,\u201d she said. \u201cI’ve been having a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for where season two goes, she said it builds on the foundation already laid in season one. \u201cHaving all that runway to explore is something I\u2019ve never experienced, and I’ve been having a great time doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Song echoed the sentiment. \u201cNot only are we making something that I genuinely love, and I\u2019m so proud to be a part of, but we have such a good time making it. When you’re working with the caliber of actors that I’m surrounded by, where everyone is so good at improv, the bar is so high,\u201d she said, adding that the environment keeps her sharp. \u201cI always say Kate is the best scene partner because she’s so generous, and she pushes you, and she questions you, and she makes you really think.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dramedy boom isn\u2019t going anywhere, but Running Point isn\u2019t playing that game. It ditches that playbook and sticks to what it does best: full-court unapologetic comedy.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on Forbes.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Netflix scores a win with its basketball comedy Running Point. The Kate Hudson-led series stays in a league…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[192365,192366,192370,146,192364,85,192368,46,192369,192372,9045,40454,71287,400,192367,192371,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-407119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-brenda-song","9":"tag-david-stassen","10":"tag-drew-tarver","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-ike-barinholtz","13":"tag-il","14":"tag-isla-gordon","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-jeanie-buss","17":"tag-jerry-buss","18":"tag-kate-hudson","19":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","20":"tag-mindy-kaling","21":"tag-netflix","22":"tag-running-point","23":"tag-scott-macarthur","24":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}