"Not great, but okay for binging on a sick day" is how a random Reddit comment described the first season of Running Point shortly after it launched on Netflix. Frankly, it's not exactly the praise you'd hope for if you were the one releasing a new TV show into the world, but I think it's generous.
I'll be honest: I knew next to nothing about the Kate Hudson-led show before I knew I'd be covering Running Point season 2. It had Hudson. It had basketball. I assumed it was a comedy. Now that I've seen both seasons, I'm pining for these days of ignorant bliss.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer on anything, let alone the fact that it has Hudson in it (I absolutely adore her). But Running Point season 2 is dire, thanks to its lack of laughs, unsufferable characters, and generally uninteresting or unnecessary storylines.
Netflix often has the cheek to cancel genuinely thought-provoking, boundary-pushing, creative work, yet continues projects like this that should definitely have been stopped after their first season. Who is Running Point's core audience, their purpose? And more importantly... what is the point?
Running Point season 2 is laughless, mundane and worthy of a million eye rolls
After the team recovers from the previous season's scandal, Isla (Hudson) is now a recognized, high-scrutiny leader trying to prove she's not just holding the seat for her brother Cam (Justin Theroux). Meanwhile, works quietly behind the scenes to undermine Isla, using her mistakes as leverage to plot his comeback.
That tiny little paragraph is the most interesting take on what happens that you can possibly get. In a world where terrible men defying it all to succeed in business, pleasure, and just life in general is shoved down our throats, watching Isla's brothers continuously undermine and override her with garbage ideas is about as fun as a dental filling.
When you're not wanting to punch 99.9% of characters shown in the series, you're keeping a straight face. This isn't a case of laughs not landing, more that they're not there in the first place. Sure, Running Point season 2 is certainly easy to watch. But at what cost?
Brenda Song steals the show in an otherwise sinking ship
The friendship between Isla and Ali (Brenda Song) is almost ruined for good for very petty reasons, but the move highlights how Song is the strongest link in an otherwise feeble chain. She's briefly freed from the shackles of the LA Waves, and it's clear that there's a lot of untapped potential in her character.
But as the besties reconcile once again, the promise of season 2's first potentially interesting story is immediately taken away. We don't really care about the team's locker room love triangle, Cam's return, or the arrival of wayward coach Norm (Ray Romano), so consider all hope lost.
What's most disappointing is how Hudson comes across in the leading role. Instead of being dynamic, hilarious, or infectiously charming — all things we know Hudson is in real life — Isla is white noise in the middle of the non-existent drama. Beautifully dressed white noise, all the same.
Unsurprisingly, you shouldn't waste your time on Running Point season 2 unless you are genuinely so sick that you've got a doctor's note excusing you from work (and full consciousness). If that's you, well... at least there's an exceptional cameo from Lisa Rinna.
