The suspicion that the machines are taking over and we are all on a one-way trip to a computer dystopia is confirmed by Netflix’s atrocious new sports comedy, Running Point. Starring Kate Hudson as the flailing boss of a California basketball team, the laugh-free sitcom is so generic only an AI fed a diet of dire romcoms could have dreamt it up.
Hudson summons all her screwball powers to portray Isla Gordon, nepo-baby offspring of the owner of the fictional Los Angeles Waves (the original plan was for the show to feature the real-life LA Lakers, who wisely backed out of the deal). She has a Lindsay Lohan-esque past as a party girl – but is determined to turn over a new leaf when her drug-addled older brother (Justin Theroux) crashes his Porsche and is forced to step down as the head of the franchise.
He appoints Isla as his successor – to the bafflement of the rest of the family, who wonder if she has any qualifications. She doesn’t, and Running Point seems confused as to whether it wants to portray Isla as an out-of-her-depth ditz fuelled by nothing but trust-brat privilege or a talented women operating in the misogynistic world of top-level sports. It never has the courage to take a stand either way and instead, Hudson is left flailing as she tries to get a bead on a character who flips between inane and super resourceful.
Hudson is at least capable of charm. That cannot be said of Chet Hanks – a sometime rapper and son of Tom Hanks – who portrays an obnoxious basketball star a little too convincingly. The cast is padded out by Fabrizio Guido as Hudson’s secret half-brother and Brenda Song (partner of Macaulay Culkin) in the underwritten part of Isla’s best pal.
Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+: 10 of the best new shows to watch in February
Running Point review: Kate Hudson tries her best with Netflix’s atrocious new sports comedy
Carl, Roz & Aisling’s on-air vibes trump cookie-cutter formulas on 2FM’s new breakfast show
Laochra Gael: Bríd Stack’s near-tragedy in Australian football movingly recalled in powerful TG4 documentary
Despite having all the attributes of a chunk of dross coughed up by the Netflix algorithm, Running Point is, in fact, the creation of actor and writer Mindy Kaling. Nobody could accuse her of suffering delusions of grandeur: Running Point is so formulaic you can see the jokes coming from miles away. The same can be said of the product placement – with a well-known make-up brand so front and centre of the early episodes, viewers might wonder if they’re tuning into a quirky sitcom or glorified advertorial.
With a new price hike coming, many Netflix subscribers may be reflecting on whether the service is an essential or a luxury. They can certainly afford to go without Running Point – a charmless comedy only a computer with a malfunctioning humour chip could love.
