Kate Hudson's basketball comedy 'Running Point' hits most of its shots: Review

Kate Hudson shoots, and she scores. Mostly.

The formerly typecast rom-com actress, best known for 2000s movies like "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Almost Famous," has been criminally underused by Hollywood over the past decade or so, but she has made a slow but sure return to the spotlight in film and TV, including a supporting role in Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" sequel "Glass Onion" in 2022.

Now she's taking a starring role again in Netflix's "Running Point" (now streaming, ★★★ out of four), and it's gratifying to see her flourish out front once again. The bubbly blonde is a great match for the Mindy Kaling-produced comedy about a former party girl turned professional basketball president. It mixes the NBA front office with workplace comedy escapades, leaning so much to the latter that a working knowledge of the sport is hardly required. The convivial comedy is sleek, fast-paced and witty, with a great cast and a unique setting. Its lack of ambition and depth is mostly overcome by other strengths. It may not be as instantly classic as many of Kaling's other projects, but it's charming enough to get by.

"Point" follows Isla Gordon (Hudson), the only daughter in a professional basketball family dynasty that owns the Los Angeles Waves (a pretty overt stand-in for the Los Angeles Lakers and their president, Jeanie Buss). When her brother Cam (Justin Theroux) has to step down as team president to check into rehab, he picks Isla to take over the front office, even though her only experience is in the team's charitable-giving department. This irks their brothers Ness (Scott MacArthur,), the team's general manager, and Sandy (Drew Tarver), its chief financial officer. But Isla has a pure love of the game, which will supposedly guide her to success in a male-dominated industry and make the fading team live up to its legacy.

Isla is not alone in what seems an impossible endeavor, helped by chief of staff and best friend Ali (Brenda Song), coach Jay (Jay Ellis) and her newly discovered half-brother and assistant Jackie (Fabrizio Guido), a product of one of her late father's many affairs. They tackle every controversy the Waves can produce, from players sounding off on social media to trade rumors to a new recruit who has the yips. And they do it all with cheeky comebacks and perfect hair.

There are many good ingredients in this big old stew of a show, with Hudson the biggest and best. Her fluffy, frivolous style works well for Isla, who is a giggly pretty princess most of the time but a powder keg of anger when threatened. She's surrounded by a charming group of supporting actors, particularly Theroux as a caustic self-proclaimed "crackhead" and Song, who holds up scenes in her usual snappy best-friend role (I'm patiently waiting for her star vehicle, Netflix). And the professional basketball front office proves a fertile ground for comfortably low-stakes sitcom high jinks, particularly when a loose-cannon player (Chet Hanks) starts making a mess of the Waves' public image. There's some meta storytelling there.

"Point" is a lot of fun, but unfortunately it's too lightweight to be the kind of instantly addictive and classic workplace comedy in the vein of Kaling's "The Office" and "The Mindy Project." Every element of the series feels as if it's operating at only 85%: The jokes could be that much funnier, the characters that much more lovable, the gags bigger and bolder. "Point" lacks a sharpness and point of view that Kaling's other streaming series, Netflix's "Never Have I Ever" and Max's "The Secret Life of College Girls," had in excess.

There's nothing inherently offensive or bad; it is a solid B-plus series. And that's no small task in today's streaming ecosystem, which increasingly churns out mediocre, lazy and downright awful television. But with a pedigree like this, I'm expecting an A. Or maybe I should say a three-pointer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Running Point' review: Hudson comedy hits most of its shots