Imagine how confused (among other things) you’d be if you walked into your office and saw your brother, who’s supposed to be in rehab after crashing his Porsche while smoking crack, kicking his feet up at your desk. LA Waves president Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) knows the feeling, as you can see in the first three minutes of Running Point Season 2.
Season 2 picks up right where Season 1 left off. The eldest Gordon sibling and ex-president Cam (Justin Theroux) greets Isla with a cheeky “What’s up, sis? I’m back,” but Isla’s expression makes it clear she has just a few questions she needs answered before feeling the brotherly love — namely, “What the actual hell?” Cam says he’s not here to try to take his old job back, but he does want to return in some other capacity. Ness (Scott MacArthur), Sandy (Drew Tarver), and Jackie (Fabrizio Guido) reunite with their brother as well, but each seems curious whether Cam has actually changed his ways. Will Isla let Cam return to the LA Waves?
When Cam goes to rehab in Season 1 of the Mindy Kaling comedy, he surprises everyone by naming his reformed party girl sister as his replacement. With the help of her badass best friend Ali (Brenda Song), Isla defies the male-dominated basketball world’s expectations by whipping her underdog team into shape and taking them all the way to the playoffs, where they suffer a crushing Game 7 loss.
Along the way, she’s got her hands full with her other brothers and her star players, Marcus (Toby Sandeman) and Travis (Chet Hanks). Despite how busy and glamorous it is leading one of the most famous basketball franchises of all time, Isla’s love life doesn’t take a seat on the bench: After calling off her engagement with the sweet pediatrician Lev (Max Greenfield), she and Jay (Jay Ellis) share a passionate kiss just as he’s about to move to Boston for a new coaching job. What’s most shocking in the climactic Season 1 finale, though, is when Isla walks into her office to find Cam sitting at her desk, instead of in rehab where he’s supposed to be. Rewind the Season 1 game tape on Tudum.
Season 2 right fight back in: How did her brother get out of rehab early? Will he take back his old job as president of the LA Waves? Cam insists he’s changed: He listens to his wife Lizzy (Stephanie Koenig) talk about their kids. He agrees (if a bit hesitantly) to join Sandy’s book club. As Ness puts it: “I can’t believe this is the same guy Bituin caught going through her purse looking for opioids.” But can Isla trust her wild-card brother enough to let him help out around the court? And if she does, will Cam be OK working under his sister?
“Part of what’s so fun about creating a character like Isla is that she knows she’s capable. Internally, she knows she can do it, but all the external elements in her life bring so much doubt and fear,” says Hudson on Skip Intro with Krista Smith. “She’s constantly on this hamster wheel to figure out how to show everybody — really her family — that she’s capable. With Cam’s return right when Isla’s becoming more confident, it throws her off her center.” Watch Hudson on Skip Intro exclusively on Netflix or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Theroux steps into a regular role for Season 2, a sign that the first few minutes are just the tip of the iceberg of the wayward eldest Gordon brother’s hijinks. “I love the sibling dynamic in this. Family is everything to me,” says Hudson. “It’s a comedy about a dysfunctional family, but at the core of it, they can’t live without each other.”
Season 2 introduces a few new faces to the LA Waves court: Ken Marino (The Residence, The Other Two), Tommy Dewey (Casual, Saturday Night), Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever, Fargo), Jake Picking (Top Gun: Maverick, Hollywood), Blake Anderson (Workaholics, Game Over, Man!), Duby Maduegbunam (Caught Up, Sistas), Aliyah Turner (Power Book III: Raising Kanan). Stay tuned to Tudum for more information about Running Point Season 2.
Watch Running Point Season 2 on April 23.
