By Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES, April 17 (Reuters) – Sibling rivalry reaches new levels in season two of Netflix’s sports comedy “Running Point,” as Kate Hudson’s character, Isla Gordon, faces a renewed power struggle within her family’s pro basketball team.
“The stakes just become higher and higher for her, because her brother comes back into the picture,” Hudson told Reuters.
In the first season that premiered last year, Isla was appointed president of fictional team the Los Angeles Waves after her older brother Cam, played by Justin Theroux, stepped aside.
Now Cam’s return is set to threaten Isla’s authority.
Co-creator Mindy Kaling said the sibling tension was inspired by real-life NBA executive Jeanie Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers governor, who in 2020 became the first female controlling owner to guide a team to an NBA championship.
Kaling – a comedian known for creating and starring in “The Mindy Project” – drew from Buss’ memoir to make Isla’s story feel as authentic as possible, although it is not intended to mirror her life exactly.
Instead, the show captures a universal truth about family businesses, said Kaling. It’s a “constant competition” of siblings seeking approval, she added.
Although Cam’s return drives much of the drama in the new season, Isla has other struggles, too, that will be familiar to many female viewers.
“She has to worry about not only being excellent at her job, but also how she talks, how she’s perceived and how she looks,” Kaling said, adding that Isla is continually having to prove herself in a historically male-dominated sports world.
“There’s so much more that she has to think about, and I think that’s what makes it so juicy, and what makes it so fun,” Kaling added.
Season two of “Running Point” premieres on Netflix on April 23.
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Jane Ross, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
