How Kate Hudson Knew “Running Point” Was The One
Kate Hudson is stepping into a whole new world with Running Point, her first-ever TV series, and she knew from the start that this was the one. Created by Mindy Kaling, the Netflix series follows Kate as Isla Gordon, the unexpected heir to the Los Angeles Waves, a fictionalized version of the Lakers. Inspired by real-life Lakers president Jeanie Buss, Isla’s story goes beyond romance and straight into the chaos of leadership, legacy, and family feuds.
Speaking to PEOPLE, Kate revealed why she was drawn to the series. One of the biggest things for her is the fact that the series is “a much more full, honest portrayal of a woman’s life than just the pursuit of love.”
“I love a rom-com. I love when it’s all about the relationships. But to do a comedy set in such a high-stakes environment that’s about family dynamics — to me, [that] is just so much fun.”,” she admits.
While romance isn’t Isla’s main focus, she does have a devoted fiancé, played by Max Greenfield as pediatrician Lev Levinson. Mindy, known for her love of rom-coms, admits this was a shift for her. “I love romantic comedies. I love the romantic comedies [Kate] has done,” she shared, adding, “Her character — and a lot of the characters in this — it’s like, romance is not even in the top five things that they’re [most] worried about in their life, and I’m not really used to writing that. I’m used to writing characters who dream of having a boyfriend, getting married, that solving their problem.”
For Kate, the chance to dive into television was long overdue. As she shared: “I’ve been wanting to do series television and I wanted to do something comedic. I really wanted the first thing I did in TV to be what I love doing the most, because if I’m going to do a series, that’s what I want to be doing every day.”
From the moment she met with Mindy, Kate had a gut feeling. “I just had this innate feeling. I was like, ‘I bet I’m going to do this show.’ We met and we had a great first meeting, and I just felt like I was in such good hands.”
The show’s heart lies in Isla’s tangled family dynamics, with Scott MacArthur, Drew Tarver, and Justin Theroux playing her wildly different brothers and Brenda Song as her fiercely loyal chief of staff and best friend. Hudson describes the cast as “so talented and so smart” adding that everyone brought something unique to the table.
