‘Running Point’ returns with a sibling playoff — and Lisa Rinna?
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It’s that time of year when being a Lakers fan can feel like an intense form of character development. This season, the team integrated major roster changes and navigated injury setbacks to key players just before the playoffs.
Over on Netflix, the fictional L.A. basketball team at the center of “Running Point” is also delivering a nail-biting season. In case you’re unfamiliar, the sports comedy series is inspired by Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and focuses on a woman, Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson), who finds herself navigating the male-dominated NBA when she’s unexpectedly installed as the president of the fictional L.A. Waves basketball team after her predecessor — her brother Cam (Justin Theroux) — is forced to step down due to a scandal, leaving her to keep the family dynasty intact. The series returned for its second season Thursday and, after falling short to secure the title last season, Isla is determined to get her team a ring. But she must overcome self-doubt and trust her instincts as a leader as a series of setbacks threaten to derail the mission.
Co-creator David Stassen joins us in this week’s Guest Spot section to talk about sibling rivalry and Harry Hamlin’s tomato sauce — how’s that for a teaser?
And to keep that basketball theme going, our resident point guard Tracy Brown makes a cameo in this week’s newsletter to tell you about a pair of college women’s basketball-related docs worth your time. Plus, TV critic Robert Lloyd makes the case for why “Everybody Hates Chris” is worth watching (or rewatching) nearly two decades after it ended its run.
Enjoy your screen time. See you next week!
— Yvonne Villarreal
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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
“Everybody Hates Chris” (Tubi, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock)
Fans of Tyler James Williams as romantic lead Gregory Eddie on “Abbott Elementary” who are unfamiliar with his earlier work will want to get acquainted with this terrific series. Williams portrays a teenage Chris Rock growing up in Brooklyn’s Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood in the 1980s; with Rock narrating, and a family at its center, it’s something of an autobiographical, urban “Wonder Years,” not entirely minus the sentiment. Young Chris is bad at everything that might make a kid popular in middle or high school (where, to boot, he’s the only Black student), but living a life that might drive a young person to a career in comedy. The series, which ran from 2005 to 2009, is frank (and funny) about race and racism in ways that might be avoided now. The rhythms are punchy. A great cast includes Terry Crews as Chris’ hardworking, pennywise father and Tichina Arnold as his no-nonsense mother; Williams’ side-eye game is already strong. I don’t like the word “hilarious,” which sounds like it’s begging to be put on a poster, but this show makes me laugh as much as “30 Rock,” and nothing makes me laugh more than “30 Rock.” The animated “Everybody Still Hates Chris,” available on Paramount+, continues the tale, with Crews and Arnold reprising their roles. — R.L.
“You See L.A.” (YouTube, Tubi), “Breaking Glass: The Pat Summitt Story” (Hulu)
The WNBA season is right around the corner, but I’ll be basking in the afterglow of the college women’s basketball season right until tipoff this year, because my alma mater won its first national championship in the NCAA era. The full story of UCLA’s run really started in the 2024-25 season, which saw the team accomplish a number of feats for the first time in program history — including taking down a No. 1-ranked team and making it to the Final Four. The highs and lows of that season are captured in the Fox Sports documentary “You See L.A.,” which includes footage from within the locker room and practice facilities as these student athletes navigate the joy and the pressure that comes with success as well as the devastation and the feeling of letting each other down in defeat. “Breaking Glass: The Pat Summitt Story,” meanwhile, tells the story of one of the game’s greats. It’s impossible to distill a 38-year coaching career into an 82-minute documentary, but “Breaking Glass” does show just how much of a trailblazer the late, great Pat Summitt was throughout her life (Summitt died in 2016 after a battle with Alzheimer’s). The documentary features glimpses of Summitt’s childhood on her family farm and what it was like to be an athlete during an era when schools didn’t have to support women’s sports teams. It’s a touching tribute to the person Summitt was that shows why she was able to build up the Tennessee Lady Vols into a premiere women’s basketball program. — T.B.
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
“Running Point” is back to humorously chronicle the high-wire act Isla Gordon (Hudson) faces as the L.A. Waves, the basketball franchise she oversees, seeks a comeback after scandal. And while she’s busy proving she’s not a temporary placeholder for her brother Cam (Theroux), but rather a worthy and capable leader who can turn the ship around, he’s been quietly scheming behind her back to reclaim the throne. And there’s a fun assortment of guest appearances as it all unfolds, including Ray Romano, Octavia Spencer, Oliver Hudson, Ken Marino, Nicole Richie, Scott Speedman and Lisa Rinna. Over email, Stassen talked about the tense family ties and the dance break Hudson delivers this season. — Y.V.
The dynamic between Cam and Isla drives some of this season’s tension. He wants back in; she’s trying to forge her own legacy and is learning to trust her instincts in this male-dominated industry. What intrigued you about their push-and-pull? How did you want the gender dynamics and familial ties to play out in Season 2?
Isla learned a lot Season 1 and we knew going into Season 2 she would be more than up to the task of running the team and taking the Waves to even greater success. So we wanted to make sure there were going to be plenty of obstacles in her way. Cam, her oldest, sharpest brother, is the ultimate foil. He used to run the team and might even have an argument for why he should get his job back. On top of that, Justin Theroux is so talented and funny and while he was amazing in Season 1, he was largely siloed off in rehab, so getting him back into the office and constantly interacting with Isla and his other brothers just felt irresistible.
The series expertly doles out pop culture references while also creating ones we wish were real. Season 2 brings Lisa Rinna back to reality TV with her own series, “Rinnaissance.” Place me in the writers’ room as this came together — was it always going to be Rinna or had you considered another “Housewife” or notable reality TV star? And most importantly, have you tried Harry Hamlin’s tomato sauce?
There are a few writers in the room who are BIG “Real Housewives” fans, and everyone was so excited Lisa wanted to come play herself. She’s so nice, a great actress and a natural improviser. Unfortunately, HH’s tomato sauce did travel to set with Lisa. The writers room has a lot of serious foodies so if we’re going to get that sauce, maybe we need to bring Lisa AND Harry back [in] Season 3.
The season has some standout moments, including Isla performing with the Waves dance team and the Gordons vs. McShays showdown on the court. Which scene or moment in Season 2 was the most fun to see come to life on screen?
Isla dancing with the Waves turned out even better than we had imagined. Kate told me before she went to the dance rehearsal that she had seen a video of the choreography and it was too complicated and she would need Chloe Arnold, our awesome choreographer, to simplify it. An hour later Kate came back to set and was like, “Oh yeah, we did it the way Chloe planned it. It’s great.” Apparently, she picked it up in about five minutes.
What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?
I loved the “Game of Thrones” spin-off, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” [HBO Max]. It’s funnier than GOT but has all the style and history of that show, which I loved. And the season arc being this new knight trying to prove himself at a single competition is so smart: it’s small enough that you believe this poor newbie could compete, but the stakes are so real for him.
What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?
I constantly rewatch “Succession” [HBO Max] episodes, there’s something about a group of dysfunctional billionaires fighting over control of the family business that I find intriguing.
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