RUNNING POINT (SEASON 2)

Running Point is back for Season 2, and if you watched the first season, you already know that this is much more than a comedy about basketball.

At the center of the show is Isla Gordon, who unexpectedly found herself running her family’s professional basketball team after years of being underestimated by the people around her. Season 1 was very much about proving that she belonged there. Season 2 is more about what happens after you have already proven yourself and people still have expectations about who you are supposed to be.

And that is what makes this season especially interesting for me as a parent of a teenager. Running Point is funny, fast, messy, and full of complicated family dynamics, but underneath all of that is a story about confidence, identity, expectations, mistakes, and learning not to let other people decide what you are capable of.

Season 2 continues following Isla as she tries to balance the responsibility of running the Los Angeles Waves with the complicated personalities around her. Her brothers have their own opinions, the players have their own problems, the business comes with constant pressure, and Isla is still trying to understand what kind of leader she actually wants to be.

What I like is that the show does not suddenly turn Isla into someone who has everything figured out just because she earned the position. She makes mistakes, doubts herself, reacts emotionally, and sometimes makes decisions that are questionable. And then she has to deal with the consequences. That makes her much more interesting to watch.

Running Point could easily have become a simple story about a woman proving everyone wrong. But I think it is more interesting than that, because getting an opportunity and knowing exactly what to do with it are two very different things. Season 2 gives Isla more room to actually grow into her role instead of only fighting to prove she deserves it.

The basketball world is also a very good setting for the story because professional sports naturally bring out everything the show wants to explore: competition, pressure, public opinion, loyalty, ambition, success, failure, and the constant need to perform.

But you really do not need to love basketball to enjoy Running Point. The relationships are what make the show work for me. The Gordon family is chaotic, competitive, loving, frustrating, and often completely inappropriate with one another. They know exactly how to support each other, but also exactly which button to push when they want to annoy or hurt someone.

Kate Hudson continues to carry the show very well. She gives Isla the confidence and ambition the character needs without making her impossible to like. At the same time, she also shows the insecurity underneath that confidence, which is important because Isla is still figuring things out.

The supporting cast is just as important because Isla is constantly surrounded by people who challenge her in different ways. Some believe in her, some underestimate her, some need something from her, and some make her question whether she is doing the right thing. That tension keeps the season moving.

The comedy is still one of the strongest parts of Running Point. The show does not take itself too seriously, even when the characters are dealing with real problems. And I think that balance works very well because it keeps the show easy to watch while still giving us things to think about.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of Season 2 is how much Isla has to deal with other people’s ideas about who she is supposed to be. And I think teenagers know that feeling very well.

Teens constantly hear opinions about who they are. From parents, teachers, friends, school, sports, relationships, and social media. Sometimes those opinions are very obvious. Sometimes they are small labels that stay with them for years.

They are the smart one. The difficult one. The sensitive one. The funny one. The athletic one. The one who is not good at school. The one who should be a leader. The one who should not.

Even when those labels are not meant to be harmful, teenagers can start believing them.

That is why I think Isla’s story is interesting to watch with older teens. She knows what it feels like when other people decide what she is capable of before she gets the chance to decide that for herself. And she has to learn the difference between listening to advice and allowing other people’s opinions to define her.

As parents, we want our teenagers to listen to us. We want them to learn from people with more experience. We want them to recognize when they have made a mistake. But at the same time, we also want them to develop enough confidence to say what matters to them and what they want to try.

And I think that is where confidence gets misunderstood very often. Confidence does not mean thinking you are always right. It can also mean being willing to try something when you might fail, listening to criticism without allowing it to destroy you, and getting back up when something does not work.

Running Point shows that again and again. Isla does not become stronger because she stops making mistakes. She becomes stronger because she learns from them.

That is important for teenagers because failure can feel enormous at that age. A bad grade can suddenly feel like proof that they are not smart. Not making a team can feel like proof that they are not talented. Rejection from a friend or someone they like can feel like proof that they are not wanted. One embarrassing moment can feel like something everyone will remember forever.

As adults, we know that one mistake usually does not decide an entire future. Teenagers do not always have that distance yet.

And this is where movies and shows can sometimes make those conversations easier. Instead of starting with their own insecurity, they can start by talking about Isla. That gives them a little distance and can make the conversation feel less personal.

Another thing I kept thinking about while watching is the difference between supporting someone and controlling their choices. The Gordon family constantly has opinions about what everyone else should be doing. Sometimes those opinions come from love, sometimes from ego, sometimes from fear, and sometimes because families have a hard time letting go of the version of someone they have known for years.

I think parents can do that too. We remember who our children were at eight, ten, or twelve, while they are trying to figure out who they are becoming at fourteen, sixteen, or seventeen. Those versions do not always match.

Part of raising a teenager is learning when to guide them and when to give them enough room to figure something out for themselves. Running Point does not give us a perfect answer to that, and I actually like that. The characters interfere, judge each other, make assumptions, and sometimes surprise one another.

Instead of asking your teen something very general like whether other people’s opinions matter to them, because most teenagers will probably just say no, I think it is more interesting to ask if there is something people assume about them that they do not think is true.

Their answer could tell us a lot. It might be something about school, friendships, confidence, appearance, expectations, or even something they think we as parents believe about them. And if they do answer, I think the most important part is not correcting them immediately or explaining why someone might have that impression, but simply listening first.

Running Point Season 2 works because it knows what kind of show it wants to be. It is funny, chaotic, entertaining, and easy to watch, but there is still enough underneath the comedy to make the characters interesting.

Kate Hudson remains the heart of the show, and Isla continues to work so well as a character because she is not presented as a perfect leader. She is still figuring things out, still making mistakes, and still learning how much weight she wants to give other people’s expectations.

For parents watching with older teens, I think there is a lot to talk about here beyond basketball. Teenagers are at an age where everyone seems to have an opinion about who they are and who they should become. Running Point gives us a good way to talk about which voices are worth listening to and which ones should not get to decide who they are.