17-05-2025
‘Running Point': Kate Hudson and Jeanie Buss swap stories on being ‘a woman in a man's world'
There's being a team player, and there's playing a member of the team.
That's the singular synergy that developed between Kate Hudson and Jeanie Buss, the inspiration behind Isla Gordon, Hudson's character on Netflix's Running Point. The comedy (created by Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz, among others) follows Gordon, as she takes over running her famiy's basketball team — much as Buss runs the Los Angeles Lakers.
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'I couldn't be more proud,' says Buss of seeing herself — or a likeness thereof — portrayed on screen by Hudson. 'I love the sense of humor and the friendship and camaraderie between Brenda Song and Kate — it's inspiring.'
Here, the two women — who first met when Hudson was just 14 — share their experiences in working together on the series, being women in the spotlight, and wanting to shoot their brothers with a paintball gun.
Gold Derby: What has the response to the show been for you?
Jeannie Buss: The commissioner of the NBA sent me little blurbs about how popular the show is, and so he's proud of it. We're bringing more and more people to watch the game that we're trying to promote, so I think it's been good for our business. But the response that I feel most proud of is women who talk about working in a man's world and what they've had to put up with.
Kate Hudson: I'll ditto that. From just the standpoint of television and making funny art, we didn't know where this show would sit. For Netflix, there was no algorithm for the show, and they really got behind it. And we ended up hitting every demographic. It completely brought everyone in from young kids to grandmas and grandpas and all walks of life. [Women tell me] I've been a huge sports fan, and it makes me feel like there's a place for me in sports. And that's also just an amazing thing to hear that a show can inspire women like that.
Why did you both agree to do the show?
Hudson: I knew before I even read the script, "Oh, I'm going to do this show!" Because it hit all the things that feel very personal to me — just the dynamic between the siblings, having three brothers, being the only girl, loving the world of sports. And then with Mindy at the helm, I knew before I read it. I was just praying that when I read it, I'd like it. And then I more than liked it, I loved it. I got so excited when I sat with Mindy. I was like, "Is this the show you're gonna make?" Because I sometimes feel like I get a bit of bait and switch in comedy. They go in with the risks, the hard jokes, and then they always pull back. But she promised me, and she delivered.
Buss: I've been spoiled my entire life being surrounded by amazing talent like Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. And the idea that I get to work with so much talent in a whole other industry, I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I think that Mindy nailed it. I just can't get over how quickly Kate and the crew, everybody just grasped onto really happens. Some days, I just want to take a paint gun and shoot my brother, just to get some laughs out of things. And they just nailed it.
Kate, what questions did you have of Jeanie so that you could accurately portray her or at least create a character that was your own?
Hudson: Jeanie's approach, which was actually kind of surprising to all of us, was go, have fun, enjoy it, I'm hands-off. She just was all trust. It was a great lesson. When you give trust, we all want to honor what it is that she gifted us, which was this awesome place to tell amazing stories in so many different ways about family, about women, about high stakes sports. That allowed me to be able to create Isla and not do Jeanie. It isn't a biopic. It really allowed it to take on a life of its own, which gives us freedom in comedy to separate it from the insanely high stakes world that Jeanie lives in.
Jeanie, what gave you the confidence to give them that creative freedom?
Buss: I'm such a fan of comedy. And if I didn't have a sense of humor, I would not have lasted in this business. Comedy allows you to process tough situations. It helps you approach problems in a different way to defuse them. I work with a lot of big egos, and you have to be able to get everybody on the same page. It is not my life story, but you put somebody in a situation like the situation I was put in, and you make the best of it, and you can't lose your sense of humor. I'm the first one to laugh at myself. I love the nuances that they've put in the character — how she's flawed, but she's lovable and she's determined. She's a strong role model, and that's important for young women because I know what it meant to me watching Mary Tyler Moore when I was growing up and seeing a single woman move to a city and take a job and work in an office. And I was like, wait, you can do that? So I think a strong female lead is really important at this time.
Kate, what did it mean to you to play a strong female lead?
Hudson: I grew up with a mom who whose whole thing from the very beginning when I first started auditioning, she'd ask why I was auditioning for it, what did I like about it, and what was the greater purpose of the movie — what was I trying to achieve with my art. And of course, for me, the first thing was I'd like to get a job as an actor! [Laughs.] But it did make me say no to a lot of things. It made me realize that the things that I put out in the world can be and hopefully will be meaningful to someone. And so that's always been a drive for me.
And how did this comedy fulfill that for both of you?
Hudson: I think we sometimes don't give enough weight to how important and healing laughter is. It's not like it's a message show, but there's a lot of positivity to it too. She's a woman in a man's world, and she's doing it on her own terms. We've all, at some point, have experienced that thing of whether it be feeling underestimated, whether it be feeling like you're not being heard, whether you're being drowned out by male relationships and their connections to each other, whether it be you're not invited into the locker room because you're a girl. We're hitting on all these fun things, and then we're being hilarious while we're doing it. And then like Jeanie said, sometimes you just wanna take a paintball gun and shoot your brothers. I've been there. I think I've actually done that — I'm not gonna lie!
Buss: Every time there's a new coach or a player — well, one time, I actually did date the coach [laughs] — but if they get a new contract or whatever, all of a sudden, I'm sleeping with them. I'm like, are you serious? I'm old enough to be their grandmother! It can't be because she has a good eye for talent or she knows what she's doing. It always comes down to, oh, she must be blowing the guy.
Hudson: It's so true! You walk into a coffee shop, and next thing you know, you're dating a the barista because you smiled. It's unfortunate but you just can't let it deter you. Just like all the other things that try to pull you off the journey. You've just got to keep going. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I power through things. But one day when I get older, I am going to write a book. I love being a girl, and I love the challenge of it. I've taken it on, and I won't back down.
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