Diksha Sundriyal
Created by Elaine Ko, Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen, Netflix’s sports comedy-drama series, ‘Running Point,’ follows the story of Isla Gordon. The trajectory of her life changes when she is put in charge of her family business. She belongs to the infamous and incredibly wealthy Gordon family, who run the LA Waves, one of the most prominent basketball teams in the country. For years, Isla has been sidelined and ignored in favor of her three brothers. When her eldest brother is forced to leave his position as the president of the company, he puts her in charge. The job begins as a challenge, but soon, she proves herself worthy of it, making her journey inspiring and entertaining. Interestingly, there is a grain of truth in her story. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Isla Gordon is Inspired by an Influential Woman in Charge of a Major Basketball Team
Kate Hudson’s Isla Gordon in ‘Running Point’ is inspired by Jeanie Buss, a highly successful sports executive and the president of the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, the idea behind the show originated from her, who, having been through all sorts of challenges in a male-dominated field, believed that her life story could make for a great TV show. She didn’t want it to be her biopic per se, but she did want to see a comedy series about a character like her. For this, she reached out to Mindy Kaling, whose fan she has been since ‘The Office.’
Kaling revealed that Jeanie, who also serves as the executive producer of the show, had had enough of always being on the sidelines when her story was being told by others. She wanted to take control of the narrative while also delivering something incredibly entertaining to the audience. Jeanie gave the writers of the Netflix series access to her personal and professional life to allow them to write authentically about her experience and accurately portray the world of basketball, especially all the politics and decisions behind the scenes. She decided not to share some things with them to have her privacy. But for the most part, she was open and highly collaborative.
Apart from conversing with Jeanie, the writers were also allowed into her offices and given an idea of what her world looks like. They also got to talk with other people in the field who added to their knowledge of the work it takes to run a team like the Lakers. Expressing her admiration for Jeanie, whom she has known since they were children, Hudson revealed to Netflix Tudum that the Lakers executive allowed the show’s creators to “push boundaries and have fun with the character.” She exhibited and encouraged a great sense of humor required for the show.
Running Point Recreates the Ups and Downs of Jeanie Buss’ Professional Journey
In crafting the story of Isla Gordon, ‘Running Point’ lifts a lot of plot points from Jeanie Buss’ life. To begin with, her family structure and history play an important role in setting the Gordon family dynamic. Like Isla, Jeanie has three siblings with whom she has had a complicated relationship over the years. However, unlike Isla, she was never sidelined in the family. In fact, her father appreciated her keen eye for business and put her in important roles within the company since she was nineteen, which is when she was appointed the general manager of the LA Strings tennis team. From there, she moved on to taking control of other teams before she eventually became the vice president of the Lakers. In 2013, when her father, Jerry Buss, passed away, the control of the team fell on her as she was appointed the President.
In the show, Isla works for the charity section of the company, which is not considered important, before her eldest brother decides to put her in charge in his absence. Like the Waves, the Lakers had also been on hard times when Jeanie took over. However, she was not fazed by the challenges of her job or the hate of her critics. She made some radical decisions over the years, which included rebuilding the entire team and bringing in LeBron James. The road was long and trying, but in 2020, her team won the NBA championship, making her the first female executive to do so.
The Show Fictionalises Aspects of Jeanie Buss’ Personal Life
In addition to the trials and tribulations of her professional life, the show also borrows stuff from Jeanie Buss’ personal life. For example, Isla acting out and posing almost nude for Playboy is a recreation of the time when Jeanie posed nude for the same magazine in 1995. Like Isla’s parents, Jeanie’s parents also went through a divorce, and later, the siblings discovered that their father had another child. This revelation was made in 2018, and Jeanie and her family reportedly met with the individual, just like Isla and her brothers meet with Jackie. The show also gives a lot of space to the rivalry between Isla and her siblings, and at one point, her two brothers try to oust her by going behind her back. In real life, a similar clash for control happened when Jeanie’s brother tried to have her removed from the board of directors but did not succeed.
Another plot point in the series is the developing romance between Isla and Jay Brown, the Waves’ coach. In real life, Jeanie Buss dated and was briefly engaged to Phil Jackson, who served as the coach of the Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2011. Similarly, Isla’s relationship with her fiancé, Lev, suffers due to her dedication to her job and lack of commitment to their relationship. In real life, Jeanie blamed her lack of focus on her marriage as one of the reasons behind the split with her first husband, Steve Timmons. ‘Running Point’ takes details like these and more to inform Isla’s story. At the same time, enough fiction is thrown into the mix to make the protagonist’s journey unique so that it has enough drama and intrigue of its own to keep the audience engaged and entertained at all times.
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