Meet the Netflix series’ stars

Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon

Hudson, the daughter of screen legend Goldie Hawn, sent hearts aflutter as the enigmatic Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous, a role that scored her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, not to mention an Academy Award nomination. She went on to follow in her mother’s footsteps by leading a series of beloved rom-coms, such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and Bride Wars (2009). After publishing a pair of non-fiction books in 2016 and 2017, she starred in Rion Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022).

Hudson leads Running Point Isla Gordon, the new president of the fictional Los Angeles Waves. “She’s very high strung, really feels like she has a lot to prove constantly and hopes for validation from her family,” Hudson told EW. “It was really fun to play all of those things.”

It’s the actress’s most involved foray into TV following her shorter stints on Fox’s Glee (2012–2013) and Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told (2022). “It was a completely new experience,” she added. “I’d never been on a show where you do so much in one day. You would shoot a scene from two completely different episodes. I was like, ‘This is a whole new world.’”

Drew Tarver as Sandy Gordon

Tarver, an alum of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and Comedy Bang! Bang! regular, is best known for starring in Comedy Central’s hilarious The Other Two (2019–2023) as Cary Dubek, a struggling actor (and host of Gay News). After The Other Two ended, Tarver appeared in Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part II (2023) and Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted (2024).

As the Waves’ chief financial officer, Sandy Gordon (one of Isla’s brothers), Tarver is tasked with playing the straight man, something he proved adept at on The Other Two. “Tarver’s masterful deadpan and inherent vulnerability helps to humanize the aloof CFO,” EW’s critic wrote in her review.

“I think despite him trying to keep everything on the rails, gripping it so hard is what ends up making him come off the rails,” he recently told Them. “So then he starts to drift into this territory of being less of the voice of reason himself.”

Scott MacArthur as Ness Gordon

If you didn’t see MacArthur opposite It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Kaitlin Olson on Fox’s The Mick (2017–2018), you probably watched him play heavies in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) or HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones (2019).

As Ness, yet another Gordon sibling, MacArthur plays the Waves’ general manager. A former athlete himself, he’s a touch dim but plenty sympathetic. In EW’s review, our critic shouted out the “appealing earnestness” with which he plays the “doofus.”

“For me, this is kind of the show that when I’m scrolling through Netflix, I would completely stop because it genuinely has something for everybody in your household,” he told Decider. “You have sports, you have family, you have romance — that’s really a testament to Mindy [Kaling] being able to corral that entire world into one show.”

Brenda Song as Ali Lee

For a certain generation, Song will forever be London Tipton, the air-headed hotel heiress she played on the Disney Channel’s formative series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Song, however, successfully made the transition from teen stardom to working actor with meaty roles in television (Scandal, Station 19, Dollface) and films (The Social Network, The Last Showgirl).

Song’s Ali Lee, who was inspired by Lakers’ exec Linda Rambis, serves dual roles as the Waves’ chief of staff and Isla’s best friend. “Ali is the person that I want to be,” Song recently told EW. “I want to be no-holds-barred, to have no filter. I want to be able to speak what’s on my mind, to stand up for myself [and] the people I believe in.”

Fabrizio Guido as Jackie Moreno

Fabrizio Guido has been a TV regular since 2013, with roles in series like Welcome to the Family (2013), Mr. Iglesias (2019–2020), and HBO’s Perry Mason (2023). He also appeared in 2023’s Good Burger sequel alongside Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.

His Jackie Moreno has one of the wilder arcs on Running Point, going from a snack vendor at Waves games to a suit in the boardroom. Why? Well, it turns out he’s also part of the Gordon clan, though his half-siblings weren’t meant to know about him.

Chet Hanks as Travis Bugg

Chet Hanks, son of Tom and brother of Colin, is known less for his acting than his impressions, online antics, and scandals. But Hanks has some impressive credits under his belt, including holding his own with Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2017) and recurring on series like Shameless (2016–2018), Empire (2018–2019), and Atlanta (2022).

Hanks brings some of his controversial personal life to the role of Travis Bugg, a Waves player with a penchant for rapping and getting into trouble. “I said, ‘If I don’t get this role, I’m just going to quit acting,’” Hanks told Esquire of Running Point. “It was just uncanny — it’s almost like it was written for me, but it wasn’t. So I basically get to be a slightly exaggerated version of myself.”

Toby Sandeman as Marcus Winfield

Toby Sandeman only has a handful of roles to his name, but they’re all sizable, with recurring roles on The Royals (2017–2018), Power Book III: Raising Kanan (2021–2022), and The Game (2021–2023). He’s also a prize-winning athlete, having earned two gold medals at the European Athletics U23 Championships.

That athleticism most certainly gives him an edge as Marcus Winfield, a star Waves player with two championship rings (and an ex-girlfriend in Rihanna). “I think some of the insights that I had being an athlete [helped] — certainly knowing the business side of being an athlete and how much that can actually take away from the love,” Sandeman told Us Weekly. “I think Marcus Winfield is going through that in this season, but also being a competitor and that’s just in me. So even when we were on the court, even though it wasn’t real, sometimes it felt real.”

Jay Ellis as Jay Brown

Ellis starred in 45 episodes of BET’s The Game (2013–2015) before scoring a lead role on HBO’s Insecure (2016–2021). In 2023, he portrayed Jesus Christ himself on History of the World, Part II. The actor also played one of the central pilots in the box office juggernaut Top Gun: Maverick, along with Miles Teller, Glenn Powell, and Monica Barbaro,

Like Sandeman, Ellis is also an athlete. More specifically, he’s a former college basketball player who also worked as a public relations intern for the Portland Trail Blazers. And he’s bringing all of that experience to his role as Waves coach Jay Brown.

“I thought about injuries, like guys who had gotten hurt. I thought about my own selfishness or my ambition of wanting to be the best player on my team,” Ellis recalled to Us Weekly. “I thought of all of those things and how that relates now that I’m a coach in a show, having to talk to these younger players. And I’m only also a year or two removed from playing myself [in the show]. It was an interesting experience.”

Jon Glaser as Sean Murphy

An actor, comedian, and Emmy-nominated alum of Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Jon Glaser has a long list of credits, the most notable being his recurring roles as Jeremy Jamm and Laird on Parks and Recreation and Girls, respectively. He also created and starred in the cult Adult Swim series Delocated and Neon Joe Werewolf Hunter.

As Sean Murphy, a caustic sports commentator, Glaser gets to play one of Isla’s chief naysayers. He’s an essential character — after all, if someone’s not talking s—, you’re not playing sports.

Justin Theroux as Cam Gordon

Theroux is a prolific actor and writer, having first gained recognition for his collaborations with the late David Lynch on Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006). His film credits are vast, with roles in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Miami Vice (2006), Bumblebee (2018), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). As for television, he’s starred in HBO’s criminally underseen drama The Leftovers (2014–2017) and the miniseries White House Plumbers (2023). He also worked as a screenwriter on films like Tropic Thunder (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010).

Theroux plays the eldest of the Gordon clan, and the reason for Isla’s rise to the top of the Waves hierarchy. It’s Cam who names Isla as his successor after he goes to rehab. “Theroux brings a mix of brash magnetism and commanding frankness to his recurring appearances as Cam,” EW’s critic wrote in our review.