Inclusive Screen Weekly #24: Running Point has its heart in the right place but the characters feel like checkboxes
Me ranting about shows disappearing from streaming | Excited about The Last of Us season 2 | Running Point review
I’m annoyed at the modern distribution nonsense for some TV shows.
Let me explain.
We wanted to watch The Expanse recently. It’s labeled as an “Amazon original,” so it should be on Prime Video, right? WRONG! Well, kind of… It’s on Prime, but only seasons 4 to 6. Seasons 1 to 3 are just nowhere to be found in our country.
My partner ended up ordering them on DVD.
We only have a DVD player because we experienced a similar issue with Parks & Recreation last year. It was on Prime at some point, then moved to another streaming service I don’t remember, and then disappeared.
So, yea… I’m annoyed. Thank you for reading through my rant if you did! I feel better already.
5 interesting stories for the week
The Last of Us is coming back! I’m so excited about the show. And a little scared about the hate that will come with some of the women and queer representation [Variety]
I’m a massive fan of the games, and season 1 of the show did not disappoint. I’m a little more worried about season 2 because the gameplay was such an essential element of Part II. Without spoiling, the game makes you play two different characters, and getting exposure to the two very opposite points of view is what makes the game so impactful. I’m really curious to see how they recreate that on screen. The Part II game also got a lot of hate when it came out for its lead character Abby and for featuring a trans character. I’m expecting we’ll see the same backlash for the TV show, and I’m not looking forward to that.
I had no idea Bluesky’s CEO was a 34-year-old woman. And she subtly rosted Zuckerberg with a shirt at SXSW [TechCrunch]
This week, I learned that Jay Graber (Bluesky’s CEO) is a woman, and she was born the same year I was. From a quick internet search, I don’t think she’s done anything too controversial, so she’s become my new role model, and I finally downloaded Bluesky.
Does your voice put people to sleep? Now might be your time to monetize that with Headspace [Headspace]
The headspace team is looking for narrators for their sleepcasts. I’ve had people fall alseep while on the phone with me before, so maybe that’s my calling?
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland to escape the current situation in the US [The Hollywood Reporter]
I’m sure we’ll see more queer people follow her move as Trump has made it very clear by now that he’s going after the LGBTQ+ community. It’s been heartbreaking following the US news from abroad and seeing how trans people have been the target of countless hateful measures. I moved from Poland to the Netherlands just after some municipalities started declaring themselves “LGBT free zones” and I’ve never regretted that choice. Always put yourself first in those situations. If leaving is possible and seems like the right choice. Do it.
Nikki Glaser is coming back to host the Golden Globes [Variety]
It feels like an obvious choice after she killed it on her last hosting gig. She already made me laugh with her statement on returning: “I can’t wait to do it again, and this time in front of the team from ‘The White Lotus’ who will finally recognize my talent and cast me in Season 4 as a Scandinavian Pilates instructor with a shadowy past.”
What I’ve been watching
Running Point (Season 1)
My Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌘🌑
Where to watch: Netflix
1 sentence synopsis: A woman is put in charge of her family’s basketball team and has to fight countless sexist people who think she’s not qualified
A funny social media review:
Do I recommend the show? Maybe. If you’re looking for something light to watch after a hard day or just put in the background. Go ahead. It’s easy to watch. It’s funny most of the time. Just don’t expect it to be super clever or subtle.
Characters & Diverse Representation:
I feel Running Point is what the alt-right people who cry woke every time a show dares to cast a woman or person of color would describe if you asked them to describe a “woke” show.
I liked the show, but it felt slightly off. It was a little too preachy to be fully funny, and the characters were a little too stereotypical for me to really root for them.
Take Sandy, for example. He’s the little gay brother who’s not good at sports (why did this have to be a thing?) but is good at business. He’s also hiding his boyfriend because he’s afraid his family will make fun of him for being a dog groomer? I was so confused by this. It’s clear Sandy didn’t have an easy coming out with his father, but the siblings have been very openly supportive of him. I was glad for the happy ending and grand gesture at the end. I might have cried a little.
Then there’s Travis Bugg who’s supposed to be the douchebag with a redemption arc. He’s the equivalent of Jamie in Ted Lasso but he’s just too douchy to be likeable and the redemption didn’t land yet for me.
To end on a good note, I did enjoy Ness and Marcus as characters. Ness is supposed to be the fuckup of the family but he has a loving relationship with his wife and is consistently trying to support his siblings. Marcus is the silent type who shows up for others through his actions despite being pretty checked out at the beginning. He grew on me when he paid for the restaurant bill so the rookie wouldn’t have to spend his life’s savings on it.
It got a second season, so I’m hoping this was a typical case of “awkward first season”. I can see the potential for characters to get a lot more depth now that we’ve established what stereotypes they start as.
Rapid Fire Reviews
Finished & DNF:
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 [Finished] SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night S1 - Peacock: I don’t really watch SNL, but I enjoyed this documentary. It was interesting to see how the show is made. I also didn’t realize that many actors came from SNL. It was fun to see them when they got started.
Ongoing (for me):
🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 [Started] Zero Day S1 - Netflix: I only saw episode 1 so far, and the only thing I remember is “Who killed Bambi?”. I’ll probably watch episode 2 and decide if it’s worth continuing.
🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 [Started] Below Deck Down Under S3 - Bravo: The sous-chef was soooo cocky I’m happy he was let go quickly after he announced he’s found another job. I’m rooting for Harry’s romance with Brianna.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 [Ongoing] Severance S2 - Apple TV+: The opening scene with Helena cutting this poor egg white in a million pieces was so uncomfortable to watch. No wonder she is constantly hangry. But the real star of the episode was that “Devour Feculence!” line from Milchick. He’s had the best character act this season!
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 [Ongoing] The White Lotus S3 - Max: Parker Posey hating her life on the boat was the highlight of the episode. From the moment she walked in and hid her bag under a pillow to all the judgy looks she gave to the old guys with a younger girlfriend. Saxon continues to be the worst. I hope he dies
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘 [Ongoing] Abbott Elementary S4 - ABC / Hulu: The karaoke was a lot of fun. Especially after I had my own team event and karaoke session at work. The Abbott one seemed a lot more dramatic, though.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 [Ongoing] Yellowjackets S3 - Paramount+: The teen group had their own version of karaoke where they sang (yelled?) at the wilderness while eating each other (again). I’m also so confused with the dark Tai storyline. Is the real Tai stuck somewhere in the upside down? Why is she talking to Van through an old telephone?
🌕🌕🌕🌘🌑 [Ongoing] The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills S14 - Bravo: I’m surprised there was no drama about the room assignment on the trip despite production forcing Sutton and Jennifer to sleep in 1 bed for no reason.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖 [Ongoing] The Pitt S1 - Max: I saw the ending coming the minute they showed Robby video chatting with Jake. It didn’t make it any less enjoyable though. It was also a shock (not a bad one) to see so much of the birth process shown in a TV show.
Quotable moment of the week
That’s it for me! Now it’s your turn to let me know about all the interesting news and new shows you’ve seen lately.
It’s a good point about the cliche characters in Running Point. Sandy is probably the least sympathetic (albeit smarter than the stupid brother) but I also didn’t understand why he wouldn’t introduce his nice boyfriend (who I think is actor Chris Evans brother Scott). A small item but none of the basketball players look like they’d be actual basketball players, least of all Travis Bugg (Chet Hanks). Maybe a wrestler or rugby player but a basketball physique nah.
Running Point is cute but it suffers from the same sense of hyperreality that plagued The Mindy Project. Nobody feels like an actual person.