Highlights
- Running Point S2 introduces Jake Picking as Tommy White, Sandy Gordon’s secret gay love interest
- Showrunner David Stassen calls the unexpected pairing a “fun twist” with rich comedic conflict
- Season 3 writers’ room is open, but Tommy and Sandy’s future remains deliciously uncertain
Move over, Heated Rivalry. Netflix’s Running Point just laced up its sneakers and stepped onto the court with a gay love story that hits harder than any buzzer-beater.
Season 2 of the Kate Hudson-led sports comedy introduces new basketball player Tommy White, played by Jake Picking, who shakes things up as the secret lover of Sandy Gordon (Drew Tarver) — the chief financial officer of the Los Angeles Waves and the younger half-brother of team president Isla Gordon.
The romance, simmering with tension, workplace complications, and a healthy dose of comedic chaos, was always part of the plan — just never quite made it onto the court in Season 1.
“We talked about Sandy dating a player secretly in Season 1, but we just didn’t get there in a packed first season of things to do,” co-creator, writer, and executive producer David Stassen tells Gold Derby. “It was always in our mind. The whole idea of dating someone you work with in secret is very full of conflict and problems.”
The result is a storyline that delivers both heat and hilarity — which is exactly the right formula for a show already running at full speed.
Stassen describes the dynamic between Sandy and Tommy as deliberately lopsided from the jump: “We built this character to be a stylish, handsome superstar, and we think he’s out of Sandy’s league. It’s always funny to have Drew Tarver playing put-upon or thinking he’s low priority in the world. To have a guy like him, who he thinks he couldn’t get, was a fun twist. And then to see where it goes — where he can’t stand the guy because he’s annoying and not that intelligent — was really fun to play with all season.”
Picking is no stranger to high-profile productions. Fans of Top Gun: Maverick, Patriots Day, and Ryan Murphy‘s Hollywood should already be familiar with his work. But his Running Point role may well be the one that puts him firmly on the map — or at least on the most talked-about romance of the Netflix season.
Kate Hudson, who also serves as a producer on the series, is clearly thrilled with where Sandy’s story went in Season 2. “I love Drew’s storyline this year,” she says. “There’s something about Drew, he’s a really wonderful, dramatic actor. His physical comedy is so good. But there’s also a weight and a beauty to his ability.”
Tarver’s Sandy isn’t exactly new to the romance department. After spending much of Season 1 keeping his relationship with Charlie (Scott Evans) a secret, the world gets let in on their home life after Charlie joins the cast of a new Lisa Rinna reality show. But with Tommy now in the mix, Sandy’s love life has officially become its own playoff bracket.
Season 2 even features an episode where Isla attempts to defuse a locker-room love triangle with some amateur matchmaking — which, for anyone who’s seen Hudson gleefully wade into her siblings’ disasters, sounds about as chaotic as one would expect.
With Season 3’s writers’ room already open, the question on everyone’s lips is whether Sandy and Tommy’s situationship has legs — or locker-room legs, at least.
Stassen is keeping his cards close to the vest: “We’re going to dig into everything. I’m not sure where that will go. As writers of half-hour, you don’t want characters to stay in a relationship for too long, because you want them to be meeting new people and having new challenges.”
He’s equally coy — but not entirely cold — on Tommy’s future with the franchise: “Tommy’s on the team. He’s a world champ and he’s got a fashion label as a backstory. So he’s in L.A. He’s in the right place for his career. I don’t know if he’s going to be with Sandy or not yet.”
Whether or not Sandy and Tommy go the distance, Running Point Season 2 has already scored with a gay romance that’s refreshingly funny, emotionally real, and entirely worth the watch. The show has always known how to play the long game — and this season, Sandy Gordon finally gets a love story worthy of his own highlight reel.
Running Point Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
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