When a scandal forces her brother to resign, Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) is appointed president of the Los Angeles Waves, one of the most storied professional basketball franchises, and her family business. Ambitious and often overlooked, Isla will have to prove to her skeptical brothers, the board, and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job. —Netflix
Sports meet style in this contemporary comedy...
We were delighted to check in with Set Decorator Erika Rice SDSA and Production Designer Eric Schoonover about their hit series RUNNING POINT. The sports comedy has a freshness that gives it a broad appeal, not limited to fans of basketball, or even sports in general. A great deal of that appeal is generated from the settings that give a high style context to the engaging and personable comedic talents of star Kate Hudson and cast. There is a contemporary lightness, rather than the usual heaviness often portrayed in sports environs.
“The fresh, sort of modern approach was important to Eric’s overall design, and subsequently the choices in décor,” Erika notes. “The color palette we started with was neutrals, and we tried to stay as connected to that idea as we could throughout the entire floor plan. When you look at the boards and then the furniture, you can see that we were trying to pull color out, strip color away from the furniture, to keep to the essence of that palette.”
Eric adds, “We didn't have the largest budget, so trying to pull together this look of millionaire owners of a professional team, I was a little concerned, but Erika just figured out a way to do it. Being able to pull off these looks was a great feat in itself, but I was also super-impressed with her when it came to budget tracking.”
Chief of Staff, as well as Isla’s best friend, Ali Lee [Brenda Song] confers with the new president of the Los Angeles Waves [Kate Hudson]. The sheen of the metallic trophies and lamps, the crisp linen minimal shade echoing the lines of the buildings outside, all framed in an afternoon light... Photo by Katrina Marcinowski/Netflix © 2024.
Erika smiles, “You know, pre-production is really fast, a very short time-period. The hero desk had to be a custom piece, and we had zero time to order custom furniture, so we relied on our very, very talented art department and construction department to build our key pieces, and they turned out to be quite beautiful. Thank you for building them, Eric!”
The Waves president’s office, Cam Gordon’s domain. In his last duties before his sudden departure for rehab, he appointed his sister, Isla, as his successor as head of the pro-basketball team owned by their family. Their brothers were not amenable to this plan. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
“We built the trophy credenzas as well as the desk. We knew they would need to come out of the set a lot, multiple times during shoot day, for camera. They're very lightweight, and on wheels, so they could go right out the door, giving our shooting crew more space.”
Along with the striking trophies lining the credenzas are a pair of trophy-shaped lamps flanking the golden basketballs, with crisp linen shades reiterating the shapes of the hundreds of windows in the background.
“The windows are a big part of the facility,” Erika notes. “You're always seeing the deep backing of the city. Finding the right color for the pleated shades was essential, so they would enhance the atmosphere, not take over, no matter the strength of the light behind or in front of them.”
Sofas seem almost ubiquitous for a set, but they do help define a space and give a visual context for conversations. Look closely and you will note the seam across the top of the sofa and chairs is reminiscent of basketball markings. You would think these, too, were custom made, but Erika and her team found them at a used office furniture store!
The office at dusk. Isla’s realm now. Thank goodness Cam had great taste, there was no time for her to make major changes. An airy orchid has replaced the spiked fronds of the palm, a small vase of fresh flowers on her desk. No need for a large formal display, subtle feminine notes are enough. The pillows added to the sofa are in a contemporary geometric fabric reiterating the views outside. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
Isla has added pillows, not only for a personal touch and an added strength of décor, but also because she’s more pragmatic and aware than given credit for...these sofas were made for men, extra deep!
And the office at night, reflections abound. Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon. Photo by Katrina Marcinowski/Netflix © 2024
With the president’s office well in hand, and still working with short time and budget, there were other key offices to create, while keeping this through-line of contemporary style.
The brothers, sans Cam. Drew Tarver as Alexander “Sandy” Gordon, the Waves CFO, Isla’s younger half-brother; Fabrizio Guido as Jackie Moreno, recently discovered to be their half-brother as well, and is now Isla’s new assistant; and Scott MacArthur as Ness Gordon, Isla’s older brother and the Waves General Manager. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025
Erika admits, “It was pretty challenging. There are only so many finishes for office furniture, and those finishes are different decade to decade. And we had to make all look unified, but we were trying to patch it together with discount furniture!”
“We were finding pieces at used office furniture stores throughout LA—shoutout to Set Dec Buyer Nikky de Lemos—I mean, we really combed through Los Angeles, photographing everything that could possibly work. And, you know, it's a bit of magic to look at two pieces and they're two entirely different finishes, but you've just got to trust that they're going to be okay together.”
“And, of course, each of those offices needed to feel as if it were the tone of furniture that the character would actually want for themselves.”
For Sandy, the Waves Chief Financial Officer, always concerned about appearances, we have the rendering, the set dressing/mood board and the finished set...
Sandy’s office, rendering. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
Sandy’s office, Set Dressing board. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
Sandy’s office. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
Erika points out, “He's a numbers guy, and pretty stiff, so we wanted his angles to be a little bit harder. We brought in the stone side table and some cool lamps, but as much as we would love to be able to control all of the pieces in the perfect way, we're working with things we can find fast and afford. This was actually a desk that I had found in a different color. Eric was able to give me a skin on it that worked well, blending with the atmosphere.”
Head Coach Jay Brown's office rendering. Coach Brown is a Zen Buddhist, definitely chill. Unless the refs blow a call. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
LA Center Studios became the center of the RUNNING POINT production. Eric managed to almost magically find myriad ways to use their space to an advantage for shoots. He created a stage build which included a pro-basketball team’s head office, administrative and managerial offices, conference room, the coach’s office and practice locker room/team meeting area, and the practice court.
Los Angeles Waves Stage Builds. Great map of the key sets! Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
Los Angeles Waves Court to Offices rendering. View of the lobby. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
“The idea is not entirely new,” Eric is quick to point out, “In that you might have the front office people close to the practice facility. In fact, the Lakers do, and initially talking with the showrunner and the other EPs about what we needed out of our main set, it took me a couple of versions, tweaking aspects of it. You know, we're working with parameters of stage space and the needs of the show.”
“It was really great!” Erika firmly states in response to that modesty. “By the way, you can stand in there and see really deep into the background and activities. So it was ideal for our DP Marco Fargnoli and his team.
Waves President Isla Gordon [Kate Hudson] and Coach Jay Brown [Jay Ellis], head coach of the Waves, observe a player's practice throw. Photo by Katrina Marcinowski/Netflix © 2024
This huge stage build, with several contiguous sets, was only part of their footprint at the studio. Erika mentions, “LA Center Studios is a great sort of location. You can tick a lot of boxes. So, everything in the Waves facility, Eric built...and then outside of the Waves facility, we found within the inner workings of LA Center Studios places to create other sets. So we might be on another floor in another building, grabbing another office, for instance. That's not a main set, but would be a swing set. Or in a niche area outside creating a restaurant patio, or a meet space. So, all over that facility, all day long.”
Eric adds, “Yeah, we found all kinds of opportunities at the studio, which made the shoot more efficient, more budget-friendly, when you don’t have to have crews driving all over town to get to locations to dress, to shoot, to wrap.”
“There were times we did go on location, but part of our efficiency with this show was keeping that perspective of use of space...shooting sometimes three restaurants in the same day, going to a location and shooting three parts of that location as three different restaurants, or sometimes three different nightclubs or three different conventions in one facility.”
“It definitely tested me and just helped push me to do those things. It's not something I have to do on every show, but with this budget and time, it was definitely like, ‘What do you see here? What do you see here? What do you see here?’ And I'm responding, ‘Well, we could do this, this, this and this.’ So, it took a lot of effort, and then, obviously, having Erika being such a heavy hitter that we could back up the talk and make those environments feel real, was a great treat.”
Erika replies, “You know, it comes back to the trust you’ve established...we're going into a series. It's going to be a lot of work. We're going to be asked to do a lot of things, and you start building trust immediately when you say to someone Eric’s mantra: "We got this!"
“And that, you know, sort of prepares your heart for how hard it's going to be, and once you do it, you realize, ‘Yes, We have this!’, that becomes your mantra as well. So, when someone looks to you and asks, ‘Can you do it?’ You reply, ‘Absolutely, don't you worry.’”
And they’ve got this!
The show has been renewed for a second season.
We’re looking forward to coming back with Erika & Eric to explore some of their myriad side sets, whether 3 in one location, or a niche at LA CENTER Studios, a different take on a location shoot, or some other interesting insights, we know it will be great to discover!
We’ve got this...
Editor’s note:
Set Decorator Erika Rice SDSA would like to acknowledge and thank her entire crew, with a special shout out to Set Dec Buyer Nikky de Lemos.
Also Prop Master Rose Leiker-DeBenedetto
Plus the numerous SDSA Business members with whom she worked, particularly Robert Greenfield at Warner Bros, as well as: Sandy Rose Floral, Town & Country Event Rentals, Advanced Liquidators, Hollywood Studio Gallery, Green Set, Jackson Shrub, Lennie Marvin’s Prop Heaven, Practical Props, Aero Mock-ups, Dazian, A1 Medical, ISS, Omega Cinema Props…& Astek, of course.
