Compare It’s Not Like That, Chapter 1 vs Running Point, Season 2

The finale is the clearest source of frustration, particularly Lori's romantic choice and the last-minute reversal of the hoped-for pairing.

The championship victory feels earned, while Cam and Jay’s rival-team reveal turns celebration into a compelling new conflict. The ending provides both payoff and disruption.

A major drunk-driving crash is criticized for vanishing without a police report or consequences, creating a conspicuous break in narrative follow-through.

Season 2 carries forward the first season’s tone, family conflict, and comic rhythm smoothly. Some established relationships—especially Jackie’s family role—receive less follow-through than expected.

Malcolm's choices are the main sticking point: critical viewers felt his behavior did not match the responsibilities of a pastor or attentive father.

The Gordon family remains believably selfish, chaotic, and affectionate, while Isla’s flaws stay intact as she grows. Jackie’s reduced family integration and a few directionless arcs weaken that consistency in places.

Conflict resolution is usually presented as compassionate and constructive, but the drunk-driving crash drew sharp criticism for lacking police consequences or meaningful intervention.

Cam’s manipulation, addiction, and misuse of family power are confronted directly rather than softened for comedy. The recovery-focused material feels thoughtful and unsentimental.

The girls' wrestling storyline may feel contemporary and inclusive to some viewers, but it was also criticized as propaganda.

The season’s gender, workplace, privilege, and women-in-sports ideas resonate, but several themes surface only briefly before the comedy moves on. Some topical jokes also age poorly.

Brad Silberling's direction is singled out for helping the slice-of-life material feel polished, emotionally clear, and impactful.

Restrained off-court camera work keeps attention on the performances and lets quieter negotiations and conflicts play naturally.

The series often avoids an easy romantic resolution and can surprise viewers, but familiar child arcs, predictable tropes, and one strongly negative response limit the praise.

Romance loops, recurring family power plays, and predictable conflicts make parts of the season feel repetitive. The execution often remains enjoyable even when the destination is obvious.

The unresolved ending clearly points toward another season, though its payoff depends on future episodes following through.

The rival-team reveal and Jay’s defection give the finale a powerful renewal hook. One more restrained take appreciates an ending that leaves threads open without depending entirely on shock.

The eight-episode order frustrates viewers in opposite ways: one critic thinks the middle is padded, while another believes the season is far too short.

Ten half-hour episodes make for a compact, easy watch. The same short format leaves too little room for the larger cast, basketball stories, and late-season playoff run.

Grief, divorce, parenting, and faith usually feel messy, relatable, and emotionally honest. Negative responses question the pastoral behavior, consequences, and volume of issues packed into the story.

Addiction, workplace power, leadership tradeoffs, and quiet team conflicts often feel grounded. Basketball choreography and some exaggerated sitcom plots are much less convincing.

The picture is described as clean, steady, and professionally filmed, with clear visuals that avoid the murky darkness common in some dramas.

The visuals are clean, colorful, and restrained, with sunny Los Angeles establishing shots and readable game coverage. The style is effective rather than showy.

The middle episodes are the weakest stretch for pacing, with criticism that the season becomes low-key, uneven, and less compelling week to week.

The season often feels confident and quick, but crowded subplots and an accelerated final stretch create noticeable rush and whiplash.

The script is praised as carefully thought out, with layered characters and emotional moments that serve more than the central romance.

The best scripts feature crackling dialogue, clear character voices, and confident comic escalation. Critics of the season point to formulaic resolutions, stale topical jokes, and subplots that disappear too quickly.

The opening episode is repeatedly described as charming, compelling, and an excellent start, even when its exposition feels compressed.

The opening setup around Norm’s hiring establishes a promising comic and emotional arc, with Ray Romano immediately creating anticipation.

Tearful, heartfelt moments are a defining strength, with grief and family scenes repeatedly described as moving, hopeful, and earned rather than manipulative.

The strongest moments come from Isla and Ali’s friendship, recovery themes, family loyalty, and Marcus’s sacrifice. Some easy resolutions blunt the emotional force of the business and team crises.

Grief, faith, divorce, addiction, parenting, and second chances are explored with compassion and few easy answers. Some viewers found the sheer number of issues excessive.

The addiction, privilege, family loyalty, and gender-pressure material can be unexpectedly thoughtful and tender. The feminist ideas sometimes recede before they are explored fully.

The intertwined family story is widely praised as heartfelt, relatable, and compelling, with strong balance between adults and children. Critics cite clichés, overcrowded issues, and disappointing late choices.

Character relationships, leadership pressure, and family betrayal give the season a solid core. Too many romances, cameos, and short-lived conflicts can make the overall story crowded, repetitive, or underdeveloped.

The series balances grief, romance, parenting, and faith with warmth and meaningful stakes. Its quieter, earnest style can feel too sappy or subdued for viewers wanting sharper drama.

The championship race, family betrayal, friendship rupture, and workplace pressure give the season real stakes. Formulaic resolutions and quickly discarded conflicts keep some dramatic beats from carrying enough weight.

Sex is discussed or implied without graphic depiction, and several viewers praise the restraint. More conservative responses still object to dating and intimacy outside marriage.

The season includes limited romantic passion in Isla’s dreams, noted without strong concern or disapproval.

Demand for another season is exceptionally strong, with many viewers explicitly asking for Season 2 and some wanting several more seasons.

Enthusiasm for a third season is widespread, especially after the finale’s rival-team setup. One strongly negative voice has no interest in further continuation.

Light banter, awkward family moments, and Foley's easy humor keep the grief-heavy story from becoming oppressive without turning it into a broad comedy.

Many find the dialogue, physical comedy, sibling chaos, and cameos consistently funny. Others criticize missing punchlines, dated references, or jokes that land too unevenly.

The strongest responses call the dialogue realistic and human, especially around grief and family conflict. One critic found it too close to sentimental or unnatural.

At its best, the dialogue crackles with sharp insults, workplace banter, and quick pop-culture references. Some topical jokes already feel dated, while a few exaggerated exchanges come across as forced.

The cast is one of the clearest strengths, with customers repeatedly praising believable performances. A small minority found the acting poor or disliked specific casting choices.

The ensemble is widely praised, with Kate Hudson’s lead work and the comic guest cast doing much of the heavy lifting. A small minority finds the central performance and chemistry flat.

The premiere moves confidently for some viewers, but others felt it races through exposition and romance before the relationships have enough time to settle.

Individual episodes often move briskly because conflicts are resolved quickly. That efficiency becomes a drawback when the playoff run and emotional turns feel rushed.

The pilot wins viewers over despite a noticeable explainer-heavy setup that sometimes feels like conventional premiere groundwork.

The balance between a season-long Cam conflict and episode-specific workplace problems often works well. Repeated one-off subplots can also make the season feel like disconnected story-of-the-week television.

It is widely seen as a welcome revival of warm multigenerational family drama, combining comfort-viewing appeal with contemporary emotional complications.

The season is strongest as glossy comedy comfort food, mixing workplace satire, family dysfunction, romance, and sports drama. Most find that blend accessible and fun, though a few think the comedy still lacks identity.

Faith is usually praised as sincere, welcoming, and naturally woven into modern family life rather than preachy. A vocal minority rejects the inclusive Christian portrayal as inauthentic or overly progressive.

The women-in-sports premise keeps the comedy culturally relevant, especially when Isla faces scrutiny and workplace double standards.

Unpredictable choices and unanswered relationship questions keep viewers wondering what will happen next, supporting continued interest without turning the show into a thriller.

The 0–3 championship comeback and the final reveal of Cam and Jay’s new team build strong momentum into the next season.

Scott Foley and Erinn Hayes generate natural, lived-in chemistry that anchors the series, while the wider ensemble often feels like a believable interconnected family.

The Gordon family’s fast, messy interplay is one of the season’s most consistent strengths, and Hudson works especially well with Song, Romano, and Speedman. A lone dissenting view finds the main ensemble lacking chemistry.

Several viewers finished the season in two days or said they could not stop watching. Even a more critical response still watched the full run in hopes of a stronger payoff.

Short episodes, light stakes, and fast-moving relationship drama make the season extremely easy to finish in a sitting. Even a major detractor concedes that it is easy to watch.

The changing relationships and twists keep the story lively and increase anticipation for another season.

The finale’s championship aftermath, Cam’s new franchise, and Jay’s betrayal deliver the season’s most effective surprises.

The adults and children receive distinct emotional struggles that make most of the ensemble easy to invest in. Detractors found some children unlikable and wanted serious problems addressed more responsibly.

Isla’s leadership, Ali’s professional self-worth, and several sibling arcs gain meaningful depth. Other takes argue that crowded plotting flattens Jackie and leaves some promising characters underdeveloped.

The finale delivers an intense, tissue-worthy emotional experience, even though its romantic outcome divides the audience.

The final episode combines a tense championship comeback, personal sacrifice, family accountability, and a major rival-team reveal. Its closing turn is repeatedly described as a mic-drop.

The large ensemble is introduced clearly, while David's motives and parts of the marital history remain underexplained.

The season’s individual stories and leadership conflicts are generally easy to follow, and its identity feels clearer than before.

Clean imagery and thoughtful framing support the emotional tone, including a restrained apparition device that keeps Jenny's absence visually present.

Sunny drone shots and a clean Los Angeles look give the workplace comedy a bright, polished atmosphere.

Its warm, accessible style reaches beyond a strictly faith-based audience and resonates especially with families and viewers who have experienced grief or divorce.

The half-hour workplace comedy is accessible even for viewers who do not care about basketball, helped by a familiar cast and crowd-pleasing cameos. One sharply negative take questions whether it has a clear audience at all.

The broad response is highly positive, with many calling it refreshing, comforting, and easy to enjoy. The harshest critics found it unrealistic, overstuffed, or not worth finishing.

Most assessments find the season funny, charming, and easy to enjoy despite its messiness. A sharply negative minority sees it as nearly humorless and not worth the time.

Scott Foley and Erinn Hayes earn especially strong praise for vulnerability, warmth, and emotional clarity. One critic tired of Foley repeating the same tearful expression.

Kate Hudson is overwhelmingly described as charismatic, funny, emotionally grounded, and capable of carrying weaker material. One harsh dissent finds Isla muted and disappointing.

The younger cast often earns standout praise for warmth, realism, and emotional range, particularly Cary Christopher and Caleb Baumann. One hostile response disliked how the children were presented.

Brenda Song, Justin Theroux, Ray Romano, and the guest stars frequently stand out, adding comedy and emotional range. Romano, Jackie, and some players are also criticized as underused.

The restrained presentation suits many families with teens, but grief, self-harm, addiction, divorce, and other mature themes make it a questionable choice for younger children.

Strong critical notices reinforce the show's appeal beyond its enthusiastic customer audience.

One strongly negative assessment argues that the series should have ended after its first season and sees no reason for this continuation.

Basketball sequences are cut with enough speed and clarity to keep the action readable and exciting.

Episodes running about 30 minutes make the season easy to fit into a day and well suited to casual viewing.

Most viewers value the wholesome tone, limited profanity, restrained sexual content, and focus on family. Mature themes and a few moral objections mean it is not universally suitable for children.

Profanity is minimal and generally viewed as refreshingly restrained, although faith-focused guides still note occasional swearing as a content caveat.

A player’s performance pressure and growing media attention are handled with maturity, avoiding an easy redemption and showing how scrutiny alters behavior and trust.

Branded integrations are one of the few recurring distractions, with a delivery-app insertion and a dancer storyline feeling shaped around sponsorship rather than character or comedy.

The front-office decisions and behind-the-scenes business material are often engaging, while the on-court and player subplots receive less depth than many wanted.

The limited violence is generally appreciated, with only school wrestling and bullying flagged as mild concerns rather than dominant content.

Isla’s polished suits, boots, and monochrome looks remain part of the show’s charm. The styling is still admired, though one fan feels it is less striking than Season 1.

The overall production is described as polished and well made, reinforcing the sense that this is a higher-quality entry in faith-oriented television.

The interconnected households, church, school, and neighborhood feel fully formed quickly, making it easy to settle into the characters' shared lives.

Parents appreciated the way the show encourages conversations about difficult issues, and one older viewer found its parenting lessons personally revealing.

Included Prime access makes the series feel like an excellent value and worthwhile use of time. Its initial add-on placement was harder to justify for less enthusiastic viewers.