Running Point A Brenda Song reveals Season 2 Macaulay Culkin easter egg

Spoiler alert: This story contains details about Season 2 of “Running Point,” which will be available to stream on Netflix on April 23.

Brenda Song charmed viewers with her role as London Tipton on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and her fiancé Macaulay Culkin came through his own iconic child star days. Decades after each work first captured the world’s attention, they’re still finding ways to keep audiences hooked, even if they’re not technically on screen.

Culkin made a cameo appearance in Season 1 of Running Point, but appeared in a completely different way in Season 2. On Wednesday night, Song spoke to Variety during the Season 2 premiere about the “My Girl” easter eggs that were incorporated into the new season. In flashbacks, it is revealed that Allie (Song) and Ira (Kate Hudson) were once college roommates who couldn’t stand each other and ultimately bonded over crying together while watching the 1991 tearjerker movie starring Culkin. “That’s all the writers were,” she said. However, it was extremely difficult to gain her fiance’s approval. “He just approved the deal two days ago. I’m like, ‘Baby, the show premieres next week. Please approve it.'”

Director Son had several thoughts regarding his full cameo appearance this season. “He pitches himself every season. I love him, but I’m like, ‘Honey, this is my job. Keep me alive,'” she joked. “We have Ray Romano. We have Octavia Spencer. And it’s not like he’s chopping livers, but…”

Song and Culkin were among the many people who gathered to celebrate the return of Running Point on Netflix on April 23rd. Hudson, Drew Tarver, Justin Theroux, Romano, co-creators Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz, and real-life Lakers president Jeanie Buss also walked the carpet. In Season 2, Ira Gordon emerges as not just a surprising choice to lead the Los Angeles Waves, but a man with a purpose on his shoulders.

Barinholtz, who joins the cast this season as the Gordon family’s “eccentric” cousin Benny, revealed that the role was nothing like what he sold himself on. “I said, ‘This could be Kate’s love interest. He could be this brave businessman that she falls in love with in three episodes,'” he said. “And Mindy was like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to play her cousin, the biggest loser in the world.’ … This is one of the funniest characters I’ve played. He’s almost not a real person.”

Romano, who joined the cast this season as “Running Point” in the role of a basketball whiz turned recluse, claimed that one of his personal highlights on set was winning a foul shooting contest between writers during a break. “I’m a good foul shooter, and I actually won that one,” he said. However, when asked if his fans would see him win the shooting contest in front of the camera, he clarified: “No, because they want to stay on the air.”

Reflecting on the show’s unexpected global reach, Bass recalled that he was in Poland watching a Slovenian basketball team game when a local radio station picked up “Running Point.” “I was really surprised,” she said of the fictionalized version of her life on the show. She took things cautiously with the Lakers entering the playoffs with injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves. “LeBron James is doing a really good job leading the team,” he said. “He was great as always.”

Luckily for LA Wave fans, Stassen confirmed that the writers’ room has already begun planning for a potential third season. “I want to keep the family dynamics high, intense and hostile,” he said.

As for his other current commitments, Barinholtz admitted that Season 2 of “The Studio” is about halfway through production. About his character Sal Saperstein: “He’s pulling his usual pranks, trying not to die, trying to keep Matt Remick in check a little bit.” He also teased the change of location. “We went to Venice,” he said. “If you’re a fan of Italy and scenery, this season is for you.”

Kaling also talked about her upcoming series, “Unfit for Work,” which is a more realistic story than you might expect, about difficult and overambitious 20-somethings in New York City. “It was actually kind of a catalyst to go back to my 20s, when my aspirations were bigger than my accomplishments,” she said. “I wanted to get married at 24, be a millionaire and be a writer for ‘Saturday Night Live.’ None of that came true, so I forged a different path.”

She called the cast, which includes Mean Girls breakout Avantika, “so funny,” adding that the actress is “all in right now.”

Check out photos from the “Running Point” season 2 premiere below.