Kate Hudson Reveals Why Lack of Romance in Running Point Was 'One of the Big Things' That Convinced Her to Join (Exclusive)

Mindy Kaling had just what Kate Hudson was looking for in her first-ever TV show.

Hudson stars as the newly-appointed heir to the Los Angeles Waves, a fictionalized version of the Lakers, in Netflix's Running Point. The actress tells PEOPLE she was drawn to the role — which was inspired by real-life Lakers president Jeanie Buss — because it's "a much more full, honest portrayal of a woman's life than just the pursuit of love."

"Look, don't get me wrong, I love a rom-com. I love when it's all about the relationships," Hudson, 45, says. "But to do a comedy set in such a high-stakes environment that's about family dynamics — to me, [that] is just so much fun."

In fact, just how little emphasis is placed on the romantic relationship in her character Isla Gordon's life was "one of the big things for me," she says, elaborating on why she wanted to join the show. "It's not just all about romance."

Her character does have a loving fiancée, though, in Max Greenfield's pediatrician Lev Levinson. As Kaling tells PEOPLE, "It is a romantic show. There's romance in it, but it's not anybody's top priority, which is a fun change for me."

After all, Kaling says, "I love romantic comedies. I love the romantic comedies [Hudson] has done."

Still, Kaling, 45, continues, "Her character — and a lot of the characters in this — it's like, romance is not even in the top five things that they're [most] worried about in their life, and I'm not really used to writing that. I'm used to writing characters who dream of having a boyfriend, getting married, that solving their problem."

The comedy of it all is in large part what drew Hudson to the show. "I've been wanting to do series television and I wanted to do something comedic," she says. "I really wanted the first thing I did in TV to be what I love doing the most, because if I'm going to do a series, that's what I want to be doing every day."

"I just had this innate feeling. I was like, 'I bet I'm going to do this show,'" she recalls. "We met and we had a great first meeting, and I just felt like I was in such good hands."

Along with Hudson, Running Point stars Scott MacArthur, Drew Tarver and Justin Theroux as her onscreen brothers and Brenda Song as her chief of staff-slash-best friend, and Isla's complicated family dynamic is another big part of the story.

"It's so fun. The sibling dynamic and playing inside of that was so great and the chemistry — all of the actors are so talented and so smart," she says, praising her costars as "so quick-witted and [able to make] the show even better with their ability to come up with something on the fly."

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Running Point premieres Thursday, Feb. 27 on Netflix.