If the Broadway musical “Wicked” has taught us anything, it’s that even villains have sympathetic backstories.
This is certainly the case with the new YouTube Red dramedy “Cobra Kai.” A thoughtfully modern “Karate Kid” sequel, the streaming series — which premieres Wednesday — catches up with blond bad boy Johnny (William Zabka) and his good-guy nemesis Daniel (Ralph Macchio), 34 years after their fateful fight on the mat.
As viewers will quickly discover, life hasn’t been kind to Johnny since his loss. He’s a handyman with a drinking problem and an estranged teenage son named Robby, whom he barely knows. His apartment is a dump, his car is beat up and he’s so downtrodden, some folks think he’s homeless.
Daniel, by contrast, has an idyllic life anchored by his lovely and loving wife Amanda, charming and popular daughter Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro), a precocious cherub of a son.
This is certainly the case with the new YouTube Red dramedy “Cobra Kai.” A thoughtfully modern “Karate Kid” sequel, the streaming series — which premieres Wednesday — catches up with blond bad boy Johnny (William Zabka) and his good-guy nemesis Daniel (Ralph Macchio), 34 years after their fateful fight on the mat.
As viewers will quickly discover, life hasn’t been kind to Johnny since his loss. He’s a handyman with a drinking problem and an estranged teenage son named Robby, whom he barely knows. His apartment is a dump, his car is beat up and he’s so downtrodden, some folks think he’s homeless.
Daniel, by contrast, has an idyllic life anchored by his lovely and loving wife Amanda, charming and popular daughter Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro), a precocious cherub of a son.
- 5/2/2018
- by Mekeisha Madden Toby
- Variety Film + TV
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