‘KID’ GOES ON
‘Cobra Kai’ gets new life, old faces on Netflix
Cobra Kai never dies.
Set more than 30 years after the original “Karate Kid” movie, the third season of its sequel series premieres on Netflix on Friday.
“Cobra Kai” brings back Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and his high school foe Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka.
The rivalry between the pair has filtered down to their karate schools – Daniel’s Miyagi-Do and Johnny’s Cobra Kai – and this season picks up after a big brawl between their teen students at the high school.
The aftermath of the fight, including the potentially fatal fall Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) took over a second-floor railing is center stage, as is the chasm between the two groups of young martial artists.
“We’ve caused enough problems to have our own character arcs,” Jacob Bertrand, who plays Cobra Kai villain Hawk, told the Daily News.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking in a way because obviously there are these guys who have been the two main people of the franchise for the last 30 years,” Bertrand said.
“Being just a part of it, being in the world and part of the ‘Karate Kid’ universe ... we’re just absolutely stoked.”
The animosity is furthered by the growing involvement of Kreese (Martin Kove), Johnny’s old sensei and Cobra Kai leader. With his gaining authoritative control over the kids, peace seems impossible.
The teen drama, complete with young love and bullies, could carry the show. But “Cobra Kai” has found a way to blend the kids and the adults.
While the young people battle it out, Johnny spirals out of control, blaming himself for Miguel’s injury and the disappearance of his son, who took off after the school brawl.
Daniel fights to save his car dealership, and takes a trip to Okinawa, where he reconnects with former flame Kumiko, played by Tamlyn Tomita, reprising her “Karate Kid 2” role, as well as his nemesis Chozen (Yuji Okumoto).
The trick for “Cobra Kai” becomes balancing its audiences: the longtime “Karate Kid” fans and the new viewers who stumbled across the sequel series.
“Season 1 is about establishing the characters, season 2 you flesh [them] out and make them more three-dimensional,” Maridueña told The News, “and season 3, I think, is really the season where the creators finally had the go-ahead to do everything they wanted to.”
The first two seasons of “Cobra Kai” aired on YouTube Premium, a little-known streaming service with few headline-drawing titles in its library. But in June, when YouTube shifted away from scripted content, Netflix picked up the two existing seasons and its upcoming third one. Brian Wright, vice president of originals at Netflix, praised the show’s “heart.”
“It was so exciting when the first season came out and the audience who sought us out and found us were happy with everything we did. It was like, ‘Damn, those are the people we really needed to impress. Those are the first tier of people to get this show to keep going, the ‘Karate Kid’ fans,’” said Mary Mouser, who plays Daniel’s daughter, Sam.
“We did that. We accomplished that. Now that this moved to Netflix, it’s this second birth of this show and it’s fun to see just how widespread it can be.”