The Karate Kid sequel has captivated audiences: Netflix announces the arrival in January of the third season but also the fourth in the coming months
After The Paper House, Lucifer, Stranger Things and other hit shows, Netflix has found a new product to invest in: Cobra Kai, the TV series inspired by Karate Kid, a movie that had a huge following in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The TV series stars Johnny, Daniel's arch-enemy. The two actors are the same as in the old films, but in the streaming content they have aged and have completely different lives. Cobra Kai has had a huge following: for more than a week it has occupied the first position in the ranking of the most viewed TV series in streaming. This result was unexpected, also because the series is not at all new to the world of the web: in fact it had been broadcasted on Youtube, but perhaps the time was not ripe and it had not been given enough visibility. Now, however, it is one of the most popular and watched and this was enough to convince Netflix to renew it until the fourth season.
Cobra Kai: the reasons for success
Karate Kid is the film series that has thrilled audiences of the eighties and nineties, becoming a real cult. It tells the story of Daniel (played by Ralph Macchio), a boy unfairly bullied by a group of schoolmates, led by Johnny (William Zabka), an expert karate fighter.
Daniel decides to take lessons in the martial art from Master Miyagi and challenge Johnny to an important tournament, winning the challenge against his arch-enemy.
The Cobra Kai TV series completely overturns the point of view of the film: not only does it tell the story through Johnny's eyes, but it places him in the role of protagonist. The story is set 30 years after the one in the movie. Johnny is now aged and resentful of the boy who, many years before, stole the love of his life and his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
After his defeat in that old tournament, he has fallen into disgrace, trying to survive with back bills, a son he no longer sees and other constant failures. Daniel, on the other hand, is an important entrepreneur in the automotive industry.
Johnny in the TV series takes back his space, founds the new school calling it Cobra Kai (just like the one he attended as a young man) and episode after episode tells the old story from his point of view causing a certain sympathy, thus putting Daniel in the shade: here is explained the strength of the TV series, which sees the same actors as in the film, but from an upside down perspective.
The series is perfect for those who have already seen and loved the films - especially the first one - do not believe that reason lies only on one side and are not satisfied with Daniel's point of view, but want to look at the events from a different perspective.
Netflix renews Cobra Kai: what do we know so far?
After the success of the first two seasons of Cobra Kai, Netflix has decided to renew the TV series for a third season, which will be released on January 8, 2021. And in these days came the confirmation also of a fourth chapter, which will arrive soon. Netflix shared the news on social with a nice image depicting the closed-fist greeting between Johnny and his faithful pupil Miguel (played by Xolo Maridueña).
In the meantime, anticipations about the plot of the third season begin to spread. There will still be the rivalry between the two protagonists, Daniel and Johnny, always played by actors Macchio and Zabka. In the third season, however, the two will come to terms even more with their old demons, which have also influenced the new generations, including their children: the boys of the two dojos are also rivals among themselves and come to provoke a huge fight at school, which will bring important repercussions.
It will have an important role Kreese (Martin Kove) who will do everything to manipulate the students and try to get power. We will see if the two protagonists will be able to find their own balance and resolve the situation.
In the meantime, those who have not seen the Karate Kid movies can make up for it on Netflix. And the first chapters of Cobra Kai are also available on the same platform.