11 Recent TV Shows That Surprised Everyone

Cobra Kai technically debuted in 2018 through the YouTube Red platform. Little attention was paid to it until it made its way to Netflix in 2020, however, and it is now considered another entry in the pantheon of Netflix originals.

Nobody was calling out for a Karate Kid sequel at the time of the series' debut. After an enjoyable 1984 opener, the films quickly descended into farce over the course of three sequels and the 2010 remake hardly set the world on fire. Jumping back into the lives of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his onetime rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) has proven to be one of the most heartwarming television experiences in a long time, however.

Now middle-aged men whose lives have taken vastly different paths, Daniel and Johnny are joined by an ever-increasing number of students as they reignite their rivalry, seemingly unable to put a bout from almost forty years ago behind them even as circumstances like the re-emergence of series villains force them to become uneasy allies.

The teenage cast are the true stars of the show, with particular focus on the love/karate triangle between Xolo Marieduena’s Miguel, Mary Mouser’s Samantha and Tanner Buchanan’s Robby.

It’s very ‘soapy’ in places and the fact that an entire Californian community puts youth karate before more pressing matters like jobs requires considerable suspension of disbelief, but the sheer joy that it brings cannot be understated.