YouTube Red, a paid streaming subscription service exclusively for YouTube that offers premium content, has a new series on the way with Cobra Kai, a continuation of the classic 1984 film The Karate Kid, after winning a bidding war with Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and AMC.
Scheduled to premiere in 2018, the sequel is set to take place 30 years after events of the original movie, with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka on board to reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In a press release, “Cobra Kai will be a true continuation of the original films — packed with comedy, heart, and thrilling fight scenes” said Susanne Daniels, head of originals at YouTube, and it will be an effort to push YouTube Red’s audience out of its current demographic (18 to 34) into a much wider audience.
With Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg serving as the writers, Cobra Kai is described as a half-hour comedy series centering on the relationship between the film’s teenage hero and villain — Danny LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) — as they open competing karate schools, until eventually facing off in karate matches.
In other news, watch the first episode of VICELAND’s ‘What Would Diplo Do?’ below.
