There’s a scene in episode six of the YouTube series Cobra Kai in which Johnny Lawrence sits on the curb outside his strip mall dojo and explains his backstory to one of his students. “Then Daniel LaRusso came to town,” he says. In this version, Daniel is the new kid in school who steals Johnny’s girlfriend, sucker-punches him at the beach and beats him in the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championships with an illegal kick.
Johnny is the Karate Kid. He is the protagonist. Everyone is the star of their own movie or television series, and everyone else is just a supporting player. A wingman, love interest, antagonist or sensei. Only the truly selfless — Mr. Miyagi or Mister Rogers — are immune from this self-satisfying worldview.
It is an ingenious premise: The Karate Kid — 34 years later, from Johnny’s point of view. Johnny is working class. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment. He becomes the sensei of the new kid in town. Daniel owns a chain of successful car dealerships. Beautiful wife, two kids, stunning home. Well-executed 1980s nostalgia in reverse would be good enough, but this series is so much more.
Cobra Kai is my favorite television series of 2018, because it’s about everything: life, redemption, estrangement, bullying and the inability of these two men to leave their high school rivalry behind. The first episode positions Johnny as the face and Daniel as the heel, and the second is Daniel’s story. From there, as Johnny’s rebooted Cobra Kai dojo gains momentum, there are so many twists — particularly with the high school kids — that there is no right or wrong. Just point of view. The morality in The Karate Kid was black and white. Cobra Kai unfolds in the gray areas.
Ralph Macchio, 57, and William Zabka, 53, are back as Daniel and Johnny, and it really helps that they are in fighting shape and look about 10 years younger than they are. Xolo Mariduena (Miguel), Mary Mouser (Daniel’s daughter) and Robby Keene (Johnny’s estranged son) lead a talented group of young actors. Jacob Bertrand’s transformation is noteworthy.
There’s a scene in episode nine where Johnny and Daniel have a few drinks at a bar in the middle of the day. They reminisce about the girl who got away and their seneis, you know, life. It’s their Pacino-De Niro coffee shop scene in Heat, their Chevy Chase-Bill Murray moment in Caddyshack. Just two regular guys trying to walk a mile in another man’s karate gi. But ultimately, each of them will always try to beat the other.
Zabka has put together a real layered performance. He plays Johnny with a sort of spiky charm like late era Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino) or Dennis Franz on NYPD Blue, with a banquet bottle of Coors in one hand and an outdated flip phone in the other. During their first lesson, he tells Miguel to “leave your asthma and your peanut allergies and all that other made-up bullshit outside.” For Johnny, there is honor in that, living life on his own terms, living in the past, because things were better then.
Cobra Kai is about the redemption of Johnny Lawrence. He is empowering a bunch of “wang-less dorks” to stand up for themselves, even if that means turning the bullied into bullies. He isn’t necessarily a good guy, but he is trying. Zabka, on the other hand, has fully evolved ideas about bullying.
The series is created and produced by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (the Harold & Kumar movies) and Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine), and they hold the Karate Kid callbacks mostly in check, but there is some waxing on and off and a trip to Golf N’ Stuff — enough to satisfy hardcore fans. In an era of prestige dramas full of anti-heroes and dark lighting, the Cobra producers have made something more authentic, aiming middle-high, closer to a mid-90s broadcast drama than an HBO series. They are not filmmakers, but they are storytellers.
There’s a scene in the final episode of Cobra Kai — and this is a spoiler alert — when Johnny sits at the desk in his dojo, washing down regret with Jim Beam after the latest All Valley Karate Championships. He has exorcised the ghosts of his past, but also invited them back into his life.
— Kevin Brewer
2. THE AMERICANS (FX)
After exploring the cold war of marriage and the nuclear threat of raising children for six seasons, The Americans delivered one of the best finales of all time. No series mixed music and images better, especially U2’s “With or Without You” and that final train sequence.
3. BETTER CALL SAUL (AMC)
There was a sadness in the moral devolution of Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) and Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), but plenty of glee in Jimmy and Kim’s elaborate con that freed Huell. Funny, heartbreaking, better than Breaking Bad. Oh, and those montages.
4. ONE DAY AT A TIME (Netflix)
The best live audience sitcom since, I don’t know, sometime in the 90s. It’s also one of Norman Lear’s best, but Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce run this timely reboot. Justin Machado’s performance honors mothers, veterans and all those who suffer from depression.
5. GLOW (Netflix)
Written by Nick Jones and Rachel Shukert and directed by Meera Menon, “The Good Twin” was my favorite episode of any series this year — an episode of the fictional G.L.O.W. wrapped inside an episode of GLOW that serviced the entire cast. WTF, Marc Maron is good.
6. BARRY (HBO)
Bill Hader replaced Louis C.K. as comedy’s preeminent polymath — writing, directing, producing and starring as a recovering hitman / wannabe actor and deftly walking the comedy-drama tightrope. Best moment: Henry Winkler finally got that Emmy.
7. BLACK MIRROR (Netflix)
The fourth season was released in the last few days of 2017. At its best, this sci-fi anthology set in the near-future is as good as The Twilight Zone. Its warnings against the dangers of technology feel both timely and eerily prescient. “USS Callister” was the highlight.
8. Pop culture documentaries
The year’s best documentaries focused on some of my favorite subjects: Garry Shandling (directed by Judd Apatow), Robin Williams, Andre the Giant, Johnny Cash (vs. Richard Nixon), Freaks and Geeks and Chris Rock’s Bring the Pain. Hidden gem: “Mork & Mindy” outtakes.
9. Don Giller’s YouTube channel (YouTube)
An archive of Late Night with David Letterman (1982-93) full of essentials, deep cuts and exhaustive collections. From Phil Hartman to “The Chris Elliott Jr. Show” to every time Dave called his mom, Giller’s digitized library kept me from my original programming to-do list.
One note | Atlanta was probably the best reviewed series of the year. It didn’t make my list, because I didn’t see it. Maybe next year.
My 2018 television diary …
January 1
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity
January 2
Todd Barry: Spicy Honey
January 3
Black Mirror [4.1]
Black Mirror [4.2]
January 4
Black Mirror [2.1]
Black Mirror [2.2]
Black Mirror [4.6]
January 5
Black Mirror [3.1]
Black Mirror [3.2]
Black Mirror [3.3]
Black Mirror [2014 special]
January 6
MOLLY’S GAME [2018]
January 11
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman [1.1] Barack Obama
January 12
Late Night with David Letterman [Jan. 5, 1993] Art Donovan, Al Franken, Carolyn Jabs
January 13
Saturday Night Live [43.10] Sam Rockwell
January 14
I, TONYA [2018]
January 15
Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story [2018]
January 18
Crashing [2.1]
January 19
REAL GENIUS [1985]
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.1]
January 20
Later with Bob Costas [April 4, 1989] Kevin Bacon
Later with Bob Costas [Feb. 5-6, 1992] Oliver Stone
Johnny Carson [Jan. 17, 1974] Robyn Hilton, Fernando Llamas, Richard Pryor, William Peter Blatty
January 21
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Norm Macdonald]
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Michael Richards]
January 25
Later with Bob Costas [May 24-25, 1989] Tom Snyder
Later with Bob Costas [Feb. 21, 1994] Tom Snyder
January 26
One Day at a Time [2.1]
One Day at a Time [2.2]
One Day at a Time [2.3]
One Day at a Time [2.4]
January 27
One Day at a Time [2.5]
One Day at a Time [2.6]
One Day at a Time [2.7]
One Day at a Time [2.8]
January 28
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.2]
Crashing [2.2]
One Day at a Time [2.9]
One Day at a Time [2.10]
One Day at a Time [2.11]
Crashing [2.3]
January 31
One Day at a Time [2.12]
One Day at a Time [2.13]
Doogie Howser, M.D. [3.24]
February 1
Barney Miller [2.11]
February 2
Johnny Carson [Feb. 1, 1989] Martin Short, Isabella Rosselini, Gene Fleming
February 3
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.3]
A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE [2018]
February 4
Crashing [2.4]
February 5
Nightline Up Close [July 2002] David Letterman
February 9
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman [1.2] George Clooney
February 11
Crashing [2.4]
February 17
ZOMBIELAND [2009]
February 18
Later with Bob Costas [March 21, 1991] Howard Stern / guest host: Tom Snyder
February 20
Crashing [2.5]
February 24
Later with Bob Costas [July 10, 1990] Don Hewitt, Part 2
Everything Sucks [1.1]
Everything Sucks [1.2]
Dinner for Five [4.1] David Milch, Jay Mohr, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Rapaport
Dinner for Five [2.12] Judd Apatow, Peter Berg, Famke Janessen, Paul Rudd
Dinner for Five [3.10] Danny Aiello, Delroy Lindo, Colin Quinn, John Waters
Dinner for Five [1.7] Saffron Burrows, Faizon Love, Michael Rapaport, Sarah Silverman
Dinner for Five [3.9] Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Charles Durning, Charles Nelson Reilly
Dinner for Five [3.6] Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Laura Dern, Ernie Hudson
February 25
Hiking with Kevin [2017] Bella Thorne
Cheers [1.5]
The Bob Newhart Show [2.7]
The Mary Tyler Moore Show [1.5]
Taxi [1.7]
February 27
Dinner for Five [3.14] Neve Campbell, Henry Winkler, Dave Foley, Jeff Garlin
Dinner for Five [4.10] Christina Ricci, Steven Drozd, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribisi
February 28
Dinner for Five [3.11] Alan Cumming, Amy Irving, Faizon Love, Isaac Mizrahi
Dinner for Five [3.12] David Cross, Philip Baker Hall, George Hickenlooper, Molly Shannon
Dinner for Five [3.13] Richard Donner, Ron Eldard, Michael Madsen, Ray Romano
Dinner for Five [2.7] Vince Vaughn, Rory Cochrane, Brian Cox, Cole Hauser
March 1
Dinner for Five [1.6] Sean Astin, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin James, Ray Romano
Dinner for Five [1.9] David Cross, Famke Janssen, Denis Leary, Martha Plimpton
March 2
Later with Bob Costas [xx] Glen Charles, Les Charles and James Burrows, Part 1
Later with Bob Costas [xx] Glen Charles, Les Charles and James Burrows, Part 2
March 3
Wrestlemania X [March 20, 1994]
March 10
Late Late Show with Tom Snyder [Feb. 28, 1996] Garry Shandling
March 18
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon [2015]
The Monday Night War: WWE vs. WCW [1.19] The Fall of WCW
March 19
The Monday Night War: WWE vs. WCW [1.6] The Hart of War
March 22
Ricky Gervais meets … Garry Shandling [2006]
March 25
Barry [1.1]
Silicon Valley [5.1]
March 27
The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, Part 1 [2018]
March 28
The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, Part 1 [2018]
March 29
The Americans [6.1]
April 1
Roseanne [10.2]
NYPD Blue [1.1]
NYPD Blue [1.2]
Silicon Valley [5.2]
Later with Bob Costas [Dec. 12, 1989] Steven Bochco
Later with Greg Kinnear [1996] Steven Bochco
April 2
Barry [1.2]
April 5
The Americans [6.2]
April 6
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman [1.4] Jay-Z
April 7
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.10] Geraldo Rivera, Louie Anderson
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Seth Meyers]
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks]
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Julia Louis-Dreyfus]
April 8
GAME NIGHT [2018]
April 9
Silicon Valley [5.3]
Barry [1.3]
April 10
Andre the Giant [HBO, 2018]
April 12
The Americans [6.3]
April 13
Conan [April 11, 2014] Conan in Italy with Jordan Schlansky
BORG vs. McENROE [2018]
April 14
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.11] Andy Cohen
April 15
Silicon Valley [5.4]
Barry [1.4]
April 17
Harry Anderson collection on Late Night, 1982-87
April 18
The Americans [6.4]
April 19
Cheers [11.19] Guest star | Harry Anderson
April 21
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.12]
NYPD Blue [1.22]
NYPD Blue [6.6]
NYPD Blue [6.7]
April 22
NYPD Blue [6.8]
Silicon Valley [5.5]
Barry [1.5]
NYPD Blue [1.5]
NYPD Blue [1.8]
April 23
Sports Century: Jimmy Connors
April 24
Larry King Now [2015] Andy Richter
April 25
The Americans [6.5]
April 26
Larry King Now [2015] Mark Harmon
April 27
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.13]
April 28
FRACTURE [2007]
April 28
Silicon Valley [5.6]
Barry [1.6]
May 2
The Americans [6.6]
Cobra Kai [1.1]
Cobra Kai [1.2]
Cobra Kai [1.3]
Cobra Kai [1.4]
Cobra Kai [1.5]
May 3
Cobra Kai [1.6]
Cobra Kai [1.7]
Cobra Kai [1.8]
Cobra Kai [1.9]
Cobra Kai [1.10]
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman [1.5] Tina Fey
May 5
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.14]
May 6
Silicon Valley [5.7]
Barry [1.7]
May 8
Cobra Kai [1.1]
Cobra Kai [1.2]
Larry King Now [2014] Cast of Silicon Valley
May 9
Cobra Kai [1.3]
Cobra Kai [1.4]
The Americans [6.7]
May 10
Cobra Kai [1.5]
May 12
Cobra Kai [1.6]
May 13
Silicon Valley [5.8]
Barry [1.8]
May 16
Cobra Kai [1.7]
May 17
The Americans [6.8]
HOT FUZZ [2007]
May 19
TROPIC THUNDER [2008]
MACHETE [2010]
May 21
Cobra Kai [1.9]
Cobra Kai [1.10]
May 24
The Americans [6.9]
May 28
DEADPOOL 2 [2018]
May 29
Sports Century: Jimmy Connors
May 30
The Americans [6.10]
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman [1.6] Howard Stern
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman [Bonus] Jerry Seinfeld
June 6
The Toys That Made Us [2.1] Star Trek
June 9
THE INFORMANT! [2009]
June 12
The Toys That Made Us [2.3] LEGO
The Toys That Made Us [2.4] Hello Kitty
June 15
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.19]
June 22
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.20]
June 23
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? [2018]
June 29
GLOW [2.1]
GLOW [2.2]
GLOW [2.3]
GLOW [2.4]
GLOW [2.5]
GLOW [2.6]
GLOW [2.7]
June 30
GLOW [2.8]
GLOW [2.9]
GLOW [2.10]
July 1
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.21]
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Jim Gaffigan]
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Fred Armisen]
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Garry Shandling]
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Cedric the Entertainer]
July 6
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.10] Kate McKinnon
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.6] Dana Carvey
July 7
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.1] Zach Galifianakis
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.2] Dave Chappelle
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.3] Ellen DeGeneres
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.4] Tracy Morgan
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.5] Brian Regan
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.7] Hasan Minhaj
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.8] Neal Brennan
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.9] John Mulaney
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.11] Alec Baldwin
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [2018.12] Jerry Lewis
July 8
Tom Snyder [Dec. 1, 1994] Bob Newhart, Calvert DeForest
July 10
Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal [2003]
July 14
OBSERVE AND REPORT [2009]
July 15
BATTLE OF THE SEXES [2017]
July 16
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind [2018]
Cultureshock: Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary [July 16, 2018]
August 4
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.22]
August 7
Better Call Saul [4.1]
August 10
Barney Miller [5.10] The Radical
August 11
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.23]
August 12
MISSISSIPPI GRIND [2015]
Barney Miller [6.9]
August 13
HITMAN HART: WRESTLING WITH SHADOWS [1998]
August 14
BLACKKKLANSMAN [2018]
Better Call Saul [4.2]
August 18
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.24]
August 25
GRAN TORINO [2008]
August 26
Remote Control [Dec. 10, 1987] LL Cool J, Weird Al Yankovic, Julie Brown
Remote Control [Dec. 14, 1987] Danny Bonaduce, Butch Patrick, Brandon Cruz
Remote Control [1988] Bob Eubanks
Remote Control [Sept. 23, 1989] Barry Williams, Susan Olsen, Eve Plumb
August 27
Better Call Saul [4.3]
August 28
Better Call Saul [4.4]
August 30
Don Rickles: One Night Only [2014]
September 1
DIE HARD [1988]
September 2
The Brady Bunch 35th Anniversary Reunion Special: Still Brady After All These Years [2004]
Brady: An American Chronicle [1995]
September 3
Ozark [2.1]
Ozark [2.2]
Ozark [2.3]
Ozark [2.4]
Ozark [2.5]
September 4
Better Call Saul [4.5]
Ozark [2.6]
Ozark [2.7]
Ozark [2.8]
Ozark [2.9]
Ozark [2.10]
September 8
THE BANDIT [2016]
Johnny Carson [Oct. 2, 1973] Dean Martin, Buddy Hackett, Burt Reynolds, Don Rickles, Carol Wayne
Dinner for Five [3.9] Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Charles Durning, Charles Nelson Reilly
September 9
Smokey and the Bandit [1977]
September 10
Better Call Saul [4.6]
September 15
Norm Macdonald Has a Show [1.1] David Spade
Norm Macdonald Has a Show [1.3] Judge Judy
Norm Macdonald Has a Show [1.4] David Letterman
Norm Macdonald Has a Show [1.6] Chevy Chase
Norm Macdonald Has a Show [1.8] Michael Keaton
Norm Macdonald Has a Show [1.10] Lorne Michaels
September 16
Norm Macdonald Has a Show [1.2] Drew Barrymore
September 17
Better Call Saul [4.7]
September 18
Public Enemy: Prophets of Rage [2011]
September 19
House of Strombo [Sept. 16, 2018] Beastie Boys
September 20
Johnny Cash vs. Music Row [Sept. 1, 2004]
September 22
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.28] Michael Moore
September 25
Better Call Saul [4.8]
September 27
Johnny Cash: American Rebel [2015]
September 29
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.29]
Tough Crowd [April 10, 2003] Jon Stewart, Nick DiPaolo, Jim Norton, Ellen Cleghorn
WHITE BOY RICK [2018]
October 2
Better Call Saul [4.9]
October 6
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.30] Jeff Bridges
The Nineties [1.1] The One About TV: Part 1
The Nineties [1.2] The One About TV: Part 1
The Nineties [1.3] Isn’t It Ironic?
October 7
The Nineties [1.4] The Comeback Kid
October 9
Better Call Saul [4.10]
October 13
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.31]
October 14
The Seventies [1.8] What’s Going On
October 19
Real Time with Bill Maher: Anniversary Special
October 27
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.32]
October 30
BLAZING SADDLES [1974]
November 1
RATTLE AND HUM [1988]
November 2
Hip-Hop Evolution [1.3] The New Guard
Hip-Hop Evolution [1.4] The Birth of Gangsta Rap
November 3
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.33]
Barney Miller [6.17]
November 9
ReMastered Track 2: Tricky Dick and the Man in Black [2018]
November 10
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.34]
November 11
Later with Bob Costas [Dec. 23, 1991] Chris Elliott
November 14
Larry King Now [Feb. 15, 2018] Stan Lee
November 17
Real Time with Bill Maher [16.35]
November 18
Hiking with Kevin [2018] Kate Beckinsale
November 23
Growing Pains [5.13]
November 24
Hiking with Kevin [2018] David Spade
Hiking with Kevin [2018] Kumail Nanjiani
December 2
Bumping Mics [1.1]
December 6
Cultureshock: Chris Rock’s “Bring the Pain” [Oct. 15, 2018]
December 7
Hiking with Kevin [2018] “Weird Al” Yankovic
