Photos have just arrived for the winter premiere of CBS’s MacGyver, “Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason.” Season five episode four was directed by guest star Peter Weller from a script by Justin Lisson and Sophia Lopez, and is set to air on Friday, January 8, 2021 at 8pm ET/PT.
Lucas Till stars as Angus “Mac” MacGyver, Tristin Mays plays Riley Davis, and Justin Hires is Wilt Bozer. Meredith Eaton is Matty Weber, Levy Tran is Desi Nguyen, and Henry Ian Cusick plays Russ Taylor.
Ben Wang, Corey Jung, Dollar Tan, Gloria Tsai, Paul Yen, Michael Paul Chan, Page Leong, and Bill Smitrovich guest star.
“Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason” Plot: Mac’s meeting with Desi’s parents goes sideways when her brother finds himself in trouble and desperately needs their help. Also, Russ and Matty must ask an old nemesis for assistance when their new recruitment candidate is kidnapped.
Series Description, Courtesy of CBS:
MacGyver, a reimagining of the classic series, is an action-adventure drama about 20-something Angus “Mac” MacGyver, who is part of a clandestine organization within the U.S. government, where he uses his extraordinary talent for unconventional problem-solving and vast scientific knowledge to save lives. Joining his team on high-risk missions around the globe are Riley Davis, an unpredictable computer hacker with a chip on her shoulder; Wilt Bozer, Mac’s roommate and an agent on the team; Matty Weber, a legend in Covert Ops and the director of operations at the Phoenix Foundation; Desi Nguyen, whose job is to protect MacGyver and his team on their global missions; and Russ Taylor, quick-witted, Oxford-educated, ex-military skilled in propaganda and lie detection, who shakes things up by challenging the way MacGyver and the team are used to doing things.
Under the aegis of the Phoenix Foundation, MacGyver takes on the responsibility of saving the world, armed to the teeth with resourcefulness and little more than bubble gum and a paper clip.
The two and a half minute official trailer for One Night in Miami introduces the movie’s key players: Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, and Malcolm X. The Amazon Studios film marks the feature film directorial debut of Oscar winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) and has been generating awards buzz leading up to its January 8, 2021 premiere in limited theaters.
The cast is led by Eli Goree as Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke, and Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown. Joaquina Kalukango, Nicolette Robinson, Beau Bridges, and Lance Reddick also star in the R-rated drama.
Kemp Powers adapted his award-winning play for the screen. Powers also recently wrote and co-directed Pixar’s critically acclaimed 2020 release, Soul. Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, and Jody Klein served as producers.
One Night in Miami will be available on Amazon Prime Video beginning January 15th.
Leslie Odom Jr., Eli Goree, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Aldis Hodge star in ‘One Night in Miami’ (Photo Credit: Amazon Studios)
The Plot, Courtesy of Amazon Studios:
On one incredible night in 1964, four icons of sports, music, and activism gathered to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. When underdog Cassius Clay, soon to be called Muhammad Ali, defeats heavy weight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall, Clay memorialized the event with three of his friends: Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown.
Based on the award-winning play of the same name, and directed by Regina King, One Night In Miami… is a fictional account inspired by the historic night these four formidable figures spent together. It looks at the struggles these men faced and the vital role they each played in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 1960s. More than 40 years later, their conversations on racial injustice, religion, and personal responsibility still resonate.
Season five of The CW’s Riverdale begins with the gang still in high school and preparing for their senior prom. Episode 1, “Climax,” which picks up the story after an abbreviated season four (due to the Covid-19 pandemic), was directed by Pamela Romanowsky from a script by Ace Hasan and Greg Murray and will air on January 20, 2021 at 8pm ET/PT.
The cast of season five includes KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones. Madelaine Petsch is Cheryl Blossom, Marisol Nichols is Hermione Lodge, Mӓdchen Amick is Alice Cooper, Casey Cott is Kevin Keller, Mark Consuelos is Hiram Lodge, Skeet Ulrich is FP Jones, Charles Melton is Reggie Mantle, Drew Ray Tanner is Fangs Fogarty, and Vanessa Morgan plays Toni Topaz.
“Chapter Seventy-Seven: Climax” Plot: PROM NIGHT INTERRUPTED — Betty (Reinhart) and Jughead’s (Sprouse) investigation into the auteur leads them to the discovery of a secret underground for red-band screenings. Elsewhere, in order to impress the visiting Naval Academy Commandant, Archie (Apa) agrees to participate in a boxing exhibition against another candidate – KO Kelly (guest star Zane Holtz).
Meanwhile, as Cheryl (Petsch) prepares for prom, she stumbles upon a major secret that Toni’s (Morgan) been keeping from her.
Season 5 Description, Courtesy of The CW:
The fourth season of Riverdale began with a funeral and tribute to Archie’s late father, the beloved Fred Andrews (Luke Perry). Throughout the season, Archie (KJ Apa) tried to live up to his father’s memory by mentoring youths at his Community Center with the help of his pals Reggie and Munroe Moore. But the shadow of that tragedy loomed over Archie—and only darkened when Fred’s brother Frank arrived, bringing unforeseen complications with him, much to the chagrin of Archie’s mother (Molly Ringwald).
Meanwhile, after Betty saved her mom and sister from the Farm cult, she joined her brother Charles’s Junior F.B.I. Training Program. Veronica found herself locked in a season-long battle with her father Hiram and half-sister Hermosa over her burgeoning maple rum business. And, at the urging on FP, Jughead enrolled in a new school, Stonewall Prep, only to be caught up in a mystery that involved his grandfather, the secret author of a series of teen detective novels called “The Baxter Brothers.” His classmates turned out to be killers—and it was up to Betty and Jughead (pretending to be dead) to solve the murder of…Jughead Jones!
At Thistlehouse, Cheryl was trapped in a gothic nightmare, fighting her demons, literal and metaphoric, with the loving support of her girlfriend Toni. She finally put her brother Jason to rest while maintaining her control over the Vixens as resident HBIC against Principal Honey (Kerr Smith). Kevin got dragged into an illicit tickle scheme, but still found time to put on a Variety Show with hit songs from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
And throughout the season, disturbing unmarked videotapes kept appearing on our characters’ doorsteps, ensuring that there would be one more mystery to solve.
Season five of Riverdale will begin with our characters’ final days as students at Riverdale High. From an epic Senior Prom to a bittersweet Graduation, there are a lot of emotional moments and goodbyes yet to come — with some couples breaking up, as everyone goes their separate ways to college — or elsewhere. Then, we will redock with our gang as young adults, all returning to Riverdale to escape their troubled pasts. And life — and romance — will only be more complicated now that they’re in their twenties…
The CW’s Batwoman returns for a second season on Sunday, January 17, 2021 at 8pm ET/PT. Season two episode one introduces us to the new lead character Ryan Wilder, played by Javicia Leslie. Episode one, “What Happened to Kate Kane?,” will explain the introduction of Ryan as Batwoman while acknowledging Kate Kane (played by Ruby Rose who chose not to stick around for another season) is missing.
Episode one was directed by Holly Dale from a script by Caroline Dries.
In addition to Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder/Batwoman, the season two cast includes Rachel Skarsten as Alice, Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane, Camrus Johnson as Luke Fox, Nicole Kang as Mary Hamilton, and Meagan Tandy as Sophie Moore.
“What Happened to Kate Kane?” Plot: GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – Kate’s friends and family hold on to hope that Kate may still be found, a homeless 25-year-old named Ryan Wilder (Leslie) stumbles upon Kate’s Batsuit. Focused on no longer being a victim, Ryan takes the suit to use as armor and goes rogue in the streets of Gotham, taking out various members of a new gang called the False Face Society.
Meanwhile, both Jacob Kane (Scott) and Luke Fox (Johnson) launch searches for Kate, Mary Hamilton (Kang) grapples with losing yet another family member, Sophie Moore (Tandy) struggles with things left unsaid to her first love, and Alice (Skarsten) is furious that someone got to Kate before she could exact her revenge. At the same time, “Bruce Wayne” (guest star Warren Christie) returns under the pretense of searching for Kate, but the truth is he wants his suit back and it becomes the clash of imposters as “Batwoman” and “Bruce” square off in the action-packed season premiere.
The new one-minute TV spot for Disney+ and Marvel Studios’ WandaVision begins with Wanda pointing out they don’t have wedding rings or an official couple song. Vision quickly remedies the lack of wedding rings just as a classic sitcom-y theme song starts playing. The clip ends with Vision saying, “And they lived happily ever after,” while Agnes declares, “Oh, this is going to be a gas!”
Disney+ is set to launch the nine-episode first season on January 16, 2021.
Elizabeth Olsen reprises her role as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany slips back into Vision. The cast also includes Thor‘s Kat Dennings as Darcy and Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s Randall Park as Jimmy Woo. Kathryn Hahn plays Agnes and Captain Marvel‘s Teyonah Parris stars as Monica Rambeau.
WandaVision marks the first Marvel Studios show made exclusively for Disney+. Matt Shakman directed season one and Jac Schaeffer served as the head writer. Oscar winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Frozen, Coco) wrote the show’s theme songs and Christophe Beck handled the score.
“WandaVision is such a cool, strange, one-of-a-kind project,” said Robert Lopez, commenting on the songs. “When the director, Matt Shakman—an old friend from my college days—pitched it to us, we didn’t have to think about it. We loved the bright feeling of American sitcoms mixed with the deep sense of unease the story had, and it was a really inviting challenge to help set that tone.”
“I grew up in the ’80s watching shows from every decade on the networks all day long. Episodes from I Love Lucy, Brady Bunch and Family Ties shaped who I am and how I move through the world. So this project was a dream come true,” added Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
Elizabeth Olsen is Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany is Vision in Marvel Studios’ ‘WandaVision,’ exclusively on Disney+.
The Plot, Courtesy of Disney+:
Marvel Studios’ WandaVision is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision — two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives — begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
Four-time Emmy Award winner Chris Rock and Netflix just announced the upcoming release of an extended cut of Rock’s Tamborine. The Grammy-nominated Tamborine special was originally released in February 2018. The “remix” version will premiere on Netflix on Saturday, January 12, 2021.
Per Netflix, Chris Rock: Total Blackout, The Tamborine Extended Cut finds Rock “taking the stage with searing observations on race, fatherhood, and politics. The extended cut includes never-before-seen jokes, interviews, and behind the scenes footage.”
Bo Burnham, currently seen starring opposite Carey Mulligan in the critically acclaimed drama Promising Young Woman, directed Rock’s 2018 stand-up comedy special filmed at New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Burnham’s credits also include the award-winning coming-of-age comedy/drama Eighth Grade.
Chris Rock was most recently seen starring as Loy Cannon in season four of FX’s Fargo. Rock’s credits also include Dolemite is My Name, The Week Of, Top Five, and What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
Chris Rock on stage in ‘Tamborine’ (Photo Credit: Netflix)
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (of which I’m a proud member) bucked the trend and stuck with their 2020 awards nomination announcement date. While the Oscars, Critics Choice Awards, and Golden Globes opted to delay their announcements and awards presentations until early 2021, AWFJ moved forward with their normal December nominations. The winners are set to be announced on January 4, 2021.
Nomadland leads this year’s pack of nominees, scoring nine nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Woman Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Woman Screenwriter, and Best Actress (Frances McDormand). Regina King’s riveting One Night in Miami followed close behind with eight nominations, picking up Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Leslie Odom Jr), and Best Ensemble nods. The critically acclaimed drama Promising Young Woman earned its writer and director, Emerald Fennell, Best Original Screenplay, Best Woman Director, Best Director, and Best Woman Screenwriter nominations. Promising Young Woman also scored Best Film and Best Actress (Carey Mulligan) nominations.
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ 14th annual EDA Awards are divided into three sections – Best Of, Female Focus, and Special Mention – and offer 25 different categories. 92 voting members selected this year’s nominees representing the best in films of 2020.
AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS NOMINEES – These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration.
Best Film
• MINARI
• NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
• NOMADLAND
• ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
• PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Best Director
• Emerald Fennell – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
• Regina King – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
• Kelly Reichardt – FIRST COW
• Aaron Sorkin – TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
• Chloe Zhao – NOMADLAND
Best Screenplay, Original
• MANK – Jack Fincher
• PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN – Emerald Fennell
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – Aaron Sorkin
Best Screenplay, Adapted
• FIRST COW – Kelly Reichardt and Jon Raymond
• NOMADLAND – Chloe Zhao
• ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – Kemp Powers
Best Documentary
• ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY
• ATHLETE A
• CRIP CAMP
• THE PAINTER AND THE THIEF
• TIME
Best Animated Film
• OVER THE MOON
• SOUL
• WOLFWALKERS
Best Actress
• Viola Davis – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
• Vanessa Kirby – PIECES OF A WOMAN
• Frances McDormand – NOMADLAND
• Carey Mulligan – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Maria Bakalova – BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
• Ellen Burstyn – PIECES OF A WOMAN
• Amanda Seyfried – MANK
• Yuh-Jung Youn – MINARI
Best Actor
• Riz Ahmed – SOUND OF METAL
• Chadwick Boseman – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
• Delroy Lindo – DA 5 BLOODS
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
• Sacha Baron Cohen – THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
• Bill Murray – ON THE ROCKS
• Leslie Odom Jr – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director
• DA 5 BLOODS – Kim Coleman
• ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – Kimberly Hardin
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – Francine Maisler
Best Cinematography
• MANK – Erik Messerschmidt
• NOMADLAND – Joshua James Richards
• ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – Tami Reiker
Best Editing
• ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – Tariq Anwar
• NOMADLAND – Chloe Zhao
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – Alan Baumgarten
Best Non-English-Language Film
• ANOTHER ROUND – Denmark
• BEANPOLE – Russia
• THE MOLE AGENT – Chile
• THE PAINTED BIRD – Czech Republic
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS – These awards honor WOMEN only
Best Woman Director
• Emerald Fennell – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
• Eliza Hittman – NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
• Regina King – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
• Channing Godfrey Peoples – MISS JUNETEENTH
• Kelly Reichardt – FIRST COW
• Chloe Zhao – NOMADLAND
Best Woman Screenwriter
• Radha Blank – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
• Emerald Fennell – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
• Eliza Hittman – NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
• Chloe Zhao – NOMADLAND
Best Animated Female
• 22 in SOUL, Tina Fey
• Mebh Óg MacTíre in WOLFWALKERS, Eva Whittaker
• Robyn Goodfellowe in WOLFWALKERS, Honor Kneafsey
Best Woman’s Breakthrough Performance
• Radha Blank – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
• Sidney Flanigan – NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
• Helena Zengel – NEWS OF THE WORLD
Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry
All female heads of film festivals who successfully transitioned from live to online events to sustain festival culture through the pandemic.
All indie female writers and directors who normalized abortion as a vital element in the cultural conversation in films such as SAINT FRANCES, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS, SISTER OF THE GROOM, ONCE UPON A RIVER, THE GLORIAS and others.
Emerald Fennell for creating a film that forces empathy to put an end to the toxic sexist rape culture pervasive through modern history.
Sophia Loren for a brilliant comeback at age 86 in THE LIFE AHEAD, the latest in her record-setting career. Loren won a Best Actress Oscar in 1962 for TWO WOMEN and was the first actor to win for a foreign language movie. She was also nominated in 1965 for MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE. If she’s nominated in 2021, it will be a 56-year span between her two most recent nominations – the current record is held by Henry Fonda, who had a 41-year gap between nominations.
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
Grand Dame Award for defying agism
• Ellen Burstyn – PIECES OF A WOMAN
• Tsai Chin – LUCKY GRANDMA
• Sophia Loren – THE LIFE AHEAD
• Frances McDormand – NOMADLAND
Most Egregious Lovers’ Age Difference Award
• THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY – Elizabeth Debicki and Claes Bang (23 years)
• DEVIL ALL THE TIME – Riley Keough and Jason Clarke (20 years)
• MANK – Amanda Seyfried and Charles Dance (39 years), Gary Oldman (27 years)
• TENET – Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh (30 years)
She Deserves A New Agent Award
• Rose Byrne – LIKE A BOSS
• Tiffany Haddish – LIKE A BOSS
• Katie Holmes – DARE TO DREAM
• Uma Thurman – WAR WITH GRANDPA
Most Daring Performance Award
• Maria Bakalova – BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
• Haley Bennett – SWALLOW
• Vanessa Kirby – PIECES OF A WOMAN
• Elisabeth Moss – INVISIBLE MAN
• Carey Mulligan – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Time Waster Remake or Sequel Award
• THE CROODS: A NEW AGE
• DOOLITTLE
• REBECCA
AWFJ Hall of Shame Award
• Shia LaBeouf for his ongoing abusive behavior
• Christopher Nolan for insisting that TENET be screened exclusively in theaters during a pandemic.
• Dallas Sonnier and Adam Donaghey at Cinestate for sexual harassment and abuse, and cover up.
Just when Kiernan Shipka’s Sabrina has truly, absolutely hit her stride, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comes to an end. Season four, premiering on December 31, 2020, is the show’s best season, so a little solace can be found in knowing the series is going out with a bang and not a whimper.
Kiernan Shipka splits her time in season four as Sabrina Spellman and Sabrina Morningstar. Sabrina #1 is a high school student who shares much in common with your normal, average, everyday teen, albeit one with incredible power. Life can be hell when you’re not sure of your place anymore among your closest friends. Sabrina #2’s life is literally hell as she rules the underworld with her hunky but not-so-charming hubby, Caliban (Sam Corlett).
Sabrina being Sabrina, she’s not about to follow the rules and jumps at the opportunity to interact with her other self. This interaction is foretold to have grave consequences, but when you’re battling the Eldritch Terrors all bets are off, and drastic steps must be taken.
And speaking of the dreaded Eldritch Terrors, each new Terror is a real treat to behold (the monster effects are stunning) and each takes up an episode to battle. The Eldritch Terrors plotline also allows Richard Coyle as Faustus Blackwood to have a field day bringing the evil this final season.
The fourth and final season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has a devil-may-care attitude, throwing in massive plot twists and exploring new avenues, all while acknowledging the endgame throughout its eight explosive episodes. There’s not a sour note or wrong step anywhere to be found in this final season. There’s also not a moment wasted feeding us unnecessary red herrings, despite the vibe you might have picked up from the promotional videos. The clip featuring Sabrina’s other aunties not only makes complete sense in context, but it also feeds into a pivotal plot twist.
There’s a sense of urgency streaming through season four, yet the writing team never fails to find the humor in the many bizarre situations the Sabrinas and their friends are thrust into. Season four even manages to squeeze in a satanic version of the Battle of the Bands, giving our teenage heroes a chance to show off their vocal ranges without arbitrarily inserting musical numbers into an episode.
These last eight episodes are, as they should be, driven by Kiernan Shipka’s terrific performance. Shipka’s evolved as an actress over the four seasons, and this final outing as Sabrina is her best work to date. Sabrina’s loyal and fierce, heartbreakingly vulnerable at times yet always quick-witted and determined. Each of her continuously shifting moods is captured perfectly in Shipka’s performance.
There’s a little less for Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, and Michelle Gomez to do in this final season yet their impacts are still felt. Season four’s really all about the younger cast, with Gavin Leatherwood’s Nick Scratch getting more of a showcase than anticipated. Nick also gets the show’s best arc – other than Sabrina’s, of course.
It’s a real shame to be saying goodbye to Sabrina, Zelda, Hilda, Ambrose, Harvey, Susie, Rosalind, Prudence, Lilith, Nick, and the rest of the colorful characters we’ve come to love (or hate) just when the series is firing on all cylinders. We can hold out hope for a resurrection of at least some of the younger characters showing up on Riverdale and adding some much-needed energy to that The CW series. (A Twitter campaign for a belated Sabrina crossover couldn’t hurt.) But if this is the last outing for these actors in these Archie Comics-inspired characters, then know they’ve gone out with series-best performances.
The final season – and episode eight in particular – takes us on an emotional rollercoaster of a ride, one fans will regret has come to an end. Capping it off, episode eight delivers an unexpected yet completely logical payoff to four seasons of Sabrina watching and ranks as one of the show’s finest hours.
Seasons one and two of the critically acclaimed action-drama Cobra Kai starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka were part of YouTube’s original programming lineup. The much-anticipated third season will debut exclusively on Netflix beginning on January 1, 2021, a week earlier than previously planned. Season two premiered on April 24, 2019 which means by the time season three’s 10 new episodes arrive, nearly two years will have passed since the season two cliffhanger which found Johnny Lawrence losing his dojo to Kress and Miguel gravely injured at the hands of Johnny’s son, Robby.
Back before the Covid-19 pandemic canceled large gatherings, William Zabka joined his Cobra Kai co-stars to discuss the show’s third season at the San Diego Comic-Con. During our short roundtable interview, Zabka reflected on The Karate Kid‘s legacy, Johnny Lawrence’s character arc, and where the story will pick up when season three arrives on January 1, 2021.
Will season three delve into the missing years in Johnny Lawrence’s life that we still haven’t seen?
William Zabka: “Yeah, I think we’re going to see some. We filled in a little bit of the blanks and let you see a little bit. I think we’re going to go and explore the origins of Miyagi-Do; I think Daniel has a trip to Okinawa in him somewhere. We’re going to find out where Cobra Kai came from – the origins of that. And we will learn more about Johnny, sure, as his layers are revealed.”
Johnny came into season one and didn’t have a lot going for him. As soon as he builds his dojo up, it’s like he’s knocked back down – again – in season two.
William Zabka: (Laughing) “He’s even worse off than where he started. It’s been an incredible ride and it’s been painful, I’ve got to be honest. Playing the character, I’m rooting for this guy to make it. I want this guy to come out on top. I want him to have a break. I want him to have a girl, have a car that’s decent. So, yeah.
But it’s great. He shed his skin. All of season two was pretty much Johnny shedding his skin. When he opened Cobra Kai up, I always said, ‘Why is he going to open Cobra Kai up after what happened in his past?’ Well, he’s going to try and apply it differently. So, when I went into season one and I opened the dojo up, I knew Kress was coming back but I didn’t know what effect he was going to have on Johnny. But I knew Johnny and Kress loved each other. I knew Martin (Kove) and I as actors love each other. I thought it’s going to be a really cool yin and yang, give and take. But what ended up happening is it’s like Pandora’s box and the snake came back out and the snake bit him again. And Johnny got sick and he’s now off the beach, in the bottle, and he’s shed his skin. He’s brand new.
So, yeah, he’s set back before previously season one and he’s got a long way to go. But his eyes are open right now and that’s a dangerous place. He’s going to be a different guy; he’s a new guy even from then to now in season one and even now going into season three. He’s educated – he’s a little bit more advanced. But he kind of can’t help but degenerate himself.”
Is there someone in season three Johnny can turn to for help or is he on his own?
William Zabka: “There’s not many people around him, really. But, yeah, if you think of season two – there are a few people that are in his life. You can comb through that season…episode six.”
Were you expecting the huge fan response to season two?
William Zabka: “No. I was blown away by what happened in season one. We just put our hearts into it. You don’t think about all (that). It’s like doing a play or whatever; everyone’s out there but you can’t see it. The lights are on and you’re doing your thing and then you hear them clapping, like, ‘People are liking this.’ It’s incredible.
I didn’t expect it. We had a good idea coming into season two there would be an expectation that if anything it would be harder because season one was such a surprise, I think, to people. Then season two was like, ‘Okay, can you do it again or was that an accident?’”
Why after 35 years do we still care about The Karate Kid the way we do?
William Zabka: “Well, this movie’s been passed down for generations. It’s part of our culture, in a way. But I think that the thing is that it transcends martial arts and it’s a story of father-son, it’s a story of a mentor, it’s a story of finding your Yoda, of overcoming your obstacles. And the characters are beloved and the movie’s beloved. And so why we care…I don’t know except they reflect reality in a way, they reflect humanity.
And that’s what this show’s doing, I think, with all the characters. Nobody’s all good, nobody’s all bad. There’s a lot of grey areas. Everybody’s got their struggles but everybody’s putting their best foot forward. People relate to that on a human level. I think what The Karate Kid touched on is something where everybody was Daniel LaRusso for a minute. Everybody lived vicariously through him and Miyagi was their personal trainer.
Everybody longs for that moment of epiphany and climax in their life where they did it. I think The Karate Kid gave everybody that emotion. I don’t know many other movies that have done that where at the ending you just light up inside the first time you see it. In movie theaters people were standing up and screaming, and kids were doing karate kicks and stuff. That’s the magic of cinema.
It’s a Rocky thing. It’s an emotional, ethereal thing and that’s what art’s intended to do and does when it works. It’s incredible. It’s like a song. It’s like why do we still love listening to REO Speedwagon or Van Halen? And then if you can build on that and make it relevant to today, then you’ve got all that good feeling from yesterday and it’s also working today. We’re all benefiting from it.”
What has it been like stepping back into this character three decades after The Karate Kid?
William Zabka: “Well, he’s the same guy but he’s also a different guy. You know, if you were going and picking up The Karate Kid where it left off and I had to go back, hypothetically, the next week or something – there’s 35 years of life, so he’s a new guy. But to step back into the skin of Johnny Lawrence and put the headband on in the dojo, saying the mantras – walking around saying, ‘No mercy’ and ‘Strike first, strike hard’ – it’s intense. It’s awesome.”
How did they pitch this evolution of the story? Were you excited or did they have to entice you?
William Zabka: “I was completely blindsided by their pitch. They asked me to lunch and I thought, sure. They said, ‘We have a great story we want to pitch to you.’ I was tentative about it but excited. Something came alive inside me. (Laughing) They kind of pitched to me that if it wasn’t a continuation of Karate Kid it would be like Bad Sensei – like Bad Santa but a Bad Sensei kind of thing.
I said the one thing that I don’t want to do is I don’t want to do a thing where he’s going to double-down on being the biggest jerk of all time. If you’re setting him up to take the ultimate fall and prove once and for all that he’s just a rotten egg – I’ve dealt with it and I don’t want to do it. If you’re going to redeem him and give him some arc… They promised me that and that’s where they came from. They had a love for the character in the film and really delivered on that.”
The CW’s set to premiere the CBC Original series Trickster on January 12, 2021. The drama joins the network’s midseason primetime schedule in the Tuesdays at 9pm ET/PT timeslot, with season one episode one premiering following back-to-back episodes of Two Sentence Horror Stories.
Episode one was directed by series co-creator/executive producer Michelle Latimer (Rise) from a script she co-wrote with fellow co-creator/executive producer Tony Elliott (Orphan Black). Sienna Films’ Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny also serve as executive producers.
The season one cast is led by Joel Oulette as Jared and Crystle Lightning as Maggie. Kalani Queypo plays Wade, Anna Lambe is Sarah, Nahan Alexis is Crashpad, Joel Thomas Hynes plays Richie, Craig Lauzon is Phil, Georgina Lightning is Sophia, and Gail Maurice stars as Georgina.
“Episode 1” SERIES PREMIERE – When a drug dealer threatens his mom (Lightning) over an outstanding debt, Jared (Oulette) struggles to come up with the money to save her, while frightening hallucinations hint at much bigger troubles lurking right around the corner.
Season One Description, Courtesy of The CW:
The CW’s new drama Trickster, based on the bestselling trilogy of novels by Eden Robinson, tells the story of the Indigenous Gothic, spirits, ancient magic, deadly rites of passage in a coming of age story unlike any you’ve ever seen.
Jared is an Indigenous teen struggling to keep his dysfunctional family above water. Jared holds down an after-school job and cooks ecstasy on the side to support his separated parents: partying mom Maggie, who self-medicates an undiagnosed mental illness, and unemployable dad Phil, who has a painkiller addiction and a new girlfriend. But when Jared starts seeing strange things – talking ravens, doppelgängers, skin monsters – his already chaotic life is turned upside down.
At first, he thinks he’s losing his mind, but to his relief, and terror, the supernatural events surrounding him are all too real. There is more than meets the eye to the place Jared grew up, the people he loves – and to Jared himself.
