"The Emmys aren’t until September, but I’m kicking off the Nominate Cobra Kai Movement now," says Lorraine Ali. "Season 4 of Netflix’s martial arts series, and more pointedly its lead William Zabka, should be top contenders in the comedy categories. If I could end this paragraph with a low roundhouse kick and knee strike to drive my point home, I would." Cobra Kai, she notes, may have landed a comedy series Emmy nomination last year, "but the action may have distracted voters from Cobra Kai’s strength as an inventive, cohesive series that over four seasons has refined its comedic rhythm like its characters have perfected their fighting skills. At the forefront of the charge is series lead and co-executive producer William Zabka" in reprising his rich-kid bully Johnny Lawrence role with his and Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso's Karate Kid fortunes reversed. "Johnny’s glacial self-improvement — two good deeds forward, three six-packs back — could have become a mere shtick in another performer’s hands," says Ali. "But Zabka has craftily pushed the stubborn character to grow without forfeiting Johnny’s dude-like essence. Though set in his ways, the All-Valley tournament champ is never the same from season to season, despite his penchant for Judas Priest cranked to 11 and Manwiches seasoned with beef jerky. He is the heart and soul of the show." Ali adds: "Thanks largely to Zabka, Cobra Kai is a comedy that needs to be taken seriously."
