so i watched the two free episodes. its ok. William is a good actor. i really like the Johnny character. i think the producers are not sure of their audience. one the one hand there is really cheesy parts like " every customer gets a bonzai tree and we kick the competition and the chopping prices" on the other hand there is a lot of swear words that i wouldnt want my 7 year old to watch.
there is a lot of juxtapost positions between the two characters. i think we are going to see Jonny who is traditionally the bad guy in a better light. he is already showing a soft spot for the non cool kids. while it seems Daniel is going to be teaching the bullies who happen to be friends with his daughter. there is also an underlying contrast between time and culture. Daniel is a kind of lost innocence of the past but Johnny is a throw back from a time of hard core karate. in todays culture, media wise we have lost that innocence of Leave it to Beaver shows and idyllic sitcoms like the Cosby show and Family Ties where everything is very canned. but at the same time we have kids "with inhalers , peanut allergies and gender neutral roles" rock and roll is dead. the fact that the show uses swear words is in stark contrast to the original karate kid. i find this American culture contradictive counter play interesting. seems they are playing with achtypes