'Cobra Kai' season 4 has hit Netflix. Why NJ is at the heart of the 'Karate Kid' series

Growing up, Courtney Henggeler was a "Karate Kid" fan, because of course she was.

“Who wasn’t? What kid in the ’80s didn’t love ‘The Karate Kid?’ " said Henggeler. "Find me that child (who’s) an adult now. It still holds up, it’s a solid freakin’ movie.”

In recent years, Henggeler has gone from being a fan of the "Karate Kid" franchise to being a part of it. She co-stars on the hit Netflix series "Cobra Kai" as Amanda LaRusso, the wife of original series protagonist Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio.

The series, set to launch its fourth season on Dec. 31, has connected with original fans of the first, Oscar-nominated film from 1984, as well as with a generation of viewers.

“I’m just in awe of the age ranges of people (who are into the show)," said Henggeler. "Because I expect people my age to be familiar with it because we all loved ‘The Karate Kid.’ But I find cousins or other family members or friends of friends being like, ‘Oh my God, my 8-year-old loves ‘Cobra Kai’ and I’m like, ‘You let your 8-year-old watch “Cobra Kai?”’ But they do. It’s got something for everybody."

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Picking up the story decades after Macchio's Daniel LaRusso faced off against Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka, at the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, "Cobra Kai" is an increasingly sprawling saga of multi-generational conflict and the quest for balance.

While classic characters such as original antagonist John Kreese (played by Martin Kove) are on hand, much of the show's focus is crucially directed toward a new generation of characters, including Daniel and Amanda's daughter Samatha (Mary Mouser), Johnny's son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and their fellow karate students such as Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), Tory (Peyton List), Demitri (Gianni Decenzo) and Hawk (Jacob Bertrand).

"... They’ve written this whole entire new story and a whole bunch of new characters that no one’s ever seen before that everyone’s very invested in because the young adults in our show are just charming and their storylines are so relatable and adorable," Henggeler said. "I think that’s what it is: You can find something that you’ll be drawn into at any level of our show.”

For co-writer and executive producer Hayden Schlossberg, the potential for ever-evolving, constantly expanding storylines throughout "Cobra Kai" can be traced back to Robert Mark Kamen's original screenplay for "The Karate Kid."

"There are classic themes in it that mirror epic storytelling like ‘Star Wars,’ where you have mentors and students and heroes and antagonists," said Schlossberg. "In a lot of ways, ‘The Karate Kid’ is a David and Goliath story that was for kids in the '80s that probably weren’t reading the Bible as much. So it has this grandeur to it underneath an '80s teen romance.”

Henggeler was born in Phillipsburg, and raised in Pennsylvania and Long Island, New York. Her co-starring role in "Cobra Kai" is just one component to the thorough New Jersey-ness of the franchise.

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John G. Avildsen’s original "Katate Kid" opens in Newark and is the story of Daniel, a Jersey kid, adjusting to life across the country in Los Angeles. There he meets Ali played by Elisabeth Shue, an actress who grew up in South Orange and returned for the third season of "Cobra Kai" in 2020.

“Cobra Kai,” in turn, is written and executive-produced by a trifecta of Jersey guys: Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayen Schlossberg. Heald, the writer of the "Hot Tub Time Machine" franchise, grew up in Middletown, while Hurwitz and Schlossberg from Randolph created the successful "Harold and Kumar" series.

For four seasons and counting, Henggeler has served as an essential grounding force in "Cobra Kai," her East Coast candor providing consistent reality checks as she watches her husband, her daughter and countless others in her community get caught up in a decades-long, ever-escalating war between rival karate dojos.

“We connected with Courtney from day one," said Hurwitz. "She feels very much like family and like the friends that we all grew up with. So instantaneously there was this shorthand in terms of working together. That character, from the beginning, has always been designed as sort of a grounding presence, someone who didn’t grow up in the karate wars and can take that step back and recognize that it’s a little odd that people are so obsessed with karate in the Valley.

"And (she) can kind of be that voice of the audience who is able to take that fun step back and always with a comedic point of view point out the ridiculousness of what’s going on as we’re all deeply emotionally invested in the story."

Henggeler initially existed in her own storytelling pocket of "Cobra Kai," usually in scenes opposite Macchio in or about the LaRusso family auto dealership. But starting with her conflict with Kove's Kreese in Season Three, the character of Amanda LaRusso has gravitated ever-closer to the center of the show's martial arts action.

“I think people from New Jersey have a little bit of a ‘no b.s.’ attitude about things and they keep it real," said Hurwitz. "And Amanda LaRusso, even though the character may not be from New Jersey, the actress who’s portraying her, Courtney, certainly brings those East Coast vibes with her."

The "Cobra Kai" story is set to continue for quite some time to come. In addition to the series' fourth season dropping on New Year's Eve, production just wrapped on Season Five.

“This is what we dreamed of from the beginning," said Hurwitz, "to be able to tell many seasons of this show and we’ve had a long story to tell from day one and always had maybe a naïve confidence that we would get here.”

That dream, Heald explained, also includes a planned conclusion — but don't expect a finale any time soon.

“Our grand plan for the show has always included an endpoint that the three of us have discussed and continue to dig down on over the years," said Heald. "For us, it’s important that a story does have an ending and isn’t left open-ended or isn’t left to fade away."

Season Four of "Cobra Kai" debuts Friday, Dec. 31, on Netflix. Visit netflix.com/CobraKai for more information.

Alex Biese has been writing about art, entertainment, culture and news on a local and national level for more than 15 years.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Cobra Kai Season 4 debuts on Netflix Dec. 31 with NJ at its heart