CURTIS BONDS BAKER/NETFLIX(LOS ANGELES) — Cobra Kai fans rang in the New Year with a welcome delight. The third season of the wildly popular series debuted on Netflix on January 1 — a full week earlier than scheduled.
The series, a continuation of the Karate Kid trilogy, picks up 34 years after bully Johnny Lawrence’s fall from grace. Lawrence, played by Billy Zabka, tries to turn his life around by opening his own dojo, which reignites the feud with his nemesis — Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio).
Zabka isn’t surprised by the series’ success, which has already been green-lit for a fourth season on Netflix. He says one of the show’s strengths is its themes of redemption and forgiveness that resonate off-screen, as well.
“You can never judge somebody by a moment of their life,” Zabka tells ABC Audio, referencing his own character’s struggles to overcome the challenges of adulthood. “I’m all about second chances and third, fourth and fifth chances as long as you’re falling forward and… trying to make things right.”
Macchio also spoke to ABC Audio and says Cobra Kai works because it speaks to a broad audience.
“It’s a cool show to watch if you’re 14 or 18…and then you find out your parents first date was when they went to see the movie? And now everyone’s sitting on the couch together,” he said. “It’s like comfort food and relevant entertainment.”
As for what fans can expect in the third season? Jacob Bertrand, who plays bad guy and fan-favorite Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz — told ABC Audio there’s much more to his character than meets the eye.
“No one in the show except for maybe Kreese is just straight up bad,” the 20-year-old hinted.
Doug Inglish/ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.(LOS ANGELES) — The Ellen DeGeneres Show will be staying on hiatus for at least another week.
Variety reports the daytime talk show was supposed to resume production on new episodes next week, but will instead remain dark due to rising COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles.
“Due to the current surge, we have decided that we will not do any shows next week and instead work from home,” producers wrote in a memo to staff Thursday, adding that all staff and crew will be paid for the week and that a COVID-19 testing schedule would be worked out.
The show has been on break since December 10, when DeGeneres announced that she had contracted the coronavirus.
Last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a memo asking TV and film producers to “strongly consider pausing work” amid the county’s “catastrophic surge in coronavirus cases.”
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) — As with every year, we find ourselves mourning the passing of familiar faces from film, TV and celebrity, whether their passing was expected or otherwise. Here’s a look back at some of the notable celebs we lost in 2020:
Kobe Bryant — NBA icon and Oscar-winner was killed in a January helicopter crash in Los Angeles. He was 41. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died alongside her father and seven other victims.
Kirk Douglas — The Hollywood legend and father of Michael Douglas, known for his roles in Spartacus, The Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life, died in February at the age of 103. He appeared in no fewer than 80 movies before retiring in 2004.
James Lipton — Longtime host of Inside the Actors Studio died in March from bladder cancer at the age of 93. Lipton, hosted, created, and produced the popular series on Bravo, also serving as dean, and then dean emeritus, of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City.
Jerry Stiller — Fan favorite Seinfeld co-star, father of Ben Stiller, and veteran of stage and screen, died at 92 in May of this year from natural causes.
Fred Willard — Comedic actor and improv legend, known for his roles in Best in Show, This Is Spinal Tap and Modern Family, died in May at the age of 86. His final role, in the Netflix series Space Force, debuted two weeks after his passing.
Roy Horn — One half of the famed entertainment duo Siegfried and Roy died after suffering from complications from COVID-19 in May. He was 75.
Nick Cordero — Broadway star passed away in July at age 41 after a long and devastating battle against COVID-19. He had been hospitalized with the virus for nearly 100 days.
Naya Rivera — Actress, best known for playing fan-favorite character Santana Lopez on the hit TV musical comedy series Glee, died in July of this year at age 33. Her body was recovered from California’s Lake Piru, just north of Los Angeles, after Rivera went missing while boating on the lake days prior with her four-year-old son, who was unharmed.
Kelly Preston — Actress died in July at the age of 57 after a silent battle with breast cancer. Her husband of 28 years, John Travolta, confirmed the heartbreaking news.
Regis Philbin — The beloved talk show and game show host, who held the record for the most-ever hours on U.S. broadcast television, passed away in July at age 88.
Olivia de Havilland — Academy Award-winning actress, who was the last surviving star of Gone with the Wind, passed away in July at the age of 104.
Wilford Brimley — Actor, known for such films as Cocoon and The Natural, died in August at 85. He became famous for his commercial work touting Quaker Oats and diabetes testing. He embraced being known as the “diabeetus guy” after his pronunciation of the word sparked countless memes across the Internet.
Chadwick Boseman — Black Panther and Avengers star passed away from colon cancer at age 43 in August of this year. His final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, is out on Netflix December 18.
Dame Diana Rigg — British actress, known for her powerful roles in Games of Thrones and classic 1960s TV series The Avengers, passed away peacefully in September at age 82.
Sean Connery — The Academy Award-winning actor famous for playing film’s first James Bond died peacefully in his sleep in Bahamas in October. He was 90.
Alex Trebek — The popular TV personality best-known for hosting the game show Jeopardy! for over 30 years, died in November at the age of 80 after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in March 2019.
Rachel Luna/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — After participating in HGTV’s A Very Brady Renovation last year, Maureen McCormick — aka Marcia Brady — is keeping the home improvements coming with her new show, Frozen in Time.
The Brady Bunch actress, along with designer Dan Vickery, will be giving home makeovers to properties that are stuck in the past, style-wise. The two will update and modernize the spaces, while still maintaining elements of the house’s history.
Frozen in Time debuts on January 4 on the Discovery+ streaming service.
In A Very Brady Renovation, McCormick and her five Brady Bunch siblings reunited for the first time in 15 years to renovate the iconic home that appeared in the show’s opening credits.
Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness is closing out 2020 by revealing a well-kept secret: He got married to his partner, Mark Peacock.
In an Instagram post reflecting on the year, JVN wrote, “I got married to my best friend & have a loving partner to continue building my life with.”
While he didn’t tag his husband in the post, he did share a photo seemingly from their wedding day.
In the comments section, his Queer Eye co-stars celebrated that the news was finally public.
“Yay!! That was a hard secret to keep!! love you Mark and Johnny!” wrote Bobby Berk.
Karamo Brown added, “Yay! We can finally celebrate it publicly!! So happy for you!!!!!! One of the most Beautiful couples in the world. Love you & Happy New year @jvn.”
“Happy New Year, Jackaaay! I love you,” Tan France wrote. “Here’s hoping next year is so much better, and that we can finally celebrate your marriage.”
Antoni Porowski was more focused on another accomplishment, though, writing, “wait you got a dog?!?!?!”
CURTIS BONDS BAKER/NETFLIX(LOS ANGELES) — Cobra Kai fans rang in the New Year with a welcome delight. The third season of the wildly popular series debuted on Netflix on January 1 — a full week earlier than scheduled. 
