Entertainment
After 'Cobra Kai,' Xolo Maridueña is ready for his next challenge
Xolo Maridueña received two phone calls the day he found out he’d been cast in “Cobra Kai,” the spinoff series set three decades after the 1984 “The Karate Kid” movie ended.
The first came from show creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who confirmed that he had landed the protagonist role of Miguel Diaz, the scrappy Reseda teen that learns martial arts after being bullied.
Maridueña, then 16, couldn’t believe his luck.
“Oh my God, what is going on?” the now 23-year-old said via Zoom, recounting the events of that afternoon like a play-by-play commentator.
Then, his phone rang again. This time, it was Ralph Macchio, the karate kid himself.
“Is this Zolo?” asked Macchio.
Though Maridueña laughs now at the wrong pronunciation of his name (it’s “sho-low”), the young actor was too preoccupied at the time to correct his new co-star. With his phone’s battery at 1%, he worried that the call would drop, giving Macchio the impression that he was a bratty kid who’d hung up on him. If that were to happen, Maridueña thought, surely they’d boot him off the show before shooting even began.
That worst-case scenario never came to pass, and as Macchio can attest, Maridueña “is the antithesis of a bratty kid.” In truth, he was tailor-made for a role that saw him grow from a brace-faced teen into a full-fledged adult. Now, seven years after that fateful day, the actor is getting ready to say goodbye to Miguel Diaz — the first part of the sixth and final season of “Cobra Kai” was released on Netflix on Thursday, with Part 2 coming out Nov. 15, and Part 3 coming out sometime in 2025.
“There was just something about him that we just fell in love with right off the bat,” said William Zabka, who plays Johnny Lawrence, the antagonist in the first “The Karate Kid” movie who gets a shot at redemption in the Netflix series. “We knew right away that that was our Miguel.”
“He was lanky and had that LaRusso kind of long-limbed awkwardness,” Macchio said, alluding to the fact that Miguel Diaz is a modern take on his own character. “He was perfect from the start.”
In taking the major role, Maridueña shouldered the responsibility of being one of the few Latino characters in the show — Miguel was intentionally written to better reflect the demographics of the San Fernando Valley. He says writers consulted with him to further develop his storyline with an Ecuadorian ethnicity in mind — Maridueña himself is of Mexican, Cuban and Ecuadorian heritage.
“[It’s important] to have these roles where people are allowed to just be in their character and the first bullet point is not their ethnicity,” Maridueña said. “As we have more of these diverse roles, people will start to get used to [seeing us].”
(Sarahi Apaez / Los Angeles Times)
“They were honest in their lack of knowledge in [Miguel’s] culture,” he said, making sure to point out that this unfamiliarity with Latinos is an industrywide issue.
“You throw a rock in [Los Angeles] and 1 in 2 people are Latino” said Maridueña, who grew up in El Sereno. “Hollywood needs to catch up in that regard because if you throw a rock on set, 1 in 2people are definitely not Latino.”
He also credits the writers for not making Miguel one-dimensional.
“[It’s important] to have these roles where people are allowed to just be in their character and the first bullet point is not their ethnicity,” Maridueña said. “As we have more of these diverse roles, people will start to get used to [seeing us].”
Despite his age, the actor is a veteran at portraying nuanced characters that happen to be Latino. Prior to “Cobra Kai,” he gave life to Victor Graham in the popular NBC drama “Parenthood.” He also spent years refining his craft at Casa 0101, the Boyle Heights theater company founded by “Real Women Have Curves” playwright Josefina López.
“He approached the work with a lot of humility. There wasn’t any pompousness about him,” said Edward Padilla, former lead youth educator at Casa 0101 and a family friend. “He really came in there with dedication and willingness to be molded into the role that he was working on.”
Padilla credits part of Maridueña’s love of acting to the “Cobra Kai” star’s family members who are involved in community art activism. Maridueña’s younger sister Oshún Ramirez was a voice actor on Disney’s “Future-Worm!,” his mother, Carmelita Ramirez-Sanchez, leads the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, and his father, Omar G. Ramirez, is a Chicano artist.
“The family wanted him to start expanding beyond the types of things that he had already done,” Padilla said.
Maridueña’s face lights up at the mention of Casa 0101, and even hints at the possibility of returning to the theater if given the opportunity to direct a play of his own now that “Cobra Kai” is wrapping up.
“I can’t help but feel like the community that I was fostered in, El Sereno, Los Angeles, my family, my friends, Casa 0101, everyone that helped raise me and made me feel so comfortable in my skin — I was allowed to be myself,” he said.
As Maridueña enters a new phase in his career, Padilla says he hopes that his former student doesn’t feel obligated to always take on the weight of representing his community on screen.
“I want him to choose projects that really lift his spirit, because that’s the only way that we’re all going to make an impact [is] if we continue to choose things that lift our own individual spirits,” Padilla said.
Besides, Maridueña has done more than enough to highlight the richness and complexity of Latino culture. The actor gave life to Jaime Reyes in last year’s “Blue Beetle,” the first live-action superhero movie with a Latino lead. And just as Jaime was chosen by the alien scarab that gave him super powers, Maridueña was handpicked for this groundbreaking role.
“I thought it was Xolo and it had to be Xolo,” said “Blue Beetle” director Angel Manuel Soto, who endearingly refers to his lead as “mijo” or “my son.” Soto said working with Maridueña was a “dream come true,” noting his charisma, talent, energy and lack of ego among the many qualities that make him a standout actor.
“He really went far and beyond to the extent of almost doing a lot of his own stunts and prepping for it even on the hardest days,” Soto said, crediting Maridueña’s martial arts experience in “Cobra Kai.”
Despite the historic nature of “Blue Beetle,” the film had the misfortune of being released in the middle of the Hollywood SAG-AFTRA strikes, which meant that Maridueña and his castmates couldn’t promote the movie.
Strike or not, Maridueña’s family, friends and community rallied behind the film’s release. The Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, led by his mother, hosted free “Blue Beetle” showings in Alhambra, Montebello and Hollywood.
“This is our way of saying, ‘Look, we know you cannot be in front, but we want you to know that you have thousands behind you,’” Ramirez-Sanchez told The Times last year. “When one of us can’t be there, none of us are as strong as all of us.”
Maridueña could have easily been cynical about how the film’s release panned out. Instead, he chose to focus on what “Blue Beetle” managed to accomplish.
“I remember having conversations with Angel and him telling me that this is bigger than all of us,” he said. “I remember that hitting me so hard in the moment and really allowing that to be the tone for the movie while we’re shooting.”
“I can’t help but feel like the community that I was fostered in, El Sereno, Los Angeles, my family, my friends, Casa 0101, everyone that helped raise me and made me feel so comfortable in my skin — I was allowed to be myself.”
(Sarahi Apaez / Los Angeles Times)
In talking about “Blue Beetle,” Maridueña remembers how his fear of looking bad on screen was immediately replaced by a sense of pride.
“As soon as I sat down in that chair for the first screen I was deathly terrified,” he said, re-spiraling in real time. “What if I’m bad? What if it’s terrible?
“But then we watched it and all of that love protrudes so heavily in the movie. I just couldn’t help but feel like, ‘Oh man, my family is going to feel proud because they are seeing themselves reflected.’ This movie is to show a whole new generation that they can have a superhero that looks like them.”
And though acting has claimed a huge part of his life, Maridueña still finds time to express himself off screen. He is an avid photographer who stands behind his Leica Q2 as he shoots his friends on their foodie outings. He’s also a self-proclaimed love doctor on his highly rated podcast “Lone Lobos,” which he co-hosts with fellow “Cobra Kai” actor and best friend Jacob Betrand. He’s even dabbled in music, releasing a hip-hop track last October.
Maridueña also has several acting projects in the works. He’s slated to star alongside Al Pacino in the thriller “Killing Castro,” and will form part of the star-heavy cast of next year’s “The Smurfs Movie.”
“I feel very gracious for having worked with this impeccable [‘Cobra Kai’] cast and crew for seven years now. At the same time I feel [I’ve] grown from this part of my life,” he said.
“I’m ready to show what I’ve learned in other spaces now.”
Movie Reviews
Roll On 18 Wheeler: Errol Sack’s ‘TRUCKER’ (2026) – Movie Review – PopHorror
I am a sucker for all those straight-to-video slasher movies from the 90’s; there was just a certain point where you knew the acting was terrible, however, it made you fall in love. I can definitely remember scanning the video store sections for all the different horror movies I could. All those movies had laughable names and boom mics accidentally getting in the frame. Trucker seems like a child of all those old dreams, because it is.
Let’s get into the review.
Synopsis
When a group of reckless teens cause an accident swroe to never speak of it. The father is reescued by a strange man. from the wreckage and nursed back to health by a mysterious old man. When the group agrees to visit the accident scene, they meet their match from a strange masked trucker and all his toys with revenge on his mind.
Roll on 18 Wheleer
Trucker is what you would imagine: a movie about a psychotic trucker chasing you. We have seen it many, many times. What makes the film so different is its homage to bad movies but good ideas. I don’t mean in a negative way. When you think of a slasher movie, it’s not very complicated; as a matter of fact, it takes five minutes to piece the film together. This is so simple and childlike, and I absolutely love it. Trucker gave us something a little different, not too gory, bad CGI fire, I mean, this is all we old schlock horror fans want. Trucker is the type of film that you expect from a Tubi Original, on speed. However, I would take this over any Tubi Original.
I found some parts that were definitely a shout-out to the slasher humor from all those movies. Another good point that made the film shine was the sets. I guess what I can say is the film is everything Joy Ride should have been. While most modern slashers are trying to recreate the 1980s, the film stands out with its love for those unloved 1990’s horror films. While most see Joyride, you are extremely mistaken, my friend; you will enjoy this film much more.

In The End
In the end, I enjoyed the entire film. At first, I saw it listed as an action thriller; I was pleasantly surprised, and Trucker pulled at my heart strings, enveloping me in its comfort from a long-forgotten time in horror. It’s a nostalgic blast for me, thinking back to that time, my friends, my youth, and finding my new home. Horror fans are split down the middle: from serial-killer clowns (my side) to elevated horror, where an artist paints a forty-thousand-year-old demon that chases them around an upper-class studio apartment. I say that a lot, but it’s the best way to describe some things.
The entire movie had me cheering while all the people I hated suffered dire consequences for their actions. It’s the same old story done in a way that we rabid fans could drool over, and it worked. In all the bad in the world today, and my only hope for the future is the soon-to-end Terrifier franchise. However, the direction was a recipe to succeed with 40+ year old horror fans like me. I see the film as a hope for tomorrow, leading us into a new era.
Trucker is set to release on March 10th, 2026
Entertainment
Review: In ‘American Classic,’ Kevin Kline and Laura Linney deliver a love letter to theater
The lovely, funny “American Classic,” premiering Sunday on MGM+, is a love letter to theater, community and community theater. Kevin Kline plays Richard Bean, a narcissistic stage actor. He’s famous enough to be opening on Broadway in “King Lear,” but he has to be pushed onstage and is forgetting lines. After he drunkenly assails a hostile New York Times critic — caught on video, of course — he’s suspended from the play, and his agent (Tony Shalhoub) advises him to get out of town and lay low until the heat’s off, as they used to say in the gangster movies.
Learning that his mother (Jane Alexander, acting royalty, in film clips) has died, Richard heads back to his small Pennsylvania hometown, where his family — all actors, like the Barrymores, but no longer acting — owns a once-celebrated theater. To Richard’s horror, it has, for want of income, become a dinner theater, hosting touring productions of “Nunsense” and “Forever Plaid” instead of the great stage works on which he cut his teeth.
Brother Jon (Jon Tenney), running the kitchen at the theater, is married to Kristen (Laura Linney), Richard’s onetime acting partner, who dated him before her marriage; now she’s the mayor. Their teenage daughter, Miranda (Nell Verlaque) — a name from Shakespeare — does want to act and move to New York, as her mother had before her, but is afraid to tell her parents. Richard’s father, Linus (Len Cariou), is suffering from dementia, though not to the point he won’t actively contribute to the action; every day he comes out again as gay.
Across the eight-episode series, things move from the ridiculous to the sublime. Richard’s attempt to stage his mother’s funeral, with her coffin being lowered from the ceiling, while “Also sprach Zarathustra” plays and smoke billows toward the audience, fortunately comes to naught; but he announces at the ceremony that he’ll direct a production of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play “Our Town” at the theater, to “restore the soul of this town.” (His big idea is to ignore Wilder’s stage directions, which ask for no curtain, no set and few props, with a “realistic version,” featuring a working soda fountain, rain effects and a horse.) Fate will have other plans for this, and not to give away what in any case should be obvious, the title of the play will also become its ethos, with a cast of amateurs, including Miranda’s jealous boyfriend, Randall (Ajay Friese), and ordinary people standing in for the ordinary people of Wilder’s Grover’s Corners.
The series has a comfortable, cushiony feeling; it’s the sort of show that could have been made as a film in the 1990s, and in which Kline could have starred as easily in his 40s as in his 70s; it has the same relation to reality as “Dave,” in which he played a good-hearted ordinary Joe who takes the place of a lookalike U.S. president. The town is essentially a sunny place, full of mostly sunny people, to all appearances, a typical comedy hamlet. But we’re told it’s distressed, and Mayor Kristen is in transactional cahoots with developer Connor Boyle (Billy Carter), who wants clearance to build a casino on the site of a landmark hotel. (Much of the plot is driven by money — needing it, trading for it, leaving it, losing it.) He also wants his heavily accented, bombshell Russian girlfriend, Nadia (Elise Kibler), to have a part in “Our Town.”
As in the great Canadian comedy “Slings & Arrows,” set at a Shakespeare Festival outside of Toronto, themes and moments and speeches from the play being performed are echoed in the lives of the performers, while the viewer experiences the double magic of watching a fine actor playing an actor playing a part. Kline, of course, is himself an American classic, with a long stage and screen career that encompasses classical drama, romantic and musical comedy and cartoon voiceovers; the series makes room for Richard to perform soliloquies from “Hamlet” and “Henry V,” parts Klein has played onstage. He brings out the sweetness latent in Richard. Linney, who played against her sweetheart image in “Ozark,” is happily back on less deadly ground (though she’s tense and drinks a little). Tenney, who was sweet and funny on “The Closer,” and who we don’t see enough of these days, is sweeter and funnier here, and gets to sing. (All the Beans will sing, except for Linus.)
As a comedy, it is often predicable — you know that things will work out, and some major plot points are as good as inevitable — but it’s the good sort of predictability, where you get what you came for, where you hear the words you want to hear, ones you could never have written yourself. “American Classic” is not out to challenge your world view in any way but wants only to confirm your feelings and in doing so amplify them. Shock effects are fine in their place — and to be sure there are major twists in the plot — but there is a certain release when the thing you’re ready to have happen, happens, whether it brings laughter or tears. Either is welcome.
Movie Reviews
‘Scream 7’ Review: Ghostface Trades His Metallic Knife for Plastic in Bloody Embarrassing Slasher Sequel
It’s funny how this film is marketed as the first Scream movie in IMAX, yet it’s their sloppiest work to date. Williamson accomplishes two decent kills. My praise goes to the prosthetic team and gore above anything else. The filmmaking is amateurish, lacking any of the tension build and innovation in set pieces like the Radio Silence or Craven entries. Many slasher sequences consist of terribly spliced editing and incomprehensible camera movement. There was a person at my screening asking if one of the Ghostfaces was killed. I responded, “Yeah, they were shot in the head; you just couldn’t see it because the filmmaking is so damn unintelligible.”
Really, Spyglass? This is the best you can do to “damage control” your series that was perfectly fine?
I’m getting comments from morons right now telling me that I’m biased for speaking “politically” about this movie. Fuck you! This poorly made, bland, and franchise-worst entry is a byproduct of political cowardice.
The production company was so adamant about silencing their outspoken star, who simply stated that she’s against the killing of Palestinian people by an evil totalitarian regime, that they deliberately fired her, conflating her comments to “anti-semintism,” when, and if you read what she said exactly, it wasn’t. Only to reconstruct the buildup made in her arc and settle on a nonsensical, manufactured, nostalgia-based slop fest to appeal to fans who lack genuine film taste in big 2026. To add insult to injury, this movie actively takes potshots at those predecessors, perhaps out of pettiness that Williamson didn’t pen them or a mean-spirited middle finger to the star the studio fired. Truly, fuck you. Take the Barrera aspect out of this, which is still impossible, and Scream 7 is a lazy, sloppy, ill-conceived, no-vision, enshittification of Scream and a bloody embarrassment to the franchise. It took a real, morally upright actress to make Ghostface’s knife go from metal to plastic.
FINAL STATEMENT
You either die a Scream or live long enough to see yourself become a Stab.
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