Love ‘Cobra Kai’? Here Are Six More 80s Movies That Need to Become Series
Who didn’t love Cobra Kai? The series, originally produced for YouTube was an update on the classic 1984 movie The Karate Kid. But the show became a Netflix sensation in large part because it improved upon the source material; the show shifted the perspective from good guy Daniel to bad guy Johnny, and allowed their characters to develop more nuance than the movie allowed. Daniel was no longer one-dimensional and Johnny became our hero.
There is an ever-present demand for more and more streaming content, and more and more movies are being reworked for the small screen, like Teen Wolf and Fargo. So what other beloved 80s films could be adapted for streaming, and one hopes, made even better? Here are a few suggestions that I will be happy to take credit for later.
Blade Runner (1982) Set in a dystopian version of Los Angeles, 2019 (they missed it by a year) Blade Runner is essentially a noir thriller. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a bounty hunter after rogue replicants before they track down their creator. But while the original Blade Runner only had to pursue four or five replicants, a series version could find a younger Rick acting as a detective, pursuing replicants (or anyone else) his clients pay him to find. A Blade Runner series could be a stylish, suspenseful futuristic thriller with a brave new world of stories to tell.
Sixteen Candles (1984) Molly Ringwald’s best movie is about just a couple days in the life of Sam, from her forgotten sixteenth birthday to her sister’s wedding day, chronicling all the weird and wacky stuff that happened before she got her perfect kiss with Jake Ryan. But there’s no reason a Sixteen Candles series could start on any day. There’s a full complement of characters whose stories can be told and there doesn’t need to be a storybook ending for any of them. This would also be a chance to address some of the movie’s more problematic issues, namely of consent and the treatment of Gedde Wantanabe’s character. While it might be tempting to try give the show a supernatural tone (think Riverdale) this would be better as a true comedy like the Saved by the Bell reboot.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Eddie Murphy’s standout role as a Detroit cop solving a murder in Beverly Hills is easily adaptable to a weekly series, provided they find a star of Murphy’s charm, wit and charisma to play Axel Foley. In the right hands, the fun fish-out-of-water cop and the upper crust detectives who try to make him play nice. Beverly Hills Cop the Series could be a hilarious action-packed comedy, though the banana in the tailpipe joke is probably not worth repeating.
The Goonies (1985) Surely finding the pirate’s treasure was only the first of many adventures for The Goonies, the gang of misfits that included Josh Brolin, Sean Astin and Corey Feldman. Whether they recast the original gang with younger actors, or use a modern-day setting where the kids of the original Goonies go looking for trouble, this is possible gold mine of stories. And here, a supernatural twist would be more than fitting, giving a dark (but hopefully still humorous) tone to the show.
Red Dawn (1984) The end of the United States as we know it might feel a little too on the nose right now, but if there ever was going to be a good time to adapt Red Dawn for television, it’s now. Though reimagined in 2012 as a Chris Hemsworth movie, the best Red Dawn is is the Cold War-era thriller starring Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell and Lea Thompson as high school kids banding together to protect their Colorado town from a Soviet invasion. A Red Dawn series could expand the resistance beyond one small town, and look at the toll years of occupation take on everyone, particularly young adults who go from worrying about prom dates to stockpiling ammo.
An American Werewolf in London (1981) This might be a tricky one to adapt, but someone has a way to give us a show that captures the dark comedy/horror of John Landis’ flick that starred David Naughton and Jenny Agutter. In a world where werewolves hunt with impunity and you can be haunted by the ghosts of the undead, there have to be more victims, even if they aren’t all American. With a little world-building, and a massive leap forward in special effects, Shudder (or whoever) could have a real winner in a series based on Werewolf.
This list is far from exhaustive, and obviously there are many movies from decades besides the 80s that could be turned into hit series. What are some movies you think could be series? Leave your ideas in the comments.
