Classic series How I Met Your Mother (sort of) Predicted Cobra Kai

One of the funniest gags in How I Met Your Mother is how Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) always rooting for the bad guys in movies and shows. He thinks King Joffrey was a “just and wise ruler” on “Game of Thrones” and cheers Hans Gruber on throughout “Die Hard.” For Barney, an amoral agent of chaos who should probably be in prison, it's a joke that seems to make sense, but you can spend all day deconstructing the logic. How far does Barney's villain worship go? Is he also rooting for Frank Booth in “Blue Velvet” or for Hans Landa in “Rogue Basterds”? I certainly hope not!

Thankfully, “HIMYM” limits its examples of Barney the Villain worship to less serious films. Most notable is “The Karate Kid,” in which Barney goes after blonde bully Johnny (William Zabka) instead of diminutive Daniel (Ralph Macchio). In Season 4, Barney explains his reading of the film, saying, “It's the story of a hopeful young karate enthusiast whose dreams and moxie take him all the way to the All Valley Karate Championship. Of course, unfortunately, he loses in the final round to this stupid kid, but he learns an important lesson in how to accept defeat gracefully.”

It seems like a one-off joke, but four seasons later, the real William Zabka shows up at Barney's bachelor party, thanks for showing that someone else “finally” understands what “The Karate Kid” is really about. It's one of the best moments of Barney's life, included in one of the best episodes of Season 8. Zabka would continue to make regular appearances in the show's Season 9, even briefly becoming Barney's best man.

Many fans believe this storyline foreshadows “Cobra Kai,” a popular TV series that debuted in 2018 and followed the lives of Daniel and Johnny from “The Karate Kid.” Johnny is actually portrayed in a more sympathetic way in this show than in the original movie. However, How I Met Your Mother didn't just predict this new TV show; it also played a small role in getting the show created in the first place.

In a 2020 interview“Cobra Kai” co-creator Josh Heald noted on How I Met Your Mother that “The Karate Kid” remained in the public consciousness, helping to prove that a TV spinoff could indeed be profitable. As he explained:

We definitely appreciate the parallel fandoms of this show, whether it's the 'How I Met Your Mother' storyline – which was amazing – we keep getting asked about this YouTube video if Daniel was the real bully… just cheered us up a little when making a show and comparing plots to make a show because it made us feel confident that we weren't the only ones, and we didn't think we were, but it was nice to see that others creators have “Karate Kid” in mind.

“Cobra Kai” was originally greenlit on YouTube Red in 2017, just a couple of years after “HIMYM” ended its run with its (underrated!) series finale. While the show technically has nothing to do with the hit CBS sitcom, it's funny to watch it and think how Barney Stinson might have liked it. Or maybe now that Johnny is being portrayed sympathetically, Barney might feel betrayed and turn against him. It's hard to say for sure; all we know is that Zabka himself is grateful for what “HIMYM” did. Neil Patrick Harris recently interviewed the actor for his websitewhere Zabka explained how big of a deal “HIMYM” was to him.

“After decades of being cemented in pop culture as the '80s 'bad guy,' fans suddenly sympathized with me and even supported me,” Zabka explained. “All the love and goodwill I felt from it has continued to this day and definitely added fuel to the Cobra Kai fire!”