If you’re a passionate Cobra Kai fan, you’ll undoubtedly be familiar with Cobra Kai Nation.
Helmed by content creator Shamoon Saeed, the popular YouTube channel currently boasts over 70,000 susbscribers.
For the uninitiated, Cobra Kai is a television sequel to the beloved Karate Kid franchise. Classic characters including Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) return in a new medium.
Content creator Shamoon Saeed | Image courtesy of Cobra Kai Nation
Initially, the show aired on YouTube Red although it later moved to Netflix – picking up even more traction.
After six seasons, the beloved show is concluding with an epic three part finale event. The first five episodes dropped on July 18, 2024.
Shamoon’s work on Cobra Kai Nation has brought him up close and personal with certain cast members. But more on that later…
Background
As we’re looking Shamoon’s incredible journey over the years, the beginning seems a good place to start.
Raised in South East England, his love for Film, TV and Pop Culture long predates covering Cobra Kai.
He is a passionate fan of the show and has extended his fandom to explore exciting media opportunities.
Shamoon revealed: “I became a fan of the show since the YouTube Red days, first watched it in 2018 then became obsessed with it before Cobra Kai S2.
“I wanted to become a content creator for my passion for Film & TV and Pop Culture, so I started my first channel called ‘Shamoon Reacts’.
“But [I] then realised Cobra Kai was such a passion I then created ‘Cobra Kai Nation’ in 2020.”
His content ranges from interviews, predictions and first-looks – with his videos each gaining thousands of viewers.
Meeting the stars
Remember how I mentioned Shamoon’s chats with cast members?
Some of many examples include Gianni DeCenzo (Demetri), Vanessa Rubio (Carmen), Owen Morgan (Bert) and Oona O’Brien (Devon).
More recently, he spoke to Cobra Kai stars at Season 6, part 1’s Los Angeles premiere.
Shamoon with Tanner Buchanan, who plays Robby Keene | Image courtesy of Cobra Kai Nation/Instagram
Here, Shamoon interviewed Xolo Mariduena (Miguel), Jacob Bertrand (Eli/Hawk), Dallas Young (Kenny) and Yuji Okumoto (Chozen).
Perhaps most notably, he spoke to Ralph Macchio, whose beloved character Daniel LaRusso started off this journey.
Shamoon asked: “What’s been the best thing about playing Daniel LaRusso?”
Ralph replied: “Being true to his character, passing on the wisdom and always being a piece of that wish fulfilment that he was in the original film”.
A few months earlier, Shamoon moderated the Cobra KaiQ&A Celebrity Panel at ATL Comic Convention.
He was joined on stage by cast members Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, Peyton List (Tory) and Joe Seo (Kyler).
Shamoon with Gianni DeCenzo, Peyton List, Joe Seo and Jacob Bertrand | Courtesy of Cobra Kai Nation/Instagram
The panel itself is available to watch on the CKN channel, where it has been viewed over 9,000 times.
Aside from Cobra Kai, Shamoon has also also attended film premieres and makes wider content covering Film and TV.
Meanwhile, followers also appear to be rallying support, as one commented: “Keep up with the interviews Shamoon. You are always doing great with amazing Hollywood stars.”
With Cobra Kai wrapping up, what direction will Shamoon’s journey take? Only time will tell…
Decades after Harry Potter began, passionate content creators help keep the fandom alive and well.
To this day, there is still large amounts of interest in Wizarding World stories. To date, we’ve already had books, films, a stage play and prequel franchise.
So… what’s next?
As most fans know, an upcoming TV adaptation will be revisiting the original seven novels.
We already know Succession duo Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod have signed on as showrunner and director, respectively.
Ahead of the TV show, “Potterheads” might be interested in exploring what Harry Potter content creators are out there.
Perhaps you’d like to learn more about Wizarding World lore? Or to discover each and every nugget of info about the seven books?
Maybe even just have the chance to meet like-minded fellow fans and nerd out!
Here are some examples you could check out.
MovieFlame
Run by: Morgan Ross
Subscribers: 1.77million (as of writing)
Image courtesy of Morgan Ross
Background
MovieFlame is one of the biggest and most foremost Harry Potter-based YouTube channels.
Morgan Ross is the man behind the channel, which dates back to 2013. However, he relaunched the brand as MovieFlame in 2017.
Since then, the channel’s “Life Of” videos helped MovieFlame grow in popularity. These are incredibly well-researched video essays. which see Morgan narrate the lives of different characters.
In the case of major characters, this includes events before, during and after the main series takes place.
Some less prominent choices include Kingsley Shacklebolt, Regulus Black and Barty Crouch, Jr.
Although Morgan does appear on-camera sometimes, several of his videos are primarily him providing voiceover narration.
“The TV format would allow the showrunners to give much more detail to the story told in the books.”
Speaking in the video, the YouTuber said: “The thing with this reboot is we already have a really good adaptation of the book series. It was done not that long ago.
“The eight Harry Potter movies are the gold standard of how to adapt a book. [They] have been for the last two decades.
“Are they perfect? Certainly not. But are they loved and adored by fans? Absolutely.”
He also addressed some benefits of a TV adaptation, commenting: “The TV format would allow the showrunners to give much more detail to the story told in the books than the movies were able to do.
“This is a no-brainer, we can see plotlines that were left out. Like the Marauders backstory, all of Voldemort’s memories, the full Prince’s Tale.
“Hagrid’s and Maxime’s mission, full Quidditch seasons instead of just one or zero games each movie.”
Morgan also highlighted characters that were absent from the films such as Charlie Weasley, Ludo Bagman and Winky.
SuperCarlinBrothers
Run by: Jonathan and Ben Carlin
Subscribers: 2.21million (as of writing)
Image courtesy of Ethan Edghill
SuperCarlinBrothers consists, aptly, of two brothers – Jonathan “J” Carlin and Ben Carlin.
A large chunk of their Harry Potter content includes theory videos. Some recent examples as of writing include “What if Voldemort SURVIVED“, “Ron Weasley is a SEER” and “Slytherin’s wife BECAME the Basilisk.“
Meanwhile, they also regularly put their respective Potter knowledge to the test in quizzes against each other. A third person – usually a member of their team, or a guest – reads out questions off-camera.
Some of these previous categories have been individual characters, such as Albus Dumbledore, Tom Riddle/Voldemort and Severus Snape.
Others, meanwhile, are about specific subjects, like Gryffindor House, Tri-wizard tasks or magical objects.
With both brothers being longtime fans of the franchise, these are typically close, high-scoring contests.
Thoughts on Harry Potter TV show
Naturally, with their strong Potter association, SuperCarlinBrothers previously shared their thoughts on the latest screen iteration.
In June 2024, one of their uploads was titled “What We NEED From A Harry Potter TV Show.”
Ben, who took the reins for that video, addressed some key aspects missed by the films – including backstory, plot information and even certain characters.
He said: “…The original films at times missed the mark, left some things out or were stylistically variant from year to year based on who was at the helm.
“There are also some things that were absolutely and utterly perfect.”
Ben cited some of the films’ casting including Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, which he described as “plucked from my own head”.
He also mentioned Maggie Smith as McGonagall being “iconic”.
Continuing, Ben said: “The point I’m trying to make is that while there are certain areas of development that could be found from the original films, there are also areas where I can’t possibly imagine someone doing it better.”
“It’s an opportunity to take something that was pretty darn close and allow it to go all the way.”
Ben Carlin, SuperCarlinBrothers, “What We NEED From A Harry Potter TV Show” (2024).
That being said, SuperCarlinBrothers is not exclusively a Harry Potter channel.
Based in Roanoke, Virginia, the brand dates back to 2012, although their output has considerably evolved since the early days.
Initially, the brothers took part in a challenge – alternating uploading a video each day across a year.
The Arrowverse television superhero franchise first began back in 2012, with Arrow, featuring Stephen Amell in the title role, Oliver Queen.
Since then, the onscreen universe has expanded to include The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman, among other DC properties.
While numerous actors such as Amell, Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist have had successful runs on these shows, a specific section of the fan community have also started to make a name for themselves.
Image: AirricksReloaded (YouTube)
Each of these shows leave the audience on a cliffhanger or with a burning question on a regular basis. Of course, it’s part of the methodology to keep people watching.
However, if none of your friends and family are interested in this genre, there is no one to discuss the latest developments with. Flash did what? The Legends went where?
YouTube has been a successful outlet for a number of individuals to share their own thoughts and opinions on the shows as well as provide an outlet for discussion among other fans.
Image: TheDCTVshow(Twitter)
Among the well-known channels are Pagey, The DCTV Show, Airricks Reloaded, BobaTalks and Emergency Awesome. Whether it’s episodic reviews, analyses or just general discussion, each have become known for their content.
For example, if you’re a fan of the shows but not familiar with the comics, someone like Alex ‘Pagey’ Page, who is a font of knowledge, can fill in the gaps.
Or, perhaps, if you prefer a more journalistic approach, TheDCTV Show (Ben Rolph) may be more appealing as he is also the Film Editor at Discussing Film.
Regardless of your tastes, they have collectively posted countless hours of videos for you to check out on their separate channels. On occasion, four of them; Pagey, Airricks Reloaded, TheDCTV Show and BobaTalks, have teamed up for a four-way crossover.
Source: airricksreloaded (YouTube)
Each of these YouTuberscan be found individually on the channels named above.
For anyone who is unfamiliar, Blind Wave is a YouTube channel that has grown significantly over the past couple of years. More recently on a full-time basis, they produce a wide variety of content; reacting to various television series and anime, movie commentaries, game nights and live streaming video games on Twitch, to name just a few examples.
Some shows that they react/have reacted to include Game of Thrones, Sherlock, The Flash, The Walking Dead, Chuck, Black Sails, This Is Us and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
There are five regular Crew members, listed in the order that they are usually seated: Eric Whiteley, Shane Farley, Rick Martin, Calvin Grubb and Aaron Elliot. Various other friends, spouses and other YouTube channels have also appeared in videos.
How did it all get started? A question surely on anyone’s mind after seeing someone experience success. It was answered in a video commemorating the channel reaching sixty-thousand subscribers. (They now have 494K)
In its essence, Blind Wave began with two friendship pairs coming together to make a group of four.
Eric and Shane had known each other since their teenage years after meeting through a mutual friend. Meanwhile, Aaron and Rick were friends since second grade (between 7-8 for anyone outside North America).
After making initial connections through college, the group soon began choreographing and recording lightsaber fights for online competitions. After Rick was unable to attend on one occasion, he sent his brother-in-law in his stead: Calvin.
Eric, Shane, Aaron and Calvin were the four original members of Blind Wave, with Rick later coming on board as the full-time fifth member in 2017.
The channel now has its own space to film and edit reactions, graduating from the early days in Eric’s basement. Some actors from shows they have reacted to: Luke Arnold (Black Sails) and Michelle Harrison (The Flash), have made cameo appearances.
All five members can be found on various social media sites by searching the full names provided above.
