‘Cobra Kai’ and ‘Central Park’ Return, Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra Concert, Tales of Gutsy Women

The popular Karate Kid sequel Cobra Kai is back for a fifth season. Apple’s animated musical Central Park welcomes back Kristen Bell in a new role for Season 3. The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra performs at the Kennedy Center in a PBS special. Hillary and Chelsea Clinton talk to Gutsy women in an Apple TV+ docuseries.

Cobra Kai

The karate war continues in Season 5 of the popular franchise spinoff, when Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) enlists rival-turned-ally Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) to help take down the nefarious Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) after his dojo crew stunned everyone by winning the All Valley Tournament. He’s not stopping there with his “No Mercy” philosophy. And where’s Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in all of this? Off to Mexico with son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) to fetch protégé Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), who’s searching for his biological father.

Central Park

A familiar voice is back in the park for the third season of the lovable animated musical comedy. Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars), who voiced biracial daughter Molly in the first season (since replaced by Emmy Raver-Lampman) stepped away for a person of color to take over the role. She returns to the series in a new role, as Paige’s (Kathryn Hahn) younger sister Abby, an aspiring actress from Oshkosh, inspired by Paige’s recent breakthrough as a crusading journalist. She first appears in the second of three episodes launching Season 3 (more to follow weekly). The season opens with the arrival of spring—and the film crew of the Tillermans’ favorite TV show, Gina Tracker FBI, setting up shop in the park. Park manager Owen (Leslie Odom Jr.) is thrilled to be playing an extra, until he realizes the crime show isn’t putting the park in the most positive light, which is his mission. Overlooking it all from her hotel, Bitsy (Emmy nominee Stanley Tucci) seeks a new mayoral candidate to use as a puppet in her scheme to buy and privatize the iconic park. Somehow, it all sings.

Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra at the Kennedy Center

In times of conflict, art remains an essential refuge for the human spirit. And so the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra was assembled in solidarity with the ongoing war’s victims, featuring recent Ukrainian refugees, Ukrainian members of European orchestras and Ukrainian Opera and other ensembles. The orchestra’s summer tour in Europe and the U.S. ended at the Kennedy Center on Aug. 20, and that’s the performance captured in this special, led by Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson. The repertoire includes Chopin (with Ukrainian virtuosos Anna Fedorova), Dvorak and Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Seventh Symphony. Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastryska performs an aria from Beethoven’s Fidelio. Also, look out for Ukraine: The Search for Justice (10/9c, MSNBC): As a reminder of what’s at stake in the Ukraine conflict, a new edition of On Assignment with Richard Engel features NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Engel’s reports from inside the war-torn country. With first-person accounts of Russian war crimes and atrocities, Engel humanizes the war with stories including that of a 9-year-old boy reunited with his family after the attack on Mariupol and the murder of a young woman by a Russian soldier. The special also features excerpts of Engel’s interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Gutsy

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton know something about being gutsy women, and their appreciation for other groundbreaking women was displayed in their collaboration on The Book of Gutsy Women, which inspired this series of conversations with pioneering females. Among their more celebrated subjects: Dr. Jane Goodall, Gloria Steinem, Megan Thee Stallion, Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson, Wanda Sykes and Kim Kardashian.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The world-building continues in the third chapter of the sumptuously epic Rings prequel, as we’re given our first glimpse—and it’s a stunner—at the island kingdom of Númenor, ruled by Queen Regent Míriel (Spartacus’ Cynthia Addai-Robinson). She’s not exactly thrilled to have the stranded elf warrior Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) in her midst, and the feeling’s mutual, because Galadriel is itching to get back into the fight against the forces of evil in Middle-earth. Speaking of which, elf soldier Arondir (Ismail Cruz Córdova) will have to marshal all his physical and mental resources to escape the clutches of the diabolical Orcs, who’ve taken him and his buddies prisoner.

Inside Friday TV:

• Capitol One College Bowl (8/7c and 9/8c, NBC): Peyton Manning and brother Cooper are back to host the collegiate quiz show, with the first qualifying rounds airing in back-to-back episodes. In the premiere, Ohio State takes on Notre Dame, and Texas faces Oklahoma. The second hour features Florida vs. Georgia and Washington vs. BYU.
• RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race (8/7c, VH1): The remaining incognito celebs perform to hits of the 1990s, while a new twist in the competition changes everything.
• Secret Celebrity Renovation (8/7c, CBS): Sports legend Shaquille O’Neal returns to where his NBA career began in Orlando to surprise his Uncle Roy with a home makeover. He also visits the local Boys and Girls club in this feel-good series.
• Back on the Record with Bob Costas (11/10c, HBO): A new installment of the interview show features University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban, followed by a roundtable discussion.
• End of the Road (streaming on Netflix): Queen Latifah is back in Equalizer-style mode in this action movie. She’s a mom on a road trip with two kids and her brother (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) when they witness a murder at a seedy New Mexico motel and run off with drug money that puts them in the crosshairs of vicious killers.
• Making the Cut (streaming on Prime Video): The final two episodes narrow the field to one last pitch to the president of Amazon Fashion. The designer with the winning 10-look collection gets a mentorship, an exclusive line on Amazon and takes home $1 million to invest in their brand.