It shouldn’t have worked but it did: in 2018, YouTube relaunched Eighties martial arts series The Karate Kid, picking up with the story of its lead characters (and featuring the same original actors) 36 years later. Its name: Cobra Kai.
Nostalgic and feel-good, the show did extraordinarily well, and by the time its second season rolled around, the first episode had garnered 50 million views.
But a change of strategy at YouTube meant the show needed a new home, and Netflix swooped in to capitalise on Cobra Kai’s growing fanbase. Another smart decision by the streamer and a clear win for the Cobra Kai team, the show’s popularity soared as Netflix’s millions of subscribers tuned in to watch the rebooted comedy-drama.
Now its sixth and final season is premiering on Netflix on Thursday (July 18). For those only just tuning into Cobra Kai now, here’s everything to know.
What’s the show about?
Cobra Kai picks up with Johnny Lawrence – the black belt bully who made Daniel LaRusso’s life a misery in the original series. Over the last three decades, the two characters’ fortunes have inverted: things are not going brilliantly for Lawrence who is working as a part-time handyman and suffers from alcoholism and depression. Meanwhile, LaRusso has enjoyed a lot of success over the years. He now owns a lucrative car business, and is married with two children.
The spin-off series follows Johnny, who decides to re-open the karate dojo in order to teach his teenage neighbour Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) how to defend himself after Miguel has a run in with bullies. Under confident teenagers from the area start turning up to his dojo, hoping to make friends, learn a skill and develop some self-confidence – and Johnny suddenly finds himself responsible for these kids’ well-being.
Daniel, meanwhile, is keen to shut the dojo down as their rivalry continues. Original actors William Zabka and Ralph Macchio return to play their characters Johnny and Daniel.
When is the new season going to be released?
The release of the final 15-episode series is going to be broken down into three parts. Part one will premiere on July 18, part two on November 24 and part three will be released sometime in 2025. Each release will comprise five episodes.
What do we know about the upcoming plot?
Earlier this month, Netflix teased the plot of season six on its Tudum site: “Picking up with Cobra Kai eliminated from the Valley, our senseis and students must decide if and how they will compete in the Sekai Taikai – the world championships of karate.”
For those just joining Cobra Kai now, let us decipher that for you: Cobra Kai is the name of the original show’s karate dojo, which is why it’s the name of the spin-off show.
The Cobra Kai dojo was established back in the Seventies by Terry Silver and John Kreese – characters who also get revived in Cobra Kai. In season two, Johnny allows Kreese to join his rebooted Cobra Kai dojo, which is a huge mistake: by the end of the season, Kreese has taken over the dojo.
In response, in season three Johnny launches his own dojo, Eagle Fang Karate. Daniel had already opened his own dojo, Miyagi-Do dojo, in season two.
The Valley is short for the All-Valley Tournament, an under-18 karate tournament that takes place in Cobra Kai’s San Fernando Valley in California every year. All the dojos in the area show up, ready to compete. Because of Johnny and Daniel’s life-long feud, and their later rivalry with Kreese, a lot hangs on these annual showdowns. But arguably the stakes are even higher at the Sekai Taikai – an international karate competition.
Who is going to be in the cast?
The final season will include a lot of familiar faces. Original cast members Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo and Mary Mouser will all be returning, as will Martin Kove, who came onboard Cobra Kai in season two.
Then, Peyton List and Vanessa Rubio, who became main cast members in the fourth series, will be returning as Tory and Carmen, as will Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny.
Who has made the show?
The show is written and executive produced by Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine), Jon Hurwitz (Obliterated), and Hayden Schlossberg (Obliterated).
When, in January 2023, it was announced that season six was going to be the last season of Cobra Kai, the trio co-wrote a goodbye letter to the show’s fans.
It said: “Our Day 1 goal with Cobra Kai has always been to end it on our terms, leaving the Valley in the time and place we’ve always imagined.
“So it is with immense pride and thankfulness that we are able to announce that achievement… While this may be a bittersweet day for the fandom, the Miyagiverse [the fictional world of the Karate Kid franchise] has never been stronger.”
What have the critics said?
The show has picked up mixed reviews over the years, with some critics describing the show as a “winning combo of silly and earnest” and “more entertaining than you're probably expecting”, with others describing it as “sentimental but unrewarding”.
Nevertheless the show has garnered a huge dedicated fanbase. After Cobra Kai moved to Netflix from YouTube in August 2020, its first and second series quickly became one of the streamer’s most-watched shows, with over 2 billion minutes streamed in the week between August 31 to September 6 (according to Nielsen TV ratings).
And the show has enjoyed a similar level of popularity ever since: it made headlines after its fifth season received a rare 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score (which has now only dropped to 98 per cent); fans watched over 107 million hours of the fifth chapter in the first week after its release.
