Due to its nature as a sequel, all spoilers for the Karate Kid films will be unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Cobra Kai is a Dramedy Fighting Series, and a distant successor to the Karate Kid trilogy. It premiered on May 2nd 2018 on YouTube Red, later renamed YouTube Originals. It later moved to Netflix, which distributed the third season and took over production for the fourth season and beyond.
After Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was beaten by Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in the final round of the 1984 All-Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, he had a fall from grace. Once the star student of the Cobra Kai dojo, the now-adult Johnny lives as a down-on-his-luck repairman with an estranged son, Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan). One fateful day, he rediscovers his talent after saving his young neighbor Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) from a Gang of Bullies. Seeing an opportunity, he decides to re-open the Cobra Kai dojo and take Miguel under his wing.
Meanwhile, Daniel LaRusso is now a Happily Married father of two who runs a chain of car dealerships, but is having trouble connecting with his teenage daughter Samantha (Mary Mouser), who begins to fall in love with Miguel after he uses his martial arts training to stand up to some bullies who are harassing her. Worse yet, ever since the death of his sensei, Mr. Miyagi, Daniel has found trouble keeping balance in his life — and the return of Cobra Kai proves to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
This is a story about two men with decades of resentment between them, addressing their respective demons in the only way they know how: through martial arts.
See the full trailer here
The first two seasons can be viewed here. The first two episodes are free and can be viewed without a subscription. A second season, also spanning 10 episodes, premiered on YouTube Premium on April 24, 2019; the first episode is free, although it was all temporarily available in late 2019. The teaser trailer for it is available here. The full trailer for Season 3 was released on December 9, and the season itself premiered on Netflix on January 1, 2021, with Season 4 already greenlit before its release. Season 4 premiered on December 31, 2021, with the first teaser being here. The fifth season debuted on September 9, 2022. A sixth season was announced on January 20, 2023, with the reveal it'll be the conclusion of the series. In late 2023, Ralph Macchio revealed that a new Karate Kid film is due to release in late 2024, this time crossing over with Jackie Chan's character from the 2010 film.
To tie in with the series, IDW published Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, a four-part comic that features Johnny retelling events of the original movie to his students from his Sympathetic P.O.V.. A Beat 'em Up video game adaptation of the series under the same title, developed by the Brazilian studio Flux Games, was released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 27, 2020, and Windows on January 5, 2021. A sequel, Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising, was released on November 2022.
Also has a recap page.
