The Karate Kid spinoff series will live to fight another match. According to Deadline, Cobra Kai has been renewed for fifth season on the streaming platform. Set to premiere its fourth season in December, production on the just-announced entry will begin this fall.
Cobra Kai centers on the two stars of the classic 80s film, Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, as they lead students in their own dojos in present-day California, according to Deadline. Executive producers Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid Part II) and William Zabka (Karate Kid III) reprise their respective roles as they see their once fierce teen rivalry transform into an understated friendship. This past season, Ralph and William found themselves merging their respective dojos as a new threat rose in the competitive karate community. The new threat was none other than Martin Kove’s (Traded, Tapped Out) John Kreese. Season four will Kreese and his partner-in-crime, Thomas Ian Griffith’s (Hollow Point, XXX) Terry Silver, seek tournament domination.
The series was a YouTube Red original, airing its first two seasons on the Google-owned video platform in 2018 and 2019. However, during a programming restructuring, YouTube ventured away from scripted content, leaving the popular series and its already-filmed third season homeless. Luckily, Netflix picked the series up and the series’ cult following continued to grow, adding fans of all generations.
According to Deadline, Cobra Kai is scripted and executive produced by Josh Heald (Mardi Gras: Spring Break, Hot Tube Time Machine), Jon Hurwitz (American Reunion, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), and Hayden Schlossberg (Blockers, Plan B) via their Counterbalance Entertainment. They are joined by producers Will Smith (King Richard, Suicide Squad), Jame Lassiter (Seven Pounds, The Karate Kid) and Caleeb Pinkett (Charm City Kings, After Earth) under Smith’s Westbrook Entertainment. Susan Ekins (Ocean’s Eight, Ocean’s Thirteen) is also an executive producer. The series is produced in collaboration with Sony Pictures Television.
All three seasons of the Emmy-nominated Cobra Kai are available to stream exclusively on Netflix.