cobra kai » the show
Cobra Kai is an American martial arts comedy-drama television series and a sequel to the original The Karate Kid films by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and is distributed by Sony Pictures Television. The series was released on YouTube Red / YouTube Premium for the first two seasons, before moving to Netflix starting with the third. The series stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, who reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from the 1984 film The Karate Kid and its sequels, The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989).
The first season launched on YouTube Red on May 2, 2018, with a second season following on April 24, 2019. After production of season three was completed, YouTube decided to stop producing scripted original programming, leaving the show without a home. Netflix acquired the series in June 2020, and therefore, began releasing new seasons on their platform. The third season was released on January 1, 2021. Netflix renewed the series for a fourth season, which was released on December 31, 2021 and a fifth, which was released on September 9, 2022.
Cobra Kai begins in the fall of 2017, and re-examines the "Miyagi-Verse" narrative from Johnny's point of view, beginning with his decision to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo, and the rekindling of his old rivalry with Daniel. Cobra Kai also stars Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Mariduenña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, Peyton List, Vanessa Rubio and Dallas Dupree Young, with Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith also reprising their roles from the films.
The series attained high viewership on both YouTube and Netflix, and has received critical acclaim for its writing, performances, action sequences, humor, character development, and homage to the previous films. It has received numerous awards and nominations, with the third season being nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.
Over three decades after being defeated by Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament in The Karate Kid (1984), Johnny Lawrence, now in his 50s, works as a part-time handyman and lives in an apartment in Reseda, Los Angeles, having fallen far from the wealthy lifestyle in Encino that he had been accustomed to growing up, due to suffering from depression and alcoholism after being traumatized by John Kreese's assault against him in The Karate Kid Part II (1986). He has an estranged son named Robby from a previous relationship, whom he has abandoned.
During the 2017-2018 school year, the first season follows a down-and-out Johnny Lawrence who now lives in a small apartment in Reseda, and works odd jobs. He eventually uses karate to defend his new teenage neighbor Miguel Diaz from a group of bullies, and finally agrees to train Miguel in karate (who had been pleading with him to do so). This decision also leads Johnny to resurrect Cobra Kai karate dojo as a chance to recapture his past; however, this act reawakens his rivalry with Daniel, who was a 2-time All Valley champion and is now the owner of a highly successful car dealership chain, is married to co-owner Amanda, and has two children: Samantha and Anthony. Daniel is finally living the wealthy lifestyle he envied as a kid when he lived in Reseda. However, after his friend and mentor Mr. Miyagi died, Daniel's struggle to meaningfully connect with his children has disrupted the balance in his life. Meanwhile, Johnny's dojo attracts a group of bullied social outcasts who find camaraderie and self-confidence under his tutelage, a marked contrast to the kind of students Johnny and his friends were when training in the original Cobra Kai run by Kreese. Johnny develops a bond with Miguel in a manner that resembles the relationship between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. Cobra Kai's philosophy, however, remains mostly unchanged, though Johnny tries to infuse it with more honor than Kreese did. On the other hand, Robby gets a job at Daniel's car dealership to get back at Johnny for abandoning him. Later, he develops a rivalry with Miguel reminiscent of the rivalry between Daniel and Johnny, and on May 19, he coaches Miguel towards a win at the 2018 All-Valley Karate Tournament (which also led to a loss for Robby).
The second season takes place during the summer of 2018, following Cobra Kai's victory at the 2018 All-Valley Karate Tournament, Kreese returns and his efforts to restore the dojo to its former glory begin to interfere with Johnny's attempts to reform it. Meanwhile, Daniel reopens the Miyagi-Do dojo with Robby and Sam as his students in response to Cobra Kai's success, sparking a massive rivalry between the two dojos. Johnny also briefly reunites with original Cobra Kai members, Tommy, Bobby, and Jimmy. After a brutal school brawl on the first day of school at the end of season two, Johnny is kicked out of the Cobra Kai dojo by Kreese, and agrees to partner with Daniel to bring down the dojo.
The third season takes place during the fall of 2018, and showcases the return of characters such as Ali, Chozen and Kumiko. Next, the fourth season follows in the Winter of 2019, and revolves around their decision to finish off Kreese once and for all by preparing for the next All-Valley Karate Tournament. However, things are complicated when Kreese brings in Terry Silver, his old partner and friend from The Karate Kid Part III (1989), who proves to be a more dangerous and insidious enemy than Kreese himself.
The fifth season continues in 2019, and showcases Daniel and Johnny's efforts to bring down Cobra Kai, which is now run by Silver following a cheated victory at the 2019 All-Valley Karate Tournament and Kreese being arrested after Silver frames him for attempted murder. Daniel also brings in his former rivals Chozen and Mike Barnes for help. Jessica Andrews also returns as Amanda's cousin.