Even though Season 4 is still months away, Netflix has already decided to renew the hit Karate-Kid spinoff Cobra Kai for a fifth season, with production said to begin in Atlanta this autumn.
The news should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention, as the kung-fu dramedy has been steadily picking up both viewers and critical acclaim throughout it's three season run, racking up four Emmy nominations in July including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy, Outstanding Stunt Performance, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy.
Cobra Kai started life in 2018 as a spin-off series connected to The Karate Kid franchise, taking place over 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament that served as the climax to the original film, and follows the continuation of the conflict between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), as they both seek to train the the next generation of teenage karate champions.
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Produced by Sony Pictures Television and created by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald, Cobra Kai debuted on YouTube for two seasons as part of the company's brief foray into original content with YouTube Red, and although the series picked up a surprising number of positive reviews it was dogged by low viewership numbers due to its placement on an unpopular platform.
However, in August 2020 the show was picked up by Netflix where it immediately blossomed into a smash hit, with the streaming giant claiming that the show racked up almost 50 million streams during its first month alone. Season 3 soon followed in early 2021, with Season 4 set to arrive in December.
Fans aren't the only ones clamouring for more Cobra Kai content either, with the showrunners claiming they plan to create more content set within the same universe.
"While we don't see Cobra Kai as The Simpsons going on forever, it can have an end - look at Better Call Saul and El Camino," Schlossberg said during an interview in January.
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"The deeper and richer you make the world, the more opportunities there are. When we pitched to Netflix, the show wasn't just season three and four; we talked about all the possibilities we think there are with this franchise."
Season 4 picks up after the events of the season 3 finale that saw Daniel and Johnny combine their dojos to take on the villainous John Kreese (Martin Kove) at the All Valley Tournament.
The season is connected to The Karate Kid Part III and will see the return of sinister karate instructor Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) from the film franchise.
The first three seasons of Cobra Kai are available to stream via Netflix now.
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Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix
