Cobra Kai Season 6 Release Date, Plot, Cast, Writers, And More Details
Over the course of its five seasons, "Cobra Kai" has taken the idea of revisiting the main characters of "The Karate Kid" in their middle age and forged the cute concept into a captivating story about human relationships and generational trauma, punctuated by tons of belly laughs and cool roundhouse kicks.
Disgraced karate prodigy Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) goes from a self-pitying man-child to a semi-responsible adult and caring father figure, while the successful Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) slowly gets over his own deep-set issues and views, allowing him to see the good in his former adversary. Along the way, their students pick up their various grudges, which leads to many conflicts ... until the re-emergence of karate supervillain Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) finally forces every major character to correct course and join forces for the ending of "Cobra Kai" Season 5.
With the long-running dojo wars now effectively over, this leaves the upcoming season in an uncharacteristically serene place — but how long will the comparative peace last? Let's take a look at what we know about "Cobra Kai" Season 6, and when fans can expect to see it.
When will Cobra Kai Season 6 be released?
Like many other shows, "Cobra Kai" was impacted by the simultaneous WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. As actor Xolo Maridueña told Collider, the "Cobra Kai" cast and crew completed filming on one episode of Season 6 before Hollywood shut down. However, now that the work stoppages are both over, the "Karate Kid" spin-off is getting ready to strike first and strike hard, no pun intended.
Speaking about the show on X (formerly known as Twitter) in December 2023, "Cobra Kai" co-creator Hayden Schlossberg told eager fans that the runtime for the total season would be longer than previous "Cobra Kai" installments, with the last episode being especially hefty. And now, we know exactly when we'll see the teenage drama and martial arts action play out. "Cobra Kai" Season 6 will contain a grand total of 15 episodes, and in an unusual movie for Netflix, the final season will be broken up into three different chunks.
The first batch of episodes will drop on July 18, 2024, with part two following up on November 28. Then we'll eventually get "The Finale Event," but that won't air until sometime in 2025. In other words, you might not be able to binge every episode at once, but we've got longer to spend with our old "Karate Kid" characters and young heroes before they take their final bow.
Is this the final season of Cobra Kai?
Cobra Kai never dies, but the iconic dojo's time on Netflix is coming to an end, at least as far as its namesake show is concerned. In other words, yes, the sad truth is that "Cobra Kai" Season 6 will mark the end of the series.
On January 20, "Cobra Kai" creators and executive producers Josh Hald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg posted a message on the show's official Twitter account, confirming once and for all what astute viewers may already have suspected when Season 5 ended: That Season 6 will wrap up this particular part of Miyagiverse history. "Our day one 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," the statement read. "So it is with immense pride and thankfulness that we are able to announce that achievement. The upcoming Season Six will mark the conclusion of 'Cobra Kai'."
Fortunately, the post also suggested that future Miyagiverse projects might be on the way, possibly by the "Cobra Kai" helmsmen themselves. What's more, the letter stated in no unclear terms that the fans can expect the final season to be a true feast. "In the meantime, strap in for THE BIGGEST SEASON OF COBRA KAI YET," it teased. Fans may also take consolation in the fact that whatever happens in the season will be the exact thing Schlossberg, Hurwitz, and Heald want. In Brazil's Tudum: A Global Fan Event in July, they confirmed that the season will wrap up the story in a pretty thorough fashion — and, more importantly, in the way they have planned all along.
What is the plot of Cobra Kai Season 6?
"The Karate Kid" movies and "Cobra Kai" have always thrived on tournament-centric story arcs, and Season 6 will take place in the grandest stage of them all. Both Cobra Kai and the joint dojo of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang have qualified for the Sekai Taikai, the greatest international karate tournament in the world. What's more, the ending of Season 5 also closes the book on the vast majority of relationship drama storylines, which allows Season 6 to go all in on the tournament preparation stuff and the no doubt numerous final showdowns.
The official description for the show confirms all this, stating, "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." With Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang essentially mushed together, Johnny and Daniel must learn to coexist as senseis — something they've struggled with on a regular basis, despite their vastly improved personal relationship. Meanwhile, Cobra Kai's leadership seems to be in more stable hands, thanks to John Kreese's (Martin Kove) prison escape and Kim Da-Eun's (Alicia Hannah-Kim) apparent loyalty to him instead of Terry Silver, which allows them to act as a more actively antagonistic force than they've ever been.
Finally, both dojos have to contend with the best fighters from everywhere in the world, which brings in numerous third-party threats ... and could even introduce factions that are far more villainous than Cobra Kai could ever hope to be. Add all this to the various interpersonal conflicts that have been established, demolished, and re-established over and over again in the last five seasons, and the stage is indeed set for the grandest "Cobra Kai" season of them all.
Who is starring on Cobra Kai Season 6?
In June, Netflix released a cast reunion video for "Cobra Kai" Season 6, essentially confirming that everyone you'd expect to return will very much do so. William Zabka and Ralph Macchio will naturally be back as Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso. The students of their joint dojo are also present and accounted for, so expect Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), Tory Nichols (Peyton List), Kenny Payne (Dallas Dupree Young), Hawk Moskowitz (Jacob Bertrand), Demetri Alexopoulos (Gianni DeCenzo) and the rest of the gang to play their part. Carmen Diaz (Vanessa Rubio) and Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henggeler) will also appear in Season 6.
Martin Kove's Cobra Kai baddie and escaped convict John Kreese will appear alongside Alicia Hannah-Kim's dangerous Kim Da-Eun. We'll also see the return of Yuji Okumoto as Chozen. And according to Deadline, C.S. Lee of "Dexter" will play a legacy character in the upcoming season of "Cobra Kai." Master Kim Sun-Yung created the brutal karate style called "The Way of the Fist," highly influential on the antagonistic Cobra Kai dojo fighters of yore. Master Kim was mentioned in "The Karate Kid Part III" and has previously appeared on "Cobra Kai" in flashbacks, where he was played by Don Lee. It's not yet clear if Lee's version of the character will appear in the same fashion.
Who will write, direct, and produce Cobra Kai Season 6?
From its beginning, "Cobra Kai" has been helmed by the creator trio of Hayden Schlossberg ("American Reunion," "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle"), Jon Hurwitz ("Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle"), and Josh Heald ("Hot Tub Time Machine") whose comedy background and love of "The Karate Kid" franchise have ensured the show's uniquely entertaining tone.
Apart from serving as creators and executive producers of the show, they are also the principal writers — a trend that will likely continue in Season 6. Other potential directors have not been announced yet, though it wouldn't be particularly shocking to see series veterans Jennifer Celotta ("The Office," "Abbott Elementary"), Joel Novoa ("Arrow"), or Steven K. Tsuchida ("Dear White People") return on the director's seat once more. Likewise, the writers' room is still officially announced apart from the creator trio, though don't be surprised if you see seasoned "Cobra Kai" names like Michael Jonathan Smith ("Twisted Metal"), Alyssa Forleiter ("Twisted Metal"), Stacey Harman ("The Goldbergs"), Bob Dearden ("iZombie"), and Bill Posley ("The Neighborhood," "Shrinking") in the credits.
"Cobra Kai" has been produced by Katrin L. Goodson and Bob Wilson throughout its existence, so that's likely the case for Season 6, as well. Apart from Schlossberg, Hurwitz, and Heald, the show's lengthy list of executive producers includes stars William Zabka and Ralph Macchio, Will Smith, James Lassiter, Caleeb Pinkett, and Susan Ekins.
What will Cobra Kai Season 6 be rated?
If you ask Johnny Lawrence, the only rating "Cobra Kai" Season 6 needs — or, for that matter, wants — is "badass." Fictional characters rarely get a say in real-world TV Parental Guidelines, but Sensei Lawrence's eternally teenage mind would no doubt be delighted to discover that the show's overall rating is TV-14. Since "Cobra Kai" Season 6 clearly intends to turn every possible setting up to 11, it's probably fair to expect that the TV-14 trend will continue.
This means that the show's various displays of intensity, harsh language, and hard-hitting, roundhouse-kicking violence are unsuitable for viewers under 14 ... which is more than understandable when you consider, say, the chilling beatdown Terry Silver hands out to Daniel in Season 5. Incidentally, Johnny's inner teen would probably also be happy to find out that this rating puts "Cobra Kai" in the same brutality ballpark with the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.