Good news for "Cobra Kai" fans: Season 6 is soon to come, with new episodes featuring Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and the rest of the dojo members set to premiere on Netflix on Thursday, July 18. But that announcement came with a less-than-good development for diehard viewers, as the sixth and final season of the "Karate Kid" spinoff series would be released in not one, not two but three separate parts.
After the first five episodes air this July, the second batch (i.e. episodes 6 through 10) will hit the streaming platform on Thursday, November 28. The final five episodes will premiere in 2025, but the exact date has not been announced yet, so fans still don't know when they'll be able to see all of those narrative arcs wrapped and cliffhangers cleared up (like — spoiler alert! — Martin Kove's John Kreese faking his death and escaping from prison at the end of season 5).
But though that long wait for the "Cobra Kai" finale might have some fans concerned, the show's co-creator and co-showrunner Jon Hurwitz recently took to social media to ease those worries. Taking to X, Hurwitz responded directly to a fan who was worried about stumbling upon spoilers if they waited to watch all of the sixth season in one go.
"My advice is to stop thinking of Season 6 as one final season and instead view it as 3 distinct mini seasons. Each batch was written knowing the release plan, so the experience was designed to be enjoyed in 5 episode chunks," he wrote. "Waiting for all 15 episodes to come out will not enhance your viewing experience."
And Hurwitz also shed some light on the decision-making behind the three-part season release rather than dropping all 15 episodes in one fell swoop: "Post production takes time. Just because we finished filming, doesn’t mean all the episodes will be ready for worldwide consumption by fall. And like I said, they were designed to be enjoyed in 5 episode batches."
The showrunner also had some advice for "Cobra Kai" fans ahead of the season 6 drop: "I’d recommend starting a rewatch now, so everything is fresh in your head when new episodes come out!" (You would have 50 whole episodes of television to get through, so better get cracking!)
Along with Macchio and Zabka, the season 6 cast will include Martin Kove, Xolo Maridueña, Jacob Bertrand, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Peyton List, Gianni DeCenzo, Courtney Henggeler, Vanessa Rubio, Dallas Dupree Young, Yuji Okumoto, Alicia Hannah-Kim, Griffin Santopietro, and Oona O'Brien. And according to Netflix, the upcoming episodes will pick up "with Cobra Kai eliminated from the Valley," during which both the "senseis and students must decide if and how they will compete in the Sekai Taikai — the world championships of karate."
Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all updates surrounding the sixth and final season of "Cobra Kai," including behind-the-scenes tidbits, casting intel, showrunner insights and more. In the meantime, you can revisit the first five seasons of the martial arts comedy-drama with a Netflix subscription.
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