Netflix's Martial Arts Show Is So Good, It Was Renewed For 4 Seasons After It Got Canceled

While some of the best martial arts movies of all time are true masterpieces, the genre is still considered somewhat niche, with many of the best-known projects incorporating other genres, like Kill Bill with its neo-Western influence, or featuring career-defining performances from its cast, like Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. That said, there is one iconic and instantly recognizable martial arts movie that defined the 1980s and is still quotable today, and that is The Karate Kid.

Many rebooted TV series fail to capture the original magic, especially when relying on nostalgia, so when it was announced that the TV show Cobra Kai would revive the rivalry between The Karate Kid‘s now-adult Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, this was met with some skepticism. However, Cobra Kai instantly won both critics and audiences over with its balance of nostalgia, self-awareness, and excellent character writing. These earned the first season a perfect 100% positive critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences rating it 95%.

It looked as though Cobra Kai would easily get its planned six-season arc, but it was canceled after its second season when its streaming platform met with problems. YouTube is best-known for original creators, but it briefly tried to compete with streaming giants like Netflix by introducing YouTube Red. Cobra Kai was one of the YouTube Red original TV shows, but the venture was short-lived. Cobra Kai had been renewed for season 3, filming the entire season, but with YouTube Red struggling, there was no guarantee it would get a fourth season, so the creators looked for another option.

Netflix Struck Gold With Cobra Kai

Johnny and Daniel in their gi in Cobra Kai

Netflix might have canceled some excellent TV series, but it has also saved many. The streaming platform had already been offered Cobra Kai in 2017, when the creators pitched the series using a mock trailer from other projects by its main actors, but missed out when the series went to YouTube Red. When the creators looked for a new platform, Netflix took over Cobra Kai and began streaming the ready-filmed third season in 2021. YouTube Red shut down all its scripted shows by 2022, and by then Cobra Kai was becoming a phenomenon in its new home.

The series’ mix of escapism and high-quality drama helped Cobra Kai to go viral during the pandemic. YouTube Red had started making its originals free in 2019, and with so many people looking for a nostalgic comfort watch with a compelling storyline, Cobra Kai had been the perfect series to watch. Of all the major TV shows that were rescued from cancellation, Netflix had struck gold as the show came with both a ready-made season and a built-in fanbase, and it renewed the show for the remaining seasons, with the numbers reflecting Cobra Kai‘s success.

Cobra Kai‘s first episode had been viewed 5.4 million times within the first 24 hours of it arriving on YouTube Red, and market research company Parrot Analytics reported that the show was outperforming TV shows on major platforms at the same time. Cobra Kai was reportedly the most in-demand streaming show in May 2018, and Netflix renewed the show for a fourth season before the third was even released. The platform’s faith in the series paid off, as Cobra Kai became the most popular TV show on Netflix, even outperforming Lucifer and the kids’ streaming juggernaut Cocomelon.

Cobra Kai Reinvented Several Genres At Once

Hawk wearing a gi and shouting in Cobra Kai

Cobra Kai reinvented the martial arts genre by bringing the classic 1980s martial arts tropes into the modern era, while at the same time reversing The Karate Kid‘s underdog story. By focusing on the down-on-his-luck Johnny Lawrence, who was little more than a formidable opponent in the original movie, the series introduced an entirely different kind of conflict that was both less predictable and more complex. The show’s creativity and fresh approach did not stop here, as Cobra Kai is a blend of several reinvented genres.

Cobra Kai’s six seasons
Season	Year	Episodes	Platform	Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score	Rotten Tomatoes audience score
1	2018	10	YouTube Red	100%	95%
2	2019	10	YouTube Premium	91%	92%
3	2021	10	Netflix	90%	91%
4	2021	10	Netflix	95%	91%
5	2022	10	Netflix	98%	92%
6	2024	15	Netflix	91%	80%

While Cobra Kai is undoubtedly one of the best martial arts TV series of all time, it also reinvented the teen drama genre by refusing to stereotype its core characters and playing out many of its central conflicts in the dojo. This was a smart way of ensuring the series appealed to a younger demographic without alienating the older audience who remember the source material.

The Karate Kid franchise is, at its heart, a coming-of-age story, and Cobra Kai even provided a fresh take on this, by having the older Daniel and Johnny learning life lessons as well as being mentors, taking on challenges more typically associated with younger characters. This, combined with the self-aware approach, allowed Cobra Kai to achieve a level of success that few other TV series reach, and the show’s satisfying ending has almost certainly secured its legacy for decades to come.