Initially reluctant, Johnny agrees to train Miguel in karate and decides to reopen the 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 (in 19) 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. After losing his job due to an argument with one of his clients, a down-and-out Johnny uses karate to defend his new teenage neighbor Miguel Diaz from a group of bullies. He had an estranged son named Robby from a previous relationship, whom he has abandoned. Thirty-four years after being defeated by Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament, 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 Kreese's assault against him (from The Karate Kid Part II).
In August 2021, ahead of the fourth season premiere, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which is set to premiere on September 9, 2022. Netflix renewed the series for a fourth season, which released on December 31, 2021. Netflix acquired the series in June 2020, and released the third season on January 1, 2021. After production of season three was completed, YouTube decided to stop producing scripted original programming, leaving the show without a home. The first season launched on YouTube Red in 2018, with a second season following in 2019.
The third season was nominated for "Outstanding Comedy Series" at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards. The series has high viewership on both YouTube and Netflix, and has received critical acclaim for its performances (particularly that of Zabka) and character development. Cobra Kai also stars Courtney Henggeler, Xolo MaridueƱa, 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.
In particular, it re-examines the " Miyagi-Verse" narrative from Johnny's point of view, his decision to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo, and the rekindling of his old rivalry with Daniel. Set 34 years later, Cobra Kai continues the original Karate Kid saga, last seen in The Next Karate Kid (1994). It 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 series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and is distributed by Sony Pictures Television. 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.