Why Cobra Kai Season 6 Was Split Into 3 Parts, and More Non-Spoiler Teases

It feels similar a cardinal years agone erstwhile io9 was among the archetypal to outcry from the rooftops that the guys down Harold and Kumar had made a Karate Kid TV amusement for YouTube and that it was awesome. In fact, it was a small implicit six years ago and now, that travel is comes to an extremity with the sixth play of Cobra Kai.

The deed show, which yet moved to Netflix, volition debut the archetypal 5 episodes of a supersized sixth and last play connected July 18, with the adjacent 5 successful November and last 5 successful 2025. And, arsenic we person done every single season, we sat down with the show’s creators—Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg—to speech each astir it.

Below, you get the archetypal sensation of our conversation, including spoiler-free thoughts connected however and wherefore the last play grew successful size, creating the show’s first-ever satellite karate tournament, and that immense tease from the archetypal trailer that suggests we’ll beryllium learning much astir the past of Mr. Miyagi.

Cobra Kai creators Hayden Schlossberg, Josh Heald, and Jon Hurwitz. Photo: Curtis Baker/Netflix

Germain Lussier, io9: The archetypal 5 seasons of Cobra Kai are each 10 episodes. This twelvemonth we’re getting 15 dispersed retired crossed 3 clip periods. How aboriginal did you cognize this was going to beryllium a play and a half, wherever did the thought for the divided travel from, and however did that alteration the storytelling you guys person been utilized to for 5 seasons?

Jon Hurwitz: This was close aft we finished making play five. We had a powwow with Sony and Netflix talking astir what’s next. We knew we were coming successful for a landing, but we felt similar 10 episodes wasn’t capable to upwind up each the stories the mode we wanted to. And 20 episodes felt similar excessively much. So we’re like, “This should beryllium the last season. Is determination a mode to marque it determination successful betwixt 10 and 20?” And we each landed connected 15. And erstwhile we landed connected 15, we were thinking, “How bash we privation that to travel out?” Because we wanted radical to get episodes of the amusement sooner alternatively than aboriginal [instead of] waiting adjacent longer for the show, due to the fact that it’s been a portion since we’ve been out. And we conscionable started reasoning of, whenever we’re penning a 10-episode season, we bash it successful batches of five, successful a sense. It’s similar we physique to a mid-season finale and past physique from determination to the ending. And this season, it was like, “OK, well, 3 chunks of 5 would marque sense.” It’s astir similar 3 acts successful a bigger story. And that’s conscionable thing that we decided to bash creatively. And erstwhile we talked astir that with Netflix, they loved the thought of the 3 drops. And that’s wherever it came from. So we’ve known this for a precise agelong time. And it is each by design.

io9: One of the large surprises successful the archetypal 5 is thing you guys revealed astatine the extremity of the teaser, which is we’re going to larn much astir Mr. Miyagi. To this point, the amusement has truly avoided thing Miyagi. He is evidently a portion of it. It’s Miyagi-Do. But without getting into specifics of what happens successful the episodes, did you ever cognize you wanted to spell into his past a small spot more, and however overmuch other attraction did you enactment into telling this circumstantial story? 

Cobra Kai play 6 volition peek into Miyagi’s past. Screenshot: Netflix

Josh Heald: This was thing we’ve wanted to bash for a while. It became much successful absorption arsenic we got deeper into the series. And we’re ever looking astatine Miyagi done Daniel, mostly due to the fact that that was portion of the formative quality of however we benignant of relaunched his character; this is simply a antithetic Daniel LaRusso astatine a antithetic portion of his beingness and antithetic circumstances, the biggest of which is helium doesn’t person his lifelong person and mentor anymore. So whenever we’ve utilized the Miyagi character, it’s to propulsion connected those affectional strings and truly excavation into the past and usage it arsenic that power-up erstwhile you request it, oregon that reminder of the cleanable basal you person for your foundation.

So arsenic we were benignant of successful the aboriginal seasons of the show, we started reasoning little astir Miyagi arsenic an thought and much astir Miyagi arsenic a man. And that became benignant of an absorbing communicative we wanted to commencement telling. And we realized there’s a batch of powerfulness determination with the chartless communicative that we don’t yet cognize astir Mr. Miyagi. There’s the communicative helium tells Daniel successful the archetypal movie and the 2nd movie. And past there’s a batch of connecting of dots that happens arsenic a result.

We wanted to archer truly archetypal and foremost a grounded communicative astir idiosyncratic successful adulthood encountering an further information astir a genitor oregon a grandparent that challenges what they cognize astir that person. And that’s conscionable world for a batch of people. People stock parts of themselves, sometimes 99% of themselves with different people. But there’s usually thing that is not your finest hr oregon is thing that possibly doesn’t use to a definite relationship, oregon possibly flies successful the look of what you’re trying to achieve. And what if Daniel were to find retired thing that would perchance situation his sentiment of Mr. Miyagi and instrumentality him disconnected that saintly pedestal wherever helium could bash nary wrong, and each prime helium made was ever right? And we felt similar that was a large spot to commencement that quality travel and that story, due to the fact that it honors Mr. Miyagi arsenic a antheral and not conscionable arsenic a cleanable being.

Miyagi-Do trains for the Saikai Taikai. Photo: Curtis Baker/Netflix

io9: The play evidently focuses connected prep for the “Saikai Taikai,” which is you guys creating your ain tournament. The All Valley benignant of had a blueprint from the different movies and this does not. So archer maine a small spot astir figuring retired the logistics of the tourney which comes into play aboriginal this season.

Hayden Schlossberg: Yeah, 1 of the amusive tasks of play six was creating the Saikai Taikai and figuring retired precisely what that tourney operation was and what it would beryllium similar to ticker it. And you know, it was a operation of reasoning astir what we privation to enactment our characters done on with what we would privation to spot successful a martial arts tournament. Who cares what the world is? And past the 3rd portion is “What is the reality?” We really did look astatine tournaments and spot what’s been happening. So it’s similar a operation of inspiration from the existent world, benignant of like, “Hey, this is our ain teenage kumite,” and besides what’s the champion story? What are the champion combat scenarios that would instrumentality our characters and make the astir entertaining story?

io9: I emotion that, I can’t wait. Now it’s inactive months until we spot the last episodes and there’s inactive enactment to do, but successful a way, you guys person benignant of finished the show. There’s nary much communicative you tin truly tell. So I’m wondering, however bash you consciousness astir the travel astatine this moment? Do you consciousness similar you accomplished everything you wanted to astatine the beginning? Did you permission thing connected the table? Tell maine a small spot astir however you guys consciousness close now.

Heald: I deliberation we’re each feeling elated that we delivered connected the unit we enactment connected ourselves to onshore the mothership the mode that we ever wanted to. We achieved everything successful this bid that we acceptable retired to do. And we were unapologetic successful our thrust and our goals to bash immoderate really, truly large things arsenic the sixth play winds down. We had truthful galore balls successful the aerial erstwhile we entered play six successful presumption of characters you attraction about, storylines that are successful progress, and characters and storylines that we privation to statesman to archer due to the fact that we’re ever telling thing caller with a caller play arsenic well.

And portion landing each of those storylines and arcs, immoderate of them volition extremity neatly, immoderate of them volition inevitably not. And that was intentional successful a mode to decidedly permission thing connected the table. For us, there’s ever much connected the array due to the fact that each caller play conscionable creates caller branches of that tree, and the 3 of america ne'er stopped talking about, “Oh, you know, what would beryllium large if you bash this?” There’s always—unless everybody is conscionable being lined up and shot, which could happen! I don’t know! It hasn’t travel retired yet! [Laughs]—there’s ever much to archer that you’ll beryllium funny about. And the 3 of america would emotion to proceed to enactment wrong this universe. It’s our favourite beingness to play in. And we person a batch of different ideas that are connected our minds already that we’re starting to sermon with our partners.

The kids of Cobra Kai successful the woods. Photo: Curtis Baker/Netflix

io9: That’s perchance precise breathtaking and I won’t travel up due to the fact that I’ve spoken to you each capable to cognize it’s a discarded of time.

[All laugh.]

io9: You sprout astir of the amusement successful Atlanta but precocious we saw a mates of images released of you shooting retired successful the San Fernando Valley. What tin you archer maine astir wherefore it was important to sprout thing successful the Valley and the wide scope of that?

Schlossberg: Well, each play we effort to person a caller flavor, a caller determination portion staying existent to the archetypal Karate Kid. So successful play six we’re going to spell to a spot that we haven’t seen before. If you haven’t watched the archetypal 5 episodes, you’re going to find retired wherever the Saikai Taikai is and that’s going to enactment our characters successful a caller situation that we haven’t seen. But astatine the extremity of the day, this is simply a communicative that is based successful the Valley. And it’s astir what happens aft the tourney and wherever everyone settles and however the Valley is left. So we knew that adjacent though we sprout successful Atlanta and we’re faking a lot, we needed immoderate iconic Valley moments arsenic we ended the section of Cobra Kai.

And that’s the extremity of this section of this interview. Check backmost adjacent week for immoderate much non-spoiler nostalgia and, finally, spoilers aft release. Cobra Kai Season 6: Part 1 debuts connected July 18; you tin ticker it here.

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