Season 5 of Cobra Kai is now available to stream on Netflix
Cobra Kai season 5 released onto Netflix in September 2022 and now into October, we’re still waiting for an official renewal from Netflix but what could we expect from a new season and how well is the show performing so far? Here’s everything we know about Cobra Kai season 6.
Formerly a YouTube original series, after two seasons Cobra Kai officially moved to Netflix and soared even more in popularity since. The series is a continuation of The Karate Kid movies and takes place 34 years after the events of the original Karate Kid, which reignites the rivalry of Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso.
Has Cobra Kai been renewed for season 6?
Official Netflix Renewal Status: Not yet renewed (Last Updated: 13/09/2022)
Our Renewal Prediction: Likely Renewal
At the time of writing, Netflix has yet to renew Cobra Kai for a sixth season. This is unlike prior seasons where we’ve always known ahead of time that they’re returning.
The creators have said numerous times over the years that they had planned for the show to run at least 6 seasons.
Speaking to Deadline about the possibility of a sixth season recently, Hayden Schlossberg said:
“We have an end in mind. How many seasons it takes to get there, we don’t know. We’re enjoying making it so much. If it gets tiring to us, we’ll stop before that; we have a few more seasons already planned out.”
We’d like to do at least 6 seasons of Cobra Kai. #CobraKai https://t.co/eHCC4ZLTlB
— Jon Hurwitz (@jonhurwitz) May 9, 2020
We’re currently predicting that the series will be renewed for another season at Netflix but with the caveat that it may be a final season order. This is simply because of some of the data suggesting the show has peaked in terms of popularity and other factors.
Using a variety of sources, we can dive into looking exactly how well the show is doing.
For the first time, we can using hourly data provided by Netflix to look at the show’s performance.
As we covered in our September 14th Top 10 report (which uses CVE metrics) we can see the show lagged behind the fourth season. In the report, Frédéric states:
” …its fifth season and its launch of 17.1 million CVE lags a little behind the 21.4 million CVE of Season 4.
But Season 4 was released on the first of January, so that might explain the difference (people have time off around Christmas). “
This data comes from Netflix’s top 10 site where we get 40 hourly figures every week.
So far, between September 4th and October 9th, 2022 the show has been watched for 274.72M hours globally in the top 10s.
Here’s how the show is breaking down hours-wise so far:
| Week Period | Hours Viewed(M) | Rank | Week in Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 4th, 2022 to September 11th, 2022 | 106,700,000 | 1 | 1 |
| September 11th, 2022 to September 18th, 2022 | 95,550,000 (-10%) | 1 | 2 |
| September 18th, 2022 to September 25th, 2022 | 38,120,000 (-60%) | 3 | 3 |
| September 25th, 2022 to October 2nd, 2022 | 20,820,000 (-45%) | 4 | 4 |
| October 2nd, 2022 to October 9th, 2022 | 13,530,000 (-35%) | 7 | 5 |
How does season 5 compare with season 4 in viewership?
Well there’s a notable drop but the two series actually had a similar trajectory down. Season 5 kicked off with an 11% drop down from season 4.
The two seasons then saw the exact same decline week-to-week:
| Week | Season 5 | Season 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 (Partial Week) | 106,700,000 | 120,060,000 |
| Week 2 | 95,550,000 (-10%) | 107,810,000 (-10%) |
| Week 3 | 38,120,000 (-60%) | 41,240,000 (-62%) |
| Week 4 | 20,820,000 (-45%) | 23,840,000 (-42%) |
| Week 5 | 13,530,000 (-35%) | – |
Using external demand we can also see that while the show is still popular, we’re seeing diminishing returns over time.
Google Trends suggests that interest in season 5 was below that of season 4 (where it peaked) and both when Netflix picked up seasons 1-2 and season 3 in 2020.
Google Trends interest for Cobra Kai
Looking at raw top 10 data provided by FlixPatrol, we can see where the show is performing best. The United States and Latin America are where the show have scooped up the most points.
FlixPatrol heatmap for Cobra Kai
What to expect from Cobra Kai season 6 on Netflix
Below, we’ve put together our predictions and expectations for the upcoming season.
We’ve also asked two Cobra Kai superfans for their predictions on what to expect from the sixth season and you can read those theories here.
What is the future of Cobra Kai?
With Terry Silver’s cheating antics revealed to his students, all of them have turned their back on their sensei, and he was subsequently arrested for his crimes.
The future of Cobra Kai has now been thrown into serious doubt, and so too will the dojo’s place in the Sekai Taikai.
As Kim Da-Eun has a 50% stake in Cobra Kai, she may be able to overcome this hurdle and use students from her own dojos by using the Cobra Kai name and branding.
Terry Silver has been arrested and his Cobra Kai legacy is in serious doubt – Picture. Netflix
Will Mike Barnes take over Cobra Kai?
Mike revealed to Daniel and Chozen that he was promised a 50% stake in Cobra Kai by Terry Silver many years ago. While he is unsure if he could find the document or the lawyer to prove it there is a chance the former enemy of Daniel can continue to redeem himself, and Cobra Kai if he were to take over the dojos.
However, this could also lead to a potential Cobra Kai civil war if Mike Barnes leads Terry’s former students who may have to fight the students of Kim Da-Eun.
If Kreese is involved with Kim Da-Eun, we could easily see him try to manipulate the situation by getting Kim Da-Eun to stake her 50% against Barnes’ 50% in a winner takes all bet at the Sekai Takai.
Mike Barnes is no longer a puppet of Tery Silver – Picture. Netflix
What is Kreese up to?
With Kreese making his escape from prison, the only person he can now turn to is Kim Da-Eun, the granddaughter of his former master.
Silver and Kim Da-Eun were already a formidable pairing, but Kreese now has nothing to lose which makes him more dangerous than ever.
Kreese has escaped from jail and is on the loose once moe – Picture. Netflix
What is the future of Miyago-Do and Eagle Fang?
With Silver defeated, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang should be able to make their triumphant return and re-open their dojos, and begin training the students for the Sekai Takai.
As to who represents their respective dojos remains to be seen, but we would expect Miguel to represent Eagle Fang, and Hawk to represent Miyagi-Do. Depending on the situation with Cobra Kai, Robby could represent the dojo over Kenny, however, if Robby were to rejoin Miyagi-Do or Eagle Fang he may have to compete against either Hawk or Miguel.
Samantha will be representing Miyagi Do, and Devon Lee could once again represent Eagle Fang. As for Tory, her place in the tournament could be in doubt if the organizers of the Sekai Takai choose to ban her for not coming clean earlier about Silver’s cheating. This may also lead to Tory’s further redemption if she is allowed to compete.
Johnny’s Eagle Fang karate has come a long way – Picture. Netflix
When will the baby be born?
Johnny is having a baby with Carmen, and it’s not yet clear when the baby is due, which could impact Johnny’s attendance at the Sekai Takai.
Johnny and Carmen have a baby on the way – Picture. Netflix
Will Julie Pierce make an appearance?
Nearly all of the major characters from the original Karate Kid movies have returned to reprise their roles in Cobra Kai. The only omission so far is Julie Pierce, who was previously played by academy award-winning actress Hilary Swank.
It would be extremely fun to see Swank return to reprise her role as Julie, as the character could return to help train the students of Miyagi Do for the preparation of the Sekai Takai.
If there is a further conflict with Kim Da-Eun, it would be incredibly fun to see Julie Pierce go one-on-one with the Korean master of Tang Soo Do.
Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank) may make an appearance in season 6 of Cobra Kai
Who will return for the sixth season of Cobra Kai?
Cobra Kai already has an extremely extensive cast list, but we would expect the majority of the cast to reprise their roles from the fifth season for the sixth season, including;
- Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
- William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence
- Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso
- Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz
- Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene
- Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso
- Jacob Bertrand as Hawk
- Gianni DeCenzo as Demetri
- Martin Kove as John Kreese
- Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
- Peyton List as Tory Nichols
- Griffin Santopietro as Anthony LaRusso
- Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny Payne
- Yuji Okumoto as Chozen
- Oona O’Brien as Devon
- Alicia Hannah-Kim as Kim Da-Eun
We would expect many of the minor cast members to make a return for the sixth season too.
After the arrest of Terry Silver, we can’t confirm for certain that Thomas Ian Griffith will return to reprise his role.
When can we expect to see Cobra Kai season 6 on Netflix?
In the relatively short span of twenty months, we’ve seen the release of three seasons of Cobra Kai on Netflix, starting with season 3 in January 2021, and most recently the fifth season in September 2022.
While subscribers have already become used to seeing new seasons of Cobra Kai on Netflix on a semi-regular basis, the wait for a sixth season could be the longest yet.
First of all, Netflix has yet to renew Cobra Kai for a sixth season, and second, the showrunners of the series have been working on Obliterated, their brand new project for Netflix, which isn’t expected to end filming until November 2022.
This means once Cobra Kai is renewed, we aren’t expecting filming to begin until sometime in 2023. This also means that we may not see the return of Cobra Kai until late 2023, or a more realistic release date sometime in 2024.
Would you like to see a sixth season of Cobra Kai on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!