The series stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, reprising their respective roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from the film series, alongside Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, Peyton List, Vanessa Rubio, and Dallas Dupree Young.

[3] The series attained high viewership on both YouTube and Netflix, and received critical acclaim for its writing, performances, action sequences, humor, character development, and faithfulness to the films.

The following characters only appear via archival footage from the film series: The thematic genesis for Cobra Kai began with a few works of pop culture.

[7] Next in June 2010, Ralph Macchio appeared in Funny or Die's online short, "Wax On, F*ck Off", in which his loved ones stage an intervention to turn the former child star from a well-adjusted family man into an addict besieged with tabloid scandal in order to help his career (with frequent references to The Karate Kid).

Cobra Kai was greenlit in August 2017, with ten half-hour episodes, written and executive produced by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg.

[12][13] The trio was joined by executive producers James Lassiter and Caleeb Pinkett of Overbrook Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television.

As YouTube was not interested in renewing the series for a fourth season, the producers wanted to find a streaming venue that would leave that option open.

[31] Hurwitz has also clarified that he does not consider The Karate Kid animated series (1989) to be part of the Miyagi-verse canon, but an Easter egg from it appears in season three, in response to the question about its status within Cobra Kai.

Additional The Karate Kid actors included Randee Heller as Daniel's mother Lucille LaRusso,[35] and Martin Kove as John Kreese.

[39] In season two, Macchio, Zabka, Maridueña, Mouser, Buchanan, and Henggeler all returned,[36] with Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, and Kove being promoted to series regulars, and newcomers Paul Walter Hauser and Peyton List joining the cast.

[40][41] The Karate Kid actors Heller, Rob Garrison (Tommy), Ron Thomas (Bobby), and Tony O'Dell (Jimmy) made guest appearances during this season.

In season four, Rubio and List were promoted to series regulars,[42] while Dallas Dupree Young and Oona O'Brien were cast in recurring roles.

[42] In addition, Thomas Ian Griffith reprised his role as Terry Silver from The Karate Kid Part III,[43] while Okumoto[44] and Heller made guest appearances.

[45] In addition, Sean Kanan and Robyn Lively reprised their respective roles as Mike Barnes and Jessica Andrews from Part III.

[55] Exterior locations included Golf N' Stuff in Norwalk and the South Seas Apartments in Reseda, both of which were originally featured in The Karate Kid.

[61] The series was promoted at the annual Television Critics Association's winter press tour held in January 2018, when YouTube's global head of original content Susanne Daniels described the show: "It is a half an hour format but I would call it a dramedy.

[69] The series held its world premiere on April 24, 2018, at the SVA Theatre in New York City during the annual Tribeca Film Festival.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Cobra Kai continues the Karate Kid franchise with a blend of pleasantly corny nostalgia and teen angst, elevated by a cast of well-written characters.

Its critical consensus reads: "While Cobra Kai's subversive kick no longer carries the same gleeful impact of its inaugural season, its second round is still among the best around – no amount of mid-life crisis and teenage ennui's ever gonna keep it down.

The website's critical consensus reads: "By pairing its emotional punches with stronger humor, Cobra Kai's third season finds itself in fine fighting form.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Cobra Kai still delights in a fourth season that mines great fun from shifting alliances, chiefly the uneasy truce between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso.

"[82][83] Metacritic's weighted average assigned the fourth season a score of 70 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The site's critical consensus reads: "Deftly managing an expanded roster of punchy personalities, Cobra Kai graduates to a black belt proficiency in heartfelt melodrama and sly humor.

The website's consensus reads: "Having achieved mastery over its formula, Cobra Kai's sixth and final season doesn't hit as hard but still maintains excellent form.

[91] According to market research company Parrot Analytics, the first season of Cobra Kai was the world's most in-demand streaming television show during May 2018.

[134] All music is composed by Leo Birenberg and Zach RobinsonCobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, a video game based on the series, was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on October 27, 2020, and for Microsoft Windows on January 5, 2021.