“The show sometimes bites off more than it can chew”: Cobra Kai Season 6 is Seemingly Facing the Same Problem That Has Plagued the Show Since Season 3

The highly anticipated martial arts comedy-drama television series Cobra Kai premiered its sixth season on Netflix on July 18, 2024. The sixth season is divided into three parts consisting of five episodes each. Cobra Kai, starring Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, and more, is a direct sequel to the original films in the Karate Kid franchise.

Created by Josh Heald, Hayden Schlossberg, and Jon Hurwitz, the series initially premiered on YouTube Red and YouTube Premium before making its way to the streaming platform starting with the third season. The series was highly praised for its writing, performances, action sequences, and more, but it has been facing critical complaints from fans since season three, and the sixth season is no different.

Cobra Kai viewers express disappointment with Season 6: Part I

The sixth and final season of Cobra Kai starring William Zabka, Ralph Macchio and more premiered with Part 1 on Netflix on July 18, 2024, and it is the first time that a series on Netflix has been split into three parts. The audience that had been waiting for the final season seemed a little disappointed with Part 1, as, according to Paste Magazine, the storylines on the show have become familiar and repetitive. The publication also added that even though Part I has a dull start, there is a possibility that it could be like a setting a foundation for the upcoming parts in the final season.

The five episodes that premiered showcased the kids preparing for the Sekai Taikai, which is the World Championship Competition for Karate. Fans were quick to take it to their social media to discuss the episodes and a Reddit user noted that the Sekai Taikai venue in the episodes looked smaller than the All-Valleys. Plus, it had no audience, which was surprising to them as they expected the competition to be held on a grand scale, with other countries in the competition.

A user replied to the comment by mentioning that, just like everyone else who loves the show, they thought that the makers would make the room bigger, adding that they hope that the future episodes do not turn out to be a cinematic failure like season 4 tournaments. Another user replied to the comment by explaining that this could be because of the budget of the show, which is minuscule compared to what the makers wanted to pull off. They added,

You just have to accept that the show sometimes bites off more than it can chew.

Another ardent fan of the show questioned how the streaming giant could pull hundreds of millions for Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon, but could not fund one of the most popular series on its platform. But one thing that the fans have appreciated is the cliffhanger at the end of the fifth episode, which is going to continue in Part 2 of the sixth season, which is set to premiere in November 2024.

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It is not the first time viewers have complained about the poor cinematography of the show. Similar thoughts were shared during S5, as a user at the time had noted that the settings of the show looked cheap and the lack of sunlight just added to the disappointing visuals.

S3 also faced the same complaints from viewers, who pointed out that the bad lighting on the show made it seem like their budget was cut in half. They noted that it seemed like everything was set like a multi-camera sitcom, pointing out that the flashbacks shown were more realistic and had an authentic look and feel to them, compared to the present scenes.

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According to ScreenRant, the budget for one episode of Cobra Kai is around $2–3 million. The budget, which was relatively higher than the budget YouTube pitched when the show premiered on YouTube Premium, allowed the makers to bring several stars from the Karate Kid franchise to star on the show.

Ralph Macchio explains if Cobra Kai ties in with the new Karate Kid movie

In a recent interview with Collider, actor Ralph Macchio clarified if the upcoming new Karate Kid movie has its strings attached to Cobra Kai. The actor is going to reprise his role as Daniel LaRusso in the movie alongside Jackie Chan. He mentioned,

I cannot go into too much detail at this early point. That movie’s not hitting until May 30, 2025. But yeah, it was important to me. Mainly, to me, it was about always being true to LaRusso. I tried to play truth in 1983 when I originated this character, and I still always, do throughout Cobra Kai.

He explained that the upcoming movie is about being honest and truthful to the character, and the S6 of Cobra Kai helped him in finding references in a way that makes sense for his character. He added that it helps motivate the actions, and hopes that fans see it in a good way.

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The co-creator of Cobra Kai stated earlier in his conversation with ScreenRant that their series does not set up the upcoming movie, noting that it only exists in the same universe. He noted that the upcoming movie is a Sony feature and even though they provided the makers with their suggestions after reading the script, they were not involved in the making of the movie. 

Cobra Kai S6: Part I is streaming now on Netflix.