Netflix's Ambitious 6-Part Martial Arts Series Is So Good, It Makes The Movie Version Look Small

Published Oct 6, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. It is shockingly tough to get martial arts TV shows right, but one Netflix series managed to outdo even its cult classic inspiration to pull off this exact achievement. For a streaming service that has been lauded for its innovation, Netflix can be surprisingly reliant on nostalgia. From the Stephen King-inspired ‘80s sci-fi adventure Stranger Things to the Addams Family spinoff Wednesday, plenty of the biggest Netflix shows ever are throwbacks to classic movies and TV shows of yore. For every Netflix series that breaks with genre conventions radically, like the dark dramedy BoJack Horseman, the streaming service also has a straightforward nostalgic reboot like Fuller House. Even one of Netflix’s best psychological thrillers ever, 2024’s standalone miniseries Ripley, was adapted from the same Patricia Highsmith novel as 1998’s classic mystery movie The Talented Mr. Ripley. This makes it all the more surprising that Netflix’s The Karate Kid spinoff, Cobra Kai, turned out to be a sprawling, superb subversion of the original franchise’s straightforward, simplistic story. Any modern update of The Karate Kid series ran the risk of feeling entirely redundant, but Cobra Kai was instead a radical re-imagining that profoundly outdid the original movies in every way. This started with its antihero, William Zabka’s embittered alcoholic Johnny Lawrence. Netflix's Cobra Kai Goes Bigger Than Karate Kid In Every Way Co-created by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg of the Harold & Kumar franchise and Hot Tub Time Machine co-screenwriter Josh Heald, Cobra Kai’s premise initially sounded like a comedy sketch these 2010s icons would come up with. An aging loser who never got over his teenage loss to the original movie’s hero, Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso, Johnny establishes a dojo to help some local outcasts defeat their bullies. The fact that their bullies were reminiscent of Johnny’s younger self isn’t lost on the regretful, self-loathing character, and Cobra Kai’s early seasons gradually flesh out Johnny’s character until viewers are left feeling like The Karate Kid’s hero Daniel is almost the reboot’s villain. Then, Cobra Kai expands its cast and deepens the show’s emotional impact when Johnny and Daniel’s dojos go into competition with each other, dredging up their past rivalry. As the show continued, Cobra Kai introduced a massive cast of students who were both compelling characters in their own right and a useful way for the series to contrast the worldviews of Johnny and Daniel. The very premise of Cobra Kai ensured the series was more morally ambiguous and complex than the feel-good simplicity of the original movies, but the stories of these students and their relationships with their mentors meant the show’s world felt bigger and more lived-in, too. Cobra Kai's Final Tournament Was The Ultimate Upgrade Image courtesy of Everett Collection As the plot of Cobra Kai continued, the show truly outdid itself, going from a funny, subversive re-imagining of The Karate Kid’s loser villain to an expansive, multi-faceted character drama that owed as much to The Wire as the original movies. Set at a global tournament between 16 international dojos, the show’s final season proved just how much Cobra Kai had transcended its origins to become a genuinely compelling saga in its own right. Tory’s grief, anger, and betrayal, the conflicted loyalties of Miguel and Robby, the revelations about Miyagi’s past, and Johnny and Daniel’s struggles with Kreese combine to create a world where the Karate Kid movies end up feeling comically myopic. With complex meditations on masculinity, legacy, and the role of violence in combat sport, Cobra Kai’s final outing is as ambitious as any TV drama of its era. When the series first began, its premise seemed like a cute, funny revisionist take on a ‘80s classic, albeit one that had limited potential. By Cobra Kai season 6, Netflix’s The Karate Kid spinoff had become arguably the most compelling martial arts TV show ever, and a classic teen drama to boot. Release Date 2018 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix, YouTube Premium Showrunner Jon Hurwitz Cast Ralph Macchio Daniel LaRusso Directors Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Joel Novoa, Jennifer Celotta, Steven K. Tsuchida, Sherwin Shilati, Marielle Woods, Steve Pink, Lin Oeding, Michael Grossman Writers Josh Heald, Ashley Darnall, Chris Rafferty, Bill Posley Creator(s) Hayden Schlossberg, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz