Netflix‘s smash hit Cobra Kai has officially been renewed for a fourth season.
The show – a television continuation of The Karate Kid franchise – has been picked up just as season three premiere has been scheduled to debut on January 8.
The smash hit stars original Karate Kid actors Ralph Macchio, 58, and William Zabka, 54, and started streaming on Netflix in August to rave reviews.
Cobra Kai: The cast and crew of Netflix’s smash hit Cobra Kai revealed that the show had just been renewed for a fourth season. The show is a continuation of The Karate Kid franchise and stars Ralph Macchio, 58, and William Zabka, 54, as well as dozens of up and coming actors
The show originally began on Youtube and became a breakout hit after hitting 55M views on episode one. Its second season premiered to similar numbers, which caused the platform to greenlight a third season in April 2019.
After receiving the news that Youtube would not go past a third season, Sony TV got permission to shop around for a new home that could order additional episodes of the show, which is how they secured their partnership with Netflix.
Cobra Kai takes place 30 years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament where a grown-up Karate Kid, Macchio, struggles in life without the guidance of Mr Miyagi.
To make matters worse he must face his former nemesis Johnny, played by Zabka, who seeks vengeance by re-opening the Cobra Kai dojo.
Redemption: The continuation of the epic 1984 franchise, Macchio and Zabka face off in the spinoff as they tackle life as adults without the guidance of Mr Miyagi
Breakout star: Buchanan, 21, is set to star opposite Addison Rae in the upcoming remake of She’s All That. In addition to a cast of Karate Kid originals, the show’s spinoff has provided a wave of fresh talent
With the spinoff comes a wave of fresh talented faces, including actor Tanner Buchanan, 21, who has just been cast to star opposite Addison Rae in the remake of She’s All That.
Taking to social media to share their excitement, show creator Jon Hurwitz posted a photo of a cast zoom call where the team found out the show was getting picked up for another season.
He captioned the post, ‘That face you make when you just found out Season 4 was picked up!’
Zoom celebration: Show creator Hurwitz shared a snap of the cast and crew of the show on a Zoom call as he rejoiced that the show had been picked up for yet another season
Also reveling in the news was Macchio, as he took to Twitter to share his enthusiasm.
‘HERE-WE-GO!’ Ralph tweeted, as he shared the brand new trailer of the show’s upcoming third season.
In an interview with The Guardian in late August, Macchio revealed how his defining role in the Karate Kid followed him throughout his whole life, even sharing he named his son Daniel after his character.
Karate comeback: Original Karate Kid Macchio took to Twitter to share in the excitement that the show was coming back for a fourth season as he wrote ‘HERE-WE-GO!’ before sharing the upcoming season three trailer
He also talked life after the role sharing, ‘I wasn’t the biggest risk-taker, and I’m sure there were lost opportunities because of that. But also, maybe my caution helped me to stay grounded, so I’m at peace with the choices I made.’
Even before the conception of Cobra Kai, Macchio’s career – despite having roles in The Outsiders and My Cousin Vinny – has largely been marked by his role as Daniel LaRusso.
Noticeably absent from the spinoff is the late Pat Morita, who played Mr Miyagi.
Speaking of the massive loss, Ralph shared: ‘There’s a montage scene in series two in which I’m teaching a younger kid, just as Miyagi taught LaRusso, and that brought a real rush of emotion for me. Every time we shoot I hearken back to those early days of rehearsal with Pat.’
Season three kicks off on Netflix on January 8th.
Defining: Macchio’s role as Daniel in the film has stuck with him for his entire life, and even inspired him to name his son after his character. Though Ralph credits not being a big risk taker with some missed career opportunities he revealed that he was ‘at peace’ with his Karate Kid legacy