‘Cobra Kai’ Season 3: Netflix Announces New Premiere Date

A new season of Cobra Kai is coming on New Year’s Day. On Thursday, Netflix announced Season 3 of the hit series will premiere on Jan. 1, which is one week earlier than the original release date (Jan. 8). This comes after Netflix took the Jan. 8 release date off its site and replaced it with the vague descriptor of a simple “January.” Fans began speculating the release date was going to be pushed up based on the latest trailer.

“Season 3 finds everyone reeling in the aftermath of the violent high school brawl between their dojos, which has left Miguel in a precarious condition,” the synopsis says. “While Daniel searches for answers in his past and Johnny seeks redemption, Kreese further manipulates his vulnerable students with his own vision of dominance. The soul of the Valley is at stake, and the fate of every student and sensei hangs in the balance.”

Fans have been waiting for Season 3 of Cobra Kai for a long time. All 10 episodes of Season 2 were released on YouTube Premium on Apr. 24, 2019, and ended with Miguel (Xolo Mariduena) suffering a serious injury. Additionally, the very last scene of the season finale showed Ali reconnecting with Johnny (Willam Zabka) via Facebook. The third season was filmed last year, but the show was moved from YouTube to Netflix over the summer. And while Cobra Kai was a big hit for YouTube, Netflix took the show to new heights. According to The Hollywood Reporter, audiences viewed 2.17 billion minutes of Cobra Kai during the week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 6.

“Some of the stories [in Season 3] will dive into the origins of both Miyagi-Do Karate and Cobra Kai,” Ralph Macchio explained to Entertainment Weekly last year when talking about what to expect from Season 3. “Like, the beginnings of those two forms of martial arts, and we’ll learn stuff about both that we never knew. And that includes LaRusso going to Okinawa, which is a piece of season 3.”

Cobra Kai is set 34 years after the hit film The Karate Kid. However, the series is focused on Johnny Lawrence’s point of view and his decision to reopen the Cobra Kai dojo, which leads to renewing his old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso (Macchio). On Jan. 2, the cast of Cobra Kai will join hosts David Spade, Fortune Feimster, and London Hughes on The Netflix Afterparty to chat all things Season 3. Netflix has already renewed Cobra Kai for a fourth season.