Cobra Kai (Season 4)

Season 4
Released	December 31, 2021
Episodes	10
Slogan	Now The Real Pain Begins Fight For the Soul of the Valley
Starring	Ralph Macchio William Zabka Courtney Henggeler Martin Kove Xolo Maridueña Mary Mouser Tanner Buchanan Peyton List Jacob Bertrand Gianni Decenzo Vanessa Rubio
Music by	Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson
Season guide
Previous	Season 3
Next	Season 5

The fourth season of Cobra Kai was announced on October 2nd, 2020. It premiered on December 31, 2021. Filming for the season began on January 20th, 2021 and wrapped on April 30th, 2021.

Cobra Kai season four was the #1 Global show on Netflix, trending #1 in over 80 countries. It earned over 120 million viewing hours.

Synopsis

Season 4 finds the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang dojos joining forces to take down Cobra Kai at the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament... and whoever loses must hang up their gi. As Samantha and Miguel try to maintain the dojo alliance and Robby goes all in at Cobra Kai, the fate of the Valley has never been more precarious. What tricks does Kreese have up his sleeve? Can Daniel and Johnny bury their decades-long hatchet to defeat Kreese? Or will Cobra Kai become the face of karate in the valley?

Cast

Starring

• Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso: Having made peace with Johnny, Daniel teams up with his former rival to train their students in two styles of karate for an upcoming tournament. The only problem? The common goal of defeating Cobra Kai doesn’t stop Daniel and Johnny from butting heads.
• William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence: Struggling to earn Daniel’s respect, Johnny searches for a way to establish his aggressive style of karate as legitimate. Meanwhile, he’s still sorting out his personal struggles with his history of dysfunctional relationships.
• Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso: Still rattled by a recent home invasion and attack on her daughter Samantha by Cobra Kai students, Amanda hopes her husband Daniel can put Kreese out of business and end the threats to her family. At the same time, she takes on more work running the car dealership as Daniel focuses on the dojo.
• Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz: As Johnny’s favorite pupil, Miguel is caught in the middle of his sensei’s long-standing rivalry with Daniel. As Miguel grows closer to Daniel, his relationship with his second sensei’s daughter Samantha faces its own challenges.
• Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene: Having cut ties with his absentee father Johnny and former sensei Daniel, Robby finds support from Kreese at the Cobra Kai dojo. Establishing himself as Kreese’s top student, Robby learns to lead — and to be ruthless.
• Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso: After training with Johnny, Samantha feels newly liberated from the restrictions of her father’s karate style — and his parenting. Unable to let go of an old grudge against former high school classmate Tory, Samantha clashes with her parents and her boyfriend Miguel.
• Jacob Bertrand as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz: Now a member of Johnny’s Eagle Fang dojo and training alongside Daniel’s Miyagi-Do students, Hawk tries to make amends for his past transgressions against them while at Cobra Kai. Meanwhile, he faces retribution from his former comrades.
• Gianni Decenzo as Demetri Alexopoulos
• Peyton List as Tory Nichols
• Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
• Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
• Martin Kove as John Kreese: With his rivals teaming up, Kreese seeks out his old Army friend Terry Silver to help Cobra Kai prepare for the All Valley Karate Tournament. As hostilities continue to flare between the rival dojos, Kreese plays the angles to get into his opponents’ heads.

Guest Starring

• Aedin Mincks as Mitch
• Joe Seo as Kyler Park
• Khalil Everage as Chris
• Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny Payne
• Griffin Santopietro as Anthony LaRusso
• Oona O'Brien as Devon Lee
• Rose Bianco as Rosa
• Selah Austria as Piper Elswith
• Diora Baird as Shannon Keene
• Nathaniel Oh as Nathaniel
• Owen Morgan as Bert
• Annalisa Cochrane as Yasmine
• Hannah Kepple as Moon
• Paul Walter Hauser as Stingray
• Dan Ahdoot as Anoush Norouzi
• Bret Ernst as Louie LaRusso, Jr.
• Milena Rivero as Lia Cabrera
• Brock Duncan as Zack Thompson
• Dustin Lewis as Mr. Palmer
• Susan Gallagher as Lynn
• Barrett Carnahan as young John Kreese
• Nick Marini as young Terry Silver
• Vas Sanchez as Nestor

Special Guest Cast

• Okea Eme-Akwari as Shawn Payne
• Nichole Brown as Aisha Robinson
• Randee Heller as Lucille LaRusso
• Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi
• Carrie Underwood as herself

Co-Starring

See also: Season 4 Minor Characters

Episode List

1. Let's Begin
2. First Learn Stand
3. Then Learn Fly
4. Bicephaly
5. Match Point
6. Kicks Get Chicks
7. Minefields
8. Party Time
9. The Fall
10. The Rise

Awards and Nominations

All awards are from 2022.

Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series	Cobra Kai	Pending

Gallery

Posters

100% on Rotten Tomatoes

Promotional

International Debut Times

First Look

The following images were released prior to the season premiere, and are not in episodic order.

Videos

Cobra Kai- Season 4 - Terry Silver Returns - Netflix

Cobra Kai- Season 4 - All Valley Karate Tournament Promo - Netflix

Cobra Kai- Season 4 - Date Announcement - Netflix

Cobra Kai Season 4 - Official Trailer - Netflix

Cobra Kai Season 4 - Official Clip- Roof Jumping - Netflix

Cobra Kai Season 4 - Official Clip- Fishing - Netflix

Cobra Kai Season 4 - Official Clip- Two Senseis - Netflix

Cobra Kai Season 4 - Official Clip- Life Lessons - Netflix

Andrew Garfield Brought to Tears by Cast of Cobra Kai - tick, tick...BOOM! - Netflix

Cobra Kai- Season 4 - Behind the Action - Netflix

The Most BRUTAL Fight Scenes in Cobra Kai Season 4 - SPOILERS! - Netflix

Only 1% Of Cobra Kai Fans Will Get 100% In This Quiz. Can You? - Netflix

Viewing

Three days after the season premiere, the first batch of viewing data for the season was released.

The Karate Kid sequel, which was originally a YouTube original before moving to Netflix with season three, launched its fourth season on December 31 and clocked up over 120M hours watched during its first three days. It also helped the first season score another 13.5M hours on the streamer. It was the #1 show in 83 countries and counting.

Trivia

• Season 4 takes place in a pre-pandemic world, so while characters aren't wearing masks on-screen, precautions were in place for the actors behind the scenes.
  • Additionally, Season 4 is set in 2019, as confirmed in-universe with the 51st annual All Valley Karate Tournament posters.
• Peyton List and Vanessa Rubio were upped from their roles as guest stars to series regulars.
• William Zabka wrapped filming on April 30, 2021.
• Season 4 revolved around the "51st Annual All-Valley Under-18 Karate Championship".
• Season 4 marks the return of Terry Silver in The Karate Kid franchise. He was last seen in The Karate Kid Part III.
  • His return was hinted with the slogan, "Have patience. He’s just getting everything rolling. Terry Silver returns to the dojo for Cobra Kai IV."
  • Thomas Ian Griffith spoke about his return to Cobra Kai and his role in The Karate Kid Part III with Entertainment Weekly saying, "I never imagined I'd be stepping back into this role, but what an incredible opportunity to bring Terry Silver full circle. When they say Cobra Kai never dies, they mean it!"
  • Executive producers and writers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg talked about Terry Silver's return saying, “Since the beginning of the series, we’ve been carefully orchestrating the right moment to unleash Cobra Kai dojo co-founder Terry Silver back into the universe. That moment is now. We can’t wait for the whole world to experience Thomas Ian Griffith’s majestic return to the franchise.”
• The series original stunt cooridinators Hiro Koda and Jahnel Curfman did not return for the fourth season, citing that the higher-ups chose to "go in a different direction." The decision was a shock to them as they had begun prep for Season 4. Official represenatives for production said it was due to "a scheduling issue with production."
• Carrie Underwood's cameo appearance in the series wasn't just a dream for fans, but for Carrie too, since it's one of her favorite shows. "I grew up watching 'Daniel' and 'Johnny' and I can’t believe I actually get to be a small part of the legacy that is the Karate Kid."
  • She tweeted about her adoration for the series in 2020, which caught the attention of creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. They weren't sure it would come together to have her singing in the All Valley, but it was a "match made in heaven".
  • They didn't use the song 'You're The Best' that played during the 1984 film in the All Valley Karate Tournament, as they felt it would be a copycat of the movie. The chose 'The Moment of Truth' because it "still has that same 1980s sports-rock anthem vibe".
• When asked about the return, or lack thereof, Karate Kid film franchise characters, Hayden Schlossberg explained they want to bring characters in for "important story reasons, not just a fun cameo."
• Ralph Macchio's real-life daughter Julia Macchio guest starred as Vanessa, the therapist cousin of Daniel LaRusso, in Party Time.
• This is the first season to include two uses of the word fuck, as previous season only included one.
• Upon its release, the season rocketed to #1 worldwide on the platform.
• Ralph Macchio still dislikes how The Karate Kid Part III turned out, but is grateful it could pave the way for Season 4 and beyond.
• Keeping the legacy of both Mr. Miyagi and the late Pat Morita alive was critical to both Ralph and the creators.
• Jon Hurwitz and Josh Heald discussed Season 4 with TVLine, explaining some of the key plot points and decisions going into them.
  • Jon on Miguel and Johnny in Season 4, "In a way, Miguel’s decision [to leave the valley] is a split-second one, and in a way, it’s something that’s been brewing the whole season. By the time they realize they’re on different pages, it’s too late."
  • Jon on Johnny's jealousy over Daniel and Miguel befriending one another, "Even though the two of them have buried the hatchet, in a sense, and they’re working together, it’s only natural. When Daniel starts making a connection with Miguel — who is one of the most important relationships in Johnny’s life and is a surrogate son, of sorts — Johnny starts feeling like this lifetime rival of his is potentially a new, better role model that Miguel is turning to instead of him.