Fans of Cobra Kai buckle up; the show is set to drop the first part of its final season tomorrow. Breaking from the established 10-episode format of previous seasons, The Karate Kid spinoff, beginning in 2018, is now set to end its run, after dropping its three-part finale by 2025. But why exactly did the showrunners come up with this unconventional splitting plan?
During an interview with Gizmodo, the show’s creators, Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg, revealed the rationale behind their unique approach. Willing to end the show with a bang, unlike the disappointment dropped on audiences by the highly anticipated Game of Thrones, Cobra Kai showrunners thus planned for a more expansive narrative.
Cobra Kai Split the Finale into Three Parts for an Expansive Narrative
Ever since the end of Cobra Kai season 5, fans have been eagerly anticipating the final season of the popular series. Despite the heavy hearts preparing to bid adieu to the iconic Karate Kid spinoff, fans appear excited about season 6, especially after Netflix announced their decision to conclude the show with the story spanning 15 episodes, releasing in three parts.
Set to release the first part of its final season on July 18, 2024, Cobra Kai creators sat for an interview with Gizmodo, to address the curiosity surrounding this unique approach. Discussing how the idea to extend season 6 beyond the typical 10-episode format emerged right after season 5, Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg expanded on their reason.
This was right after we finished making season five. We had a powwow with Sony and Netflix talking about what’s next. We knew we were coming in for a landing, but we felt like 10 episodes wasn’t enough to wind up all the stories the way we wanted to. And 20 episodes felt like too much. So we’re like, “This should be the final season. Is there a way to make it somewhere in between 10 and 20? And we all landed on 15.” Hurwitz shared.
And once we landed on 15, we were thinking, “How do we want that to come out?” Because we wanted people to get episodes of the show sooner rather than later [instead of] waiting even longer for the show, because it’s been a while since we’ve been out. And we just started thinking of, whenever we’re writing a 10-episode season, we do it in batches of five, in a sense. It’s like we build to a mid-season finale and then build from there to the ending. And this season, it was like, “OK, well, three chunks of five would make sense.” Hurwitz explained.
Explaining how they recognized the need for a more expansive narrative to wrap up the storylines in a satisfying way, Cobra Kai creators mentioned coming up with the idea of more episodes. Amid such a carefully crafted plan, Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg also reflected on their need to balance the comprehensive conclusion while avoiding the issue of an overly extended finale.
Cobra Kai Creators Aren’t Willing to Repeat Game of Thrones‘ Mistake
By choosing 15 episodes spanning over three parts, Cobra Kai creators thus aimed to provide a complete and satisfying ending without unnecessarily stretching the story. This approach seemingly contrasts with the rushed conclusion of the popular HBO series, Game of Thrones, where the finale was criticized for its hurried narrative. So it seems, The Karate Kid spinoff planned on avoiding the mistake made by George R.R. Martin’s adaptation.
Despite being hailed by fans worldwide, for its intricate storytelling, rich character development, and unpredictable plot twists, Game of Thrones unfortunately met with considerable criticism from fans surrounding the final season. Wrapping the key storyline in the finale, in a rapid and unsatisfying manner, the HBO show simply ruined the long-standing legacy of the beloved series.
So it seems that Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg have learned quite a lot from the abrupt ending of Game of Thrones, which unleashed backlash for failing to meet fans’ expectations. Therefore, committed to delivering a finale that meets the high expectations of their audience, Cobra Kai showrunners designed the finale in such a way as to give fans ample time to savor the final chapters of the beloved series.
Cobra Kai is available on Netflix.
Game of Thrones is available on Max.
