Cobra Kai season 5

The fifth season of Cobra Kai, also known as Cobra Kai V, was released to Netflix on September 9, 2022, and consisted of 10 episodes. The series is a direct sequel to the original four films in The Karate Kid franchise, focusing on the characters of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence over 30 years after the original film. This is the third season to be released to Netflix.

After his success at the All-Valley, Terry Silver, now sole owner of Cobra Kai, seeks to expand the dojo across the valley. Thus, Daniel and a new ally Chozen Toguchi attempt to finally defeat him. Meanwhile, Johnny attempts to repair the rivalry between Robby and Miguel.

The season has twelve starring roles, eleven of which returned from the previous season. Dallas Dupree Young was promoted to main cast after recurring in the previous season, and Gianni DeCenzo was demoted to a recurring cast member, being credited as a "special guest star". The season was met with generally positive reviews from critics.

Main

 * Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
 * William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence
 * Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso
 * Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz
 * Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene
 * Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso
 * Jacob Bertrand as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
 * Peyton List as Tory Nichols
 * Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny Payne
 * Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
 * Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
 * Martin Kove as John Kreese

Recurring

 * Gianni DeCenzo as Demetri Alexopoulos
 * Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi
 * Alicia Hannah-Kim as Kim Da-eun
 * Joe Seo as Kyler Park
 * Oona O'Brien as Devon Lee
 * Griffin Santopietro as Anthony LaRusso
 * Jake Huang as Sensei Hyan-Woo
 * Tyron Woodley as Sensei Odell
 * Stephen Thompson as Sensei Morozov
 * Nathaniel Oh as Nathaniel
 * Aedin Mincks as Mitch
 * Khalil Everage as Chris
 * Owen Morgan as Bert
 * Paul Walter Hauser as Raymond Porter / Stingray

Guest

 * Luis Roberto Guzmán as Hector Salazar
 * Elvia Hill as Maria
 * Sean Kanan as Mike Barnes
 * Robyn Lively as Jessica Andrews
 * Bret Ernst as Louie LaRusso Jr.
 * Dan Ahdoot as Anoush
 * Hannah Kepple as Moon
 * Annalisa Cochrane as Yasmine
 * Rose Bianco as Rosa
 * Diora Baird as Shannon Keene
 * Terry Serpico as Captain Turner
 * Josh Lawson as Owen
 * Sunny Mabrey as Lizzie-Ann
 * Julia Macchio as Vanessa LaRusso
 * EJ Sanchez as Luis
 * Nick Marini as young Silver
 * Barrett Carnahan as young Kreese
 * Sarah Anne as young Kim Da-eun
 * Don L. Lee as Kim Sun-yung
 * Daniel Sarcos as Ring Announcer
 * Jaden Ponce as Zeke

Development
In August 2021, ahead of the fourth season premiere, the series was renewed for a fifth season.

Casting
All main cast members from the previous season returned for the fifth, with Gianni DeCenzo now being credited as a "special guest appearance". Sean Kanan and Robyn Lively guest starred as Mike Barnes and Jessica Andrews respectively, reprising their roles from The Karate Kid Part III. In addition to Kanan and Lively returning, Alicia Hannah-Kim joined the cast as Kim Da-eun. Dallas Dupree Young, who portrays Kenny Payne, was upped to a series regular role after recurring during the fourth season.

Filming
Filming for the fifth season began in September 2021 and finished in December. Like previous seasons, parts were filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, Marietta, Georgia and Los Angeles, California. The Mexico scenes were filmed in Puerto Rico on a two-day filming block, just like the two-day filming block of Okinawa, Japan and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo, Japan for the third season.

Music
Music used during the season primarily highlighted that from the 1980s. Featured artists included Billy Idol, Jon Bon Jovi, and Van Halen. Other songs such as "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" were also used.

Soundtracks
Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson once again returned to compose for the season. Madison Gate Records released two digital soundtrack albums on September 16, 2022. La-La Land Records distributed physical CD releases which featured 13 additional tracks across the two volumes. A single from the first volume, "Once Upon a Time in the Valley", was released a month earlier on August 19. Matt Ryan Tobin designed the cover art for the albums.

Marketing and release
The first teaser trailer for the season was released on May 5, 2022, which confirmed a September 9 release date. The official trailer was released on August 16. The complete fifth season was released on DVD on September 12, 2023.

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the season has received a 98% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10 based on 44 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Deftly managing an expanded roster of punchy personalities, Cobra Kai graduates to a black belt proficiency in heartfelt melodrama and sly humor". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, it has received a rating of 78 out of 100, based on seven reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Between September 4 and October 9, 2022, the show was watched for 274.72M hours globally according to the Netflix top 10s.