While countless films and television series have been delayed due to the ongoing pandemic, fans of Cobra Kai can rest easy knowing that production for the show's third season wrapped before COVID-19 could land a swift crane kick to Hollywood's breadbasket.
Series creator and executive producer Josh Heald recently confirmed to CBR that "production on the third season has been completed for months, with principal photography wrapping before the end of 2019." It's also worth noting that post-production for the new episodes was completed before much of the world went into lockdown, proving once again that members of Cobra Kai strike hard and strike fast, even when going up against an unprecedented disaster.
"Thankfully with Season 3, we wrapped production before the end of 2019 and we wrapped post-production…I think there was a little bit of overlap," Heald told CBR. "We were still doing some finishing touches for the effects and some quality checks on Season 3 while the quarantine aspect of the pandemic was just beginning but we finished our final mix — the last big piece of post-production — that was done in-person with raising champagne and eating cupcakes and all the things you do to feel like you're at your absolute unhealthiest coming out of the completion of a season. [Laughs] So there were no major delays in terms of COVID."
Back in June, it was announced that the first two seasons of COBRA KAI would be making the move from YouTube to Netflix, beginning on August 28th. While a premiere date for Season 3 has yet to be confirmed, this does give fans and newcomers to the Karate Kid revival series ample time to get caught up on all the dojo-related drama.
"Obviously, when Season 3 would've come out on our previous platform was impacted by the fact that we have moved to Netflix and this large audience is now getting the opportunity to experience [Seasons] 1 and 2 before rushing into getting Season 3 right out," Heald said while placing a respectable spin on the wait for new episodes.
If you've yet to watch Cobra Kai, I highly recommend it. It works as a great bit of nostalgia for fans of the original film series but also offers something new and entertaining for those who are new to the concept and characters. Here's the synopsis for Cobra Kai:
Cobra Kai is set 34 years after the original Karate Kid film, and re-examines the narrative from Johnny Lawrence's point of view (placing it within the "minor-character elaboration" genre). His decision to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo leads to the rekindling of his old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso.
Cobra Kai stars William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, and Martin Kove. Be sure that you don't log on and slack off on catching the series when it lands on Netflix beginning on August 28th.