YouTube is shopping (what I imagine is) its most popular original seriesCobra Kai, which has all kinds of buyers lined up, with – naturally – Netflix and Hulu the presumed frontrunners.
Season 3 ofCobra Kaihad been slated to air on YouTube, and Sony Pictures Television asked for permission to shop the show when YouTube declined to order Season 4, but what’s interesting is that the streamer only agreed to let go of the series provided Sony TV could find another home for it. That makes sense. Not only would YouTube be crazy to let the series leave as a free agent and not get any compensation forCobra Kaiafter spending millions to market the show and develop its fanbase, but whether it’s Netflix or Hulu that wins this bidding war, both streamers will want to buy past seasons of the series. And that, I imagine, is what these negotiations boil down to. Because there’s no point in Netflix releasing Season 4 if viewers have to go to YouTube to watch the first three seasons and make sense of the story.
Of course, YouTube’s decision is also in line with its mission to retreat from original scripted programming – or at least shows that come at a premium, likeCobra Kai, which is spun off from the hugely successfulKarate Kidfranchise. It seems like a much more expensive show to produce than YouTube’s other scripted series,Liza on Demandstarring popular Youtube personalityLiza Koshy. Meanwhile, as I wrote this article, Starz has revived YouTube’s canceledStep Upseries, which really puts a fine point on this entire paragraph. At the end of the day, it just seems like no one really wanted to pay for content on YouTube… and they kinda knew that.
For those not familiar withCobra Kai, this continuation of the original trilogy starsWilliam ZabkaandRalph Macchioand picks up decades after the events in theKarate Kidmovies. It was one of the Top 10 most-Googled TV shows in 2018, and the first episode drew 55 million views on YouTube, though to be fair, it was released for free in front of the site’s premium paywall.
Cobra Kaiis written and executive produced byJosh Heald,Jon HurwitzandHayden Schlossberg. The three of them serve as showrunners, and also direct most of the episodes. Zabka and Macchio executive produce alongsideWill Smith,James Lassiter,Caleeb PinkettandSusan Ekins.
Fans of the series canclick hereto find out Zabka’s favorite scenes from Season 2.
