Don't blame Netflix: Cobra Kai season 6 was already planned to release in parts

When Netflix revealed the release date for the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai, some fans were none too pleased to learn that there were actually release dates, plural. The super-sized final season, which contains 15 episodes in total, was split into three parts with each containing five episodes. With the first part released on July 18, one of the bosses is revealing the details behind that choice.

Splitting seasons has been a growing trend on Netflix in the past few years, especially lately. The likes of You, Stranger Things, Bridgerton, Emily in Paris, and many more Netflix original series have had their most reason seasons released in parts, separated by a month or more, rather than dropping all at once. For Cobra Kai at least, releasing in parts was all part of the creative plan.

Cobra Kai season 6 was planned in "three chapters"

In an interview with Variety following the release of Cobra Kai season 6 part 1, co-creator and co-showrunner Jon Hurwitz responded to the outlet's question about the show releasing in batches for the first time. All of the five previous seasons have contained 10 episodes and dropped in the traditional binge format. This time, they knew they needed more episodes.

Hurwitz revealed that, knowing season 6 would be the last, the creative team wanted to make sure that they "land[ed] all the planes in the best possible way," which required an increase from 10 to 15 episodes. And in increasing the episode count, that allowed them to craft the season's arc in "three chapters," leading to the eventual three-part release. Here's Hurwitz's explanation:

"When we landed on 15, it felt natural to us to split it up into three parts, three chapters, three acts. Whenever we’re writing Cobra Kai, even in all the prior seasons, they’d be 10 episodes, but we’d write to a midpoint. We’d write through five episodes, and then plan for the back half. This was a similar writing experience, except having the real estate of 15 episodes."

- Jon Hurwitz, co-creator

As Hurwitz explains, it was a natural part of the writing process to focus on five episodes at a time in order to make sure they were constantly building toward something. "That was the plan," as he revealed to Variety, and with such a large order to begin with, it was almost a given that Netflix would break up the season in a minimum of two batches. It was just a matter of how.

Understandably, some viewers have grown exhausted of the multi-part releases for streaming series. Netflix in particular made audiences accustomed to full season drops, which opened up a new way to watch television. Some still prefer weekly releases like traditional linear television, but others prefer to have an entire finished product at their fingertips. Releasing in parts prevents viewers from watching the full story that had seemingly been promised to them from the get go.

It's frustrating and I can understand the viewpoint of wanting to watch the full season all at once, but to be fair, you could still do that. You have to wait a little bit longer, but it's doable. But I'm part of the minority of television fans who don't mind batch releases as, personally, it doesn't ruin the viewing experience. I'm also part of the probably even smaller minority that believes the binge-watching model has negatively changed both the television industry and how we consume stories, but I digress.

But all in all, when you're watching Cobra Kai season 6 part 1 and find yourself griping that there are only five episodes currently available to watch, remember that that's how the creators wanted fans to watch this season final season. They wanted us to savor the final hurrah! Instead of unleashing an overwhelming 15 episodes at once and having everyone watching at different times and getting spoiled. No one wants to wait, no one wants to be spoiled, but at the end of the day, we all want to watch!

Watch Cobra Kai season 6 part 1 only on Netflix.