‘Cobra Kai’ Season 1 is Now Streaming For Free on YouTube

Lost in the current tsunami of peak TV is YouTube’s ridiculously endearing Karate Kid revival series Cobra Kai. Premiering amidst a sea of TV revivals in 2018, this Ralph Macchio/William Zabka-led series was a step above the rest, earning unanimous praise from critics on its way to receiving a pristine 100% Rotten Tomatoes score for Season 1. Co-creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald’s abiding affection for the franchise is evident as the trio carefully crafted an exciting new chapter that eschews the stale “good guy vs. bad guy” story and instead embraces the captivating ambiguity of the in-between.

By any metric, Cobra Kai was one of the best shows of 2018, and you can now stream all of Season 1 for free.

Back in May, Variety reported that YouTube planned to make their critical darling available to non-YouTube Premium members. For the next two weeks (August 29 to September 11), all ten Season 1 episodes are available to stream on the service for free. But what about Season 2? Great question. You have the instincts of a dogged journalist.

Beginning on September 11, one free episode of Cobra Kai Season 2 will be released weekly, allowing non-Premium members the opportunity to catch-up on the series before it returns for Season 3 in 2020.

Even if you’ve never seen The Karate Kid (which is currently streaming for free on Vudu), Cobra Kai exceeds the hype. Sure, people who adore the original trilogy will savor all the hidden Easter eggs and sly callbacks, but you absolutely, unequivocally do not have to be a Karate Kid fan to enjoy Cobra Kai.

If you’re looking for a holiday weekend binge, Cobra Kai truly is the best around.

Where to stream Cobra Kai