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SYFY WIRE The Karate Kid

Pain does not exist in this podcast! Cobra Kai's Martin Kove (and kids) set to tell Kreese's story

Cobra Koves will feature Martin Kove and his kids recapping episodes of the hit Netflix series.

By James Comtois
Cobra Kai S4 PRESS

One of the things that The Karate Kid series Cobra Kai has excelled at is humanizing the original film's villains. From Daniel’s point of view, Johnny shows up to harass Ali and beat him up. But as Johnny sees it (and the way he describes it in Season 1), this new kid is sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong and picks a fight with him while he’s trying to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend. Even Tommy, who for decades was mostly known as the “Get him a body bag!” guy, gets to tell his story. 

Well now, it’s franchise uber-villain John Kreese’s turn. After the series presented Kreese's backstory to show that he's not exactly the mustache-twirling villain he's previously been presented as, Deadline is now reporting that Cobra Kai star Martin Kove, who plays the eponymous dojo’s original ruthless sensei, is teaming up with LiveOne-owned audio platform PodcastOne to host a podcast telling Kreese’s story.

Called Cobra Koves, the podcast will have Kove and his kids, fraternal twins Rachel and Jesse (who played a jock that bullied young Kreese in Cobra Kai flashbacks), recap episodes of the hit Netflix series. The Koves will also share stories from the original Karate Kid trilogy and provide listeners with insight into their own family. Per the media outlet, the podcast will also invite “actors, athletes, musicians, and psychology experts” to discuss the series, as well as “Hollywood, pop culture, spirituality, mental health, and bullying.”

“As a Karate Kid fan growing up, and now a Cobra Kai fan, I could not be more excited to welcome the Kove’s to the PodcastOne family,” said PodcastOne president Kit Gray. “The stories and insight that Martin, Jesse, and Rachel will share on Cobra Koves will capture and charm everyone from television fans to film buffs to listeners looking for a set of dynamic hosts delivering top notch content. We cannot wait to share this podcast with the world.”

Cobra Koves launches Jan. 20.

Recently, Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio told SYFY WIRE that the "gray areas" with the characters "are a big part of the Cobra Kai series, and a big part of what differentiates it from the original Karate Kid film," adding: “Episode to episode, your allegiance for who you're rooting for may change in this show, and I think that’s great, because you see them constantly... not just Johnny and Daniel, but other characters as well in the young cast have to redeem themselves.”

Production on Season 5 of Cobra Kai just wrapped, though no word yet on when it will be released. In the meantime, the first four seasons are available to stream on Netflix.