‘Cobra Kai’ Creators’ Action-Comedy ‘Obliterated’ Moves From TBS to Netflix

Lesley Goldberg
·2 min read
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Netflix is expanding its relationship with the Cobra Kai creators.

The streaming giant, who famously rescued the Karate Kid sequel after YouTube bailed on scripted, has handed out an eight-episode series order to Obliterated. The action-comedy was previously picked up by TBS with a straight-to-series order in 2019 only to be dropped a few years ago. The Netflix order for Obliterated, from exec producers/showrunners Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald, is for eight, 45-minute episodes.

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Sources say TBS’ decision to drop Obliterated had nothing to do with Warner Bros. Discovery’s further divesting in scripted at the so-called T-Nets, which also include TNT and TruTV. Over the past three years, the scripted roster at all three basic cable networks has slowly dwindled to just a handful of originals as the networks shift to focus on sports and lower-cost unscripted programming.

Netflix describes Obliterated as “a high-octane action-comedy that tells the story of an elite special forces team who thwarts a deadly threat to Las Vegas. After their celebratory party, filled with booze, drugs and sex, the team discovers that the bomb they deactivated was a fake. The now intoxicated team has to fight through their impairments, overcome their personal issues, find the real bomb, and save the world.” The logline is effectively the same as when TBS greenlit the show in late 2019.

Hurwitz, Schlossberg and Heald will direct multiple episodes of the show and exec produce alongside their Counterbalance Entertainment colleague Dina Hillier. The series — like Cobra Kai — hails from Sony Pictures Television, where the Cobra Kai trio and longtime friends and Karate Kid superfans have been based for years with an overall deal.

For Netflix, meanwhile, Obliterated marks the streamer’s second show from the trio and comes after Cobra Kai became a surprise hit after arriving on the platform from YouTube. Netflix picked up the previously aired seasons of the series that features Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprising their iconic roles alongside a new generation of karate students. While the streamer does not release traditional viewership data, the action-comedy became a broad hit on the platform and prompted additional renewals at Netflix. Season four of the series reached No. 1 on Nielsen’s top 10 streaming chart, with Netflix handing out a speedy season five order.

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