“For a while now Netflix has been splitting the seasons of its big shows into two parts, but three so far apart now verges on ridiculous.” Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL isn’t happy with the release plans for the Cobra Kai finale series.

IT’S hard to imagine transplanting a character from a 40-year-old film into six seasons of modern TV and still keeping it fresh, but Netflix’s Cobra Kai has done just that.

This pithy comedy-drama reignites the famous feud between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, the two teens at the centre of 1984’s classic flick The Karate Kid.

Both Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprise their roles, but the twist here is that the show actually follows the bad guy.

Thirty-four years after their showdown at the All Valley Karate Tournament, Jonny has been crane kicked into a life of boozing and depression. All that changes though when he reopens the infamous Cobra Kai Dojo, his last chance at redemption.

In an age of spin-off and sequel exhaustion, this is one of those rare shows that continues to surprise and innovate with its story, but now Cobra Kai is finally calling it time with its sixth and final season which has just been released on Netflix.

Although this is the finale of the beloved show, the end isn’t anywhere near in sight yet.

Netflix is splitting the final season into not two, but three different batches all with different release dates to stretch out the hype as much as they possibly can.

So far audiences have been treated to the first five episodes. The second set won’t release until November and the final five episodes haven’t been given a release date at all, just some vague time off in 2025.

For a while now Netflix has been splitting the seasons of its big shows into two parts, but three so far apart now verges on ridiculous

Cobra Kai has proven it still has some big punches to land but Netflix’s obnoxious release plan is only holding its own show back from the swansong it deserves.

OVER on Binge, the second season of a series made here at home is what’s making the trending charts.

It’s called The Twelve and it stars Sam Neill as a smooth-talking lawyer defending a woman accused of the murder of her niece.

Filmed in Sydney, the show follows the 12 jurors brought into the courtroom, exploring how their personal lives and trauma prejudice the trial.

A neat premise for a melodrama, but its central conceit is also the biggest problem with the show.

There are just a little too many characters here to keep track of. The story often gets bogged down by the sheer amount of perspective switching that often drags the plot to a snail’s pace.

When it does kick into gear, The Twelve makes for some fine Aussie drama, but season two has a lot of work to do if this series is going to hit its stride.

Viewers who have hung on will be judging harshly indeed.

NOW available on Disney Plus is a film which tells the remarkable true story of the first woman to swim the English Channel.

Young Woman and the Sea stars Star Wars star (how’s that for a tongue twister?) Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle, who in 1926 freestyled her way across the 33-kilometre stretch of water between France and England.

She pulled off the remarkable feat in 14 hours and 39 minutes and this biopic charts the intense physical, psychological and emotional training it took to get there, with a little stretching of the truth to up the stakes.

Those crazy enough to attempt the swim must contend with intense tides, jellyfish and relentless exhaustion. There were 80 failed attempts before Thomas William Burgess became the first to do it in 1911 with a time of 22 hours and 35 minutes.

The fact Ederle was able to shave off just 8 hours shows just how dedicated she was.

Injecting enough cinematic drama into a watery trek that lasted more than half a day meant Young Woman and The Sea was always going to sink or swim. Thankfully, it’s definitely the latter.