II, Yuji Okumoto (Chozen Toguchi) and Randee Heller (Lucille LaRusso), made guest appearances. In season 5, Yuji Okumoto had a recurring role as Chozen Toguchi. In addition, Sean Kanan reprised his role as Mike Barnes and Robyn Lively reprised her role as Jessica Andrews from The Karate Kid III. Alicia Hannah-Kim also joined the cast as Kim Da-Eun. Dallas Dupree Young, who joined the show in season four as Kenny Payne, was upgraded to a series regular. Filming Principal photography for the first season began in October 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming took place at various locations throughout that month at places including Union City, Marietta, and the Briarcliff Campus of Emory University. In November, shooting moved to locales such as the North Atlanta Soccer Association Tophat fields in East Cobb. In December, the production was working out of Marietta and Conyers. Various exterior shots were also filmed in parts of Los Angeles such as Tarzana and Encino. Exterior locations included Golf N' Stuff in Norwalk and the South Seas Apartments in Reseda, both of which were originally featured in The Karate Kid. Principal photography for the second season began in September 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. In October, production continued around Atlanta with shooting also occurring in Marietta. In November, the series was filming in Union City. In December, shooting transpired at the closed Rio Bravo Cantina restaurant in Atlanta. Principal photography for the fourth season began in February 2021 and ended in April in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming for the fifth season began in September 2021 and finished in December. Release Marketing The series was promoted at the annual Television Critics Association's winter press tour held in January 2018, when YouTube's global head of original content Susanne Daniels described the show: "It is a half an hour format but I would call it a dramedy. I think it leans into the tone of the movies in that there are dramatic moments throughout. I think it's very faithful really in some ways to what the movie set about doing, the lessons imparted in the movie if you will. It's next generation Karate Kid." Several trailers for the show were released from February to March, before the premiere date was revealed to be May 2. YouTube Premium released a six-minute commercial parodying ESPN's 30 for 30 in April 2019, featuring the main cast members and select ESPN personalities analyzing the 1984 match