XO, Kitty
A spin-off following Kitty Song-Covey's journey in Seoul.
XO, Kitty is an American romantic comedy drama television series created by Jenny Han, who also serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner. It premiered on Netflix on May 18, 2023, as a spin-off of the To All the Boys film series, itself based on Han's book trilogy. The series is notable as the first Netflix television series to be spun off from a Netflix original film. The series stars Anna Cathcart, reprising her role as Kitty Song-Covey, a high school student and younger sister of Lara Jean Song-Covey. Kitty goes on her own journey to learn about her late mother's alma mater and experience friendship and romance.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Romantic comedy drama
- Based on
- Characters by; Jenny Han
- Creator
- Jenny Han
- Music
- Shirley Song & Jina Hyojin An
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English; Korean
- Seasons
- 3
- Episodes
- 26
Facts from the source article.
Production
The spin-off series to To All the Boys was first announced in March 2021, with each episode planned as a half-hour romantic comedy. It was developed as a Netflix exclusive by Awesomeness and ACE Entertainment. Jenny Han, who wrote the original books, served as creator, writer, and executive producer, co-writing the pilot script with Siobhan Vivian. Anna Cathcart was confirmed to return as Kitty Song-Covey. Six months later, Netflix ordered ten episodes, and Sascha Rothchild and Matt Kaplan joined Han as executive producers, with Rothchild also acting as co-showrunner. On April 5, 2022, the cast was announced: Choi Min-yeong, Anthony Keyvan, Gia Kim, Sang Heon Lee, Peter Thurnwald, and Regan Aliyah as series regulars, with Yunjin Kim, Michael K. Lee, and Jocelyn Shelfo in recurring roles. Production had already started in Seoul by that date. Gia Kim and Sang Heon Lee, who play Yuri and Min Ho, are real-life siblings. Netflix renewed the series for a second season on June 14, 2023, with production beginning in Seoul on April 25, 2024. A third season was ordered on February 14, 2025, filming in Seoul starting in May 2025 and wrapping on July 17, 2025. Three months later, after Awesomeness' parent company Paramount Global merged with Skydance Media to form Paramount Skydance, Awesomeness was folded into Paramount Television Studios, which took over production of the third season.
Reception
For the first season, Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating based on 28 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10; the critics consensus described it as 'A modest and sweet extension of all the films that fans have loved before, XO, Kitty aims straight for the heart and finds its mark.' Metacritic assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. The second season received an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 18 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10; the consensus noted 'Returning with improved form, XO Kitty's second season injects a lovely mix of fun and memorable characters into its exceedingly saccharine proceedings.' Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 based on 5 critics, also generally favorable. The third season had a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 18 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10; Metacritic assigned a score of 48 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Although the series achieved high viewership on Netflix in more than 50 countries, it received minimal attention in South Korea, where the show takes place. Reasons cited include that the global success of South Korean media led locals to disregard its depiction in foreign productions, and that thrillers and action shows are more popular than romance shows in South Korea.
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