“XO, Kitty” may have followed Anna Cathcart’s title character all the way to South Korea over the last few years, but she’s still the same love-obsessed girl we met in the “To All the Boys” trilogy.
After bringing Noah Centineo back for its sophomore outing, Season 3 sees Lana Condor reprise her role as Kitty’s older sister, Lara Jean. It hits the streamer Thursday.
“It was one of my favorite parts of the season, easily. I love our scenes together so much. We feel like we’re back in the movies in those little moments, just in the way they speak to one another and their dynamic; it brings out a specific side to Kitty as well, she’s still a kid,” Cathcart told TheWrap ahead of the premiere. “She’s a little sister who has grown up looking at her sisters, so it reminds you of the foundation of who Kitty is. We don’t really get to see that with other characters who go to K.I.S.S. and who she met as a teenager.”
“It felt like no time had passed, it was the best. Lana is so supportive and so kind. It felt like she was a big sister, how proud she was getting to see me lead this and what that meant to her as well,” she added. “I’m very grateful for her support and her excitement for the show and her excitement to dive back into our world.”
“XO, Kitty” premiered in May 2023 as a spinoff to the three Netflix films from original author Jenny Han — 2018’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” 2020’s “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” and 2021’s “To All the Boys: Always and Forever.”
“I do think ‘XO, Kitty’ really has established a different world within the same universe. We still have the same love, the same characters, the excitement we got from ‘To All the Boys’ is sprinkled in there, but it is its own thing in its own land,” Cathcart explained. “We’ve brought new fans who may have been too young to watch ‘To All the Boys’ when it came out but who watch ‘XO, Kitty’ and are now watching the world in reverse. It’s always cool to see the movies go up in the Netflix rankings after finishing the seasons, that we kind of see-saw with each other.”
“Every season ends up being a whole different vibe, almost like how every college year ends up being different. Even if you have the same friends and do the same things, there’s a different feeling,” she further teased. “We obviously had a few new cast members, which was also fun, I had my birthday there for the third time. Every season I’ve had my birthday in Korea — it was pouring rain, which honestly added to the fun. So many core memories in my life now have all happened in Seoul, which is crazy to think about. It will always be a special city to me.”
Season 3 of “XO, Kitty” picks up immediately where Season 2 left off, with Kitty asking to tag along with Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee) on tour as a declaration of love … even if the premiere episode slightly undoes that cliffhanger.
“This wasn’t even on purpose, but the last scene that we shot for all of Season 2 was the last scene as you watched it, which is so rare to shoot the thing actually accurate to time. And then the first scene we shot of Season 3 was us walking in the garden again. Normally, you don’t shoot in order of any kind, so it was very crazy to just zap back in time,” Cathcart recalled. “It was so cool to re-establish that and reimagine that day — same clothes, same director as well. The team hit the ground running and back in it, which was a really special feeling.”
“There’s a lot of side plots going on, a lot of meanwhiles. Even if you don’t relate to Kitty herself, there’s going to be another character or a storyline you can, which I think is what makes the show popular,” she continued. “There’s something nostalgic about it. If you’re in high school or just once were, there’s something you can feel seen by.”
Cathcart also explained her take on Kitty’s knack for match-making and the YA series’ inclusion of LGBTQ+ stories.
“Since Season 1, I’ve been very happy to see that it is such a diverse show in multiple ways. Our cast just as a friend group, we’re such a diverse group of people who have such different backgrounds and where we grew up. The communities we’re a part of really add to the show and make it special,” she shared. “I really like the way we treat queer storylines, with characters who are on different parts of those journeys. Getting to watch these characters grow into it and explore themselves, still with so much love, it’s always done in a way that is supportive, impactful. It’s not a bad thing.”
“Kitty was so excited to embrace this part of herself, even though it was overwhelming when she first had this realization. It’s exciting to see a character onscreen who is quite young embracing it and owning it. This is Kitty 2.0, this is a part of me. She didn’t have to hide it from anyone,” Cathcart noted. “One of my favorite scenes ever was her coming out to her dad on FaceTime. It was so special. I’ve had fans even bring that up to me, how meaningful that was. I’m so glad our show tackles different queer storylines.”
“Kitty is so love-filled and she has been since she was a kid, that when she sees there’s a possibility for more love to be in the world, she can’t help but bring people together to make it happen. That’s her duty. She just wants to see other people happy, she’s so that friend. It can look a million different ways, and she’s inviting of that. When she sees a spark, she wants to make sure it gets written if it needs that push,” she said. “Even though sometimes she needs to mind her business, she’s learning. This season more than ever, she’s meddling less, she’s a little bit more mature — but I think it all comes from a place of loving love.”
So where will the kids of the Korean Independent School of Seoul go in Season 4?
“Graduation, prom, all the end of the year stuff would be fun. Selfishly, I am a Covid grad, so I never got prom and I never got to throw my hat with my class. I’m still bothered by it, clearly. I want Kitty to graduate so Anna can experience prom and graduation! I will never get over the fact I didn’t get that,” Cathcart admitted. “It would be so fun to tie a bow on their time at K.I.S.S., and then maybe a grad trip? Let’s see them go to some random city. Easily the chaos would unfold immediately.”
All three seasons of “XO, Kitty” are now available to stream on Netflix.
