Netflix struck gold in 2018 with the release of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and is hoping to do so again with XO, Kitty, an original idea from Jenny Han.
To All the Boy I've Loved Before was an effervescent teen romantic comedy that quickly became a minor pop culture phenomenon. Based on Han's novels, the tale of Lara Jean (played by Lana Condor), a high schooler who falls into a fake romance with one of her former crushes, captured audiences' hearts and became one of the streaming service's most watched original movies. Two sequels soon followed.
While Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky got their happy-ever-after, Han has decided to continue the story of the Song-Covey family through the eyes of Lara Jean's younger sister, Kitty. XO, Kitty, is not based on any of Han's prior novels. Having acted as the showrunner on the Amazon adaptation of her other popular YA novel, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Han is in charge of her own universe here, as well as being a co-writer and executive producer.
Netflix viewers may be in for another Summer of Love. Here's everything we know about XO, Kitty.
XO, Kitty release date
All 10 episodes of XO, Kitty are set to drop on Netflix on May 18. This comes two years after the premiere of the final movie in the To All the Boys series, To All the Boys: Always and Forever.
May is a busy time for Netflix originals, particularly for romance fans, thanks to the recent release of Queen Charlotte, the miniseries prequel to the juggernaut series Bridgerton. See what else is new on Netflix in May.
XO, Kitty cast
Canadian actress Anna Cathcart returns to the title role of Kitty in this new series, having played the role of Lara Jean's bubbly younger sister in all three Two All the Boys movies. Disney fans may also recognize her from her role as Dizzy Tremaine in the Descendants series of TV movies.
Catchart is joined by Choi Min-young, a South Korean actor who plays Dae, Kitty's long-distance boyfriend who comes with a lot of secret baggage. Choi has starred in a number of Korean series, most recently the drama Twenty-Five Twenty-One, which became one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history.
Other cast members include newcomer Sang Heon Lee as Min Ho, Love, Victor's Anthony Keyvan as Q and Jocelyn Shelfo as Madison, one of the stars of Han's Amazon show, The Summer I Turned Pretty. On the adult side, Lost actress Yunjin Kim plays Principal Jina Lim, and Korean stage actor Michael K. Lee is Professor Lee. John Corbett pops up for one episode, returning to the role of Kitty's dad, Dan Covey.
XO, Kitty plot
The titular Kitty, much like her older sister, is eager to fulfil her search for true love. She’s in a long-distance relationship with the gorgeous Dae, a Korean guy who lives thousands of miles away. Sick of trying to keep a romance going over Facetime, Kitty applies for a scholarship to an exclusive school in South Korea, one where her late mother had previously studied. It seems like fate to Kitty when she gets in, but once she arrives at her new school, things quickly reveal themselves to be more like a nightmare than a fairy-tale.
The school's social classes have no place for an excitable American like Kitty, and she's away from her family for the first time in her life. One classmate keeps telling her to go home. And, to make things even worse, it turns out that Dae already has a girlfriend. It feels like she should give up and return to her previous life, but Kitty wants to make the most out of her circumstances. Not only is this a chance for her to fight for her sort-of boyfriend (and maybe explore her growing feelings for another student) but it's the perfect opportunity for her to explore her Korean heritage and learn more about her mother. Now is the time for Kitty to learn what love really is and to truly earn her happy ending.
Xo, Kitty trailer
Here is the trailer for XO, Kitty:
How to watch XO, Kitty
XO, Kitty is a Netflix exclusive, much like the rest of the To All the Boys universe, and will be available to watch on the streaming service worldwide. Those films never received a DVD or physical release so it is likely that XO, Kitty will only be a Netflix title for the time being. Each episode is under 30 minutes long, making it the perfect speedy binge-watch.
