To All the Boys I Loved Before spin-off XO, Kitty was in the top 10 most-watched shows globally when it hit Netflix in May 2023. So it wasn’t a huge surprise that Netflix renewed the series for season 2 just a month later. Based around the youngest Song Covey sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart), the first season of XO, Kitty saw the titular character travelling to the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS), following in her mother’s footsteps.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that KISS was also where Kitty’s long-distance boyfriend Dae (Choi Min-young) goes as well, and she was determined to find true love like her older sister Laura Jean (Lana Condor) did in the To All the Boys trilogy. There’s a lot of news and rumors swirling around the second season, so here’s what we know so far regarding XO, Kitty season 2.
Season 1 recap
Warning: If you haven’t had a chance yet to check out XO, Kitty season 1 for yourself yet, spoilers below for the season finale.
The biggest question we need answered going into season 2 is if Kitty is going to get off the plane at LAX and then immediately get on a plane back to Seoul?! Season 1 ended with a lot of messy loose ends. Kitty got expelled from KISS for living with Dae, Q (Anthony Keyvan), and Ming Ho (Sang Heon Lee) instead of in the girl’s dorm. As she’s saying her goodbyes to everyone in Korea, she gets a letter from Ji-an (Yunjin Kim) that her mother sent Ji-an but she never responded to. She also has a heart-to-heart with Dae, acknowledging he’s the first boy she ever loved, and he reminds her he loved her too.
Of course, the big confession we wanted was Kitty telling Yuri (Gia Kim) that she may also be into girls, specifically girls named Yuri who nearly hit her with a car during her first day in Korea. But Yuri and her girlfriend Juliana (Regan Aliyah) reunite at the airport, leaving Kitty heartbroken as she boards the plane back to LA. But she realizes that her mother didn’t get love right on the first try, as the letter Ji-an gave her mentions a boy named Simon as her first love, giving her hope for the future.
So of course Ming Ho just happened to be sitting next to Kitty on the plane to LA as he went to visit his mom, as she’s reading this letter. And of course he takes this opportunity to confess his feelings for her that have been building up throughout the season. We’re left with Kitty trying to process this confession, sitting dumbfounded next to Ming Ho with a long 11-hour flight ahead of them.
No return until 2025?
One of many shows to be affected by the SAG and WGA strikes during the summer of 2023, XO, Kitty season 2 was announced during the midst of the WGA strikes, leaving many to speculate it would take a while for the new season to be written. Sang Heon Lee spoke with India Today in July 2023 and said this of the scripts:
“The Writers’ Strike in Hollywood is going on, and because of the strike happening at the moment, it’s not exactly easy for them to just reach a conclusion on how to approach and write the script. It doesn’t happen like that, so until the strike is over, we have to wait until they all just figure out the conclusion. And then, after that, they’ll write a script.”
Netflix added further fuel to the fire by omitting XO, Kitty from their 2024 list of upcoming original shows and films to the streamer. That being said, those lists can change easily thanks to unexpected delays or Netflix choosing to move release dates around, so that shouldn’t necessarily be taken as gospel. However, as of February 2024, season 2 has yet to begin shooting, and if we’re going off of season 1’s shooting schedule, the season was filmed about 15 months before its May 2023 release. While we have no official confirmation, all signs are pointing to a 2025 release window.
The cast (and chaos) grows
Season 2 of XO, Kitty hasn’t officially begun filming, but pre-production is in full swing. As of February 2024, all of the season 1 cast is set to return for season 2. However, Netflix has also begun casting for some new characters for season 2, as casting calls have been posted for 3 new characters. While the identity of these mysterious faces has yet to be revealed, we have an idea of what to expect from these new faces to KISS.
According to What’s on Netflix, there are 2 new series regulars and one recurring guest star set to join the cast. The two regulars are Sophie, a Korean-American girl from Ohio, making her way to KISS through her Korean church back home, and Mr. Choi, a talent manager for one of South Korea’s largest entertainment companies, who is helping fund a new arts program at KISS. The recurring guest star is Young, a student looking to take over as captain of the track team at KISS, and is set to be an antagonist for one of the main characters next season.
As the show ramps up towards production on season 2, we’ll keep you filled in on what’s going on with XO, Kitty and continue to update this page.