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TV drama soars to Netflix number 1 despite fans saying it’s ‘so bad it’s good’
You’ll probably either love or hate this TV drama, but it seems enough people are at least interested, as it’s shot up the Netflix charts.
Despite being described as ‘so bad it’s good’, XO, Kitty has found itself in the streaming platform’s number one spot, days after the release of its third season.
XO, Kitty launched in 2023, proving so popular that it’s been renewed twice since.
It’s a spin-off of the To All the Boys film series, which helped to propel Lana Condor and Noah Centineo to global stardom thanks to their central roles in the teen romance trilogy.
Canadian actress Anna Cathcart, 22, takes the lead in XO, Kitty as high schooler Kitty Song-Covey. Already extremely knowledgeable on all things romance, she moves halfway across the world to reconnect with her long-distance boyfriend while attending the same boarding school as her late mother.
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However, the teen matchmaker soon discovers that relationships are more complex when it’s your own feelings on the line.
Other main cast members include Choi Min-young as Dae Heon Kim, Kitty’s ex-boyfriend, Anthony Keyvan as Q Shabazian, Kitty’s best friend, Gia Kim as Yuri Han, a wealthy social media star and paparazzi magnet, Sang Heon Lee as Min Ho, who, despite his privilege, is fiercely loyal to his friends, and Peter Thurnwald as teacher Alex Finnerty.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it seems XO, Kitty has generally managed to win over critics more than audiences.
Overall, it boasts an 80% score from critics, while sitting at 63% among the public. The stats remain pretty much the same for each season, with the most recent clocking up an average of 3.3 out of five stars.
What’s your verdict on XO, Kitty?
Among its reviews, XO, Kitty certainly divides opinion. While @RainbowTulips describes the latest outing as ‘beautiful’ and is keen for more, @RT75366913 was left ‘disappointed’.
Still, despite being predominantly aimed at a teenage audience, the series has been praised for its ’emotional’ development of characters, and, while a bit cringeworthy at times, it’s got enough ‘charm’ and ‘cuteness’ to warrant pressing play.
‘Xo, Kitty is entertaining and cute. Nobody asked for it — but at least it’s got some charm’, writes Lauren Sarner of the New York Post.
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Angie Han of the Hollywood Reporter brands it ‘a sweet, pretty cupcake of a teen romance’, while Nadira Goffe of Slate says it’s ‘as annoying as it is irresistible’.
‘XO Kitty is chaotic and messy thanks to its numerous love triangles, romantic entanglements, and more, but it stays true to the spirit of author Jenny Han’s comforting world of largely tropey teenage drama’, says S. Poorvaja of The Hindu.
Also heaping praise on the show for another reason, Natalie from Autostraddle pens: ‘Particularly when it comes to queer representation, XO, Kitty is breaking new ground and, hopefully, pushing an entire genre towards greater inclusivity.’
‘The ‘cringiest’ show on Netflix is back – but I’m obsessed with it’
Metro‘s Senior TV Reporter Asyia Iftikhar gives her verdict on XO, Kitty season 3…
‘Unlike other shows, which have put me off for life with how poorly they are written and acted (sorry, Never Have I Ever and Ginny and Georgia – I fear I will never recover from “happy Friday”), XO, Kitty has almost inexplicably charmed me.
‘Once you give it a chance, there are surprising layers to this tale that grapple with grief, the horrors of unrequited love, found family, and the messy ordeal of trying to figure yourself out.
‘After all, although easily dismissed as rubbish by some, there’s a reason season 2 debuted at number one with 14.2million viewers in its first week alone last year.’
As for whether fans can expect a fourth season, the future of XO, Kitty is currently unknown.
Following season 3’s premiere on April 3, it has yet to be renewed. What’s more, it’s tricky to predict whether it will be at all, given that creator Jenny Hann’s other projects (including To All the Boys and The Summer I Turned Pretty) are based on books. XO, Kitty was an original spin-off project, so the story has not been set.
Speaking to Variety this month about what Kitty’s relationships may look like going forward, showrunner Valentina Garza said it’s likely to be ‘a question that all [their] fans are asking’, but didn’t divulge anything further.
‘We’re all just trying to live in the moment and bask in season 3 right now,’ she said. ‘We’re very excited for the fans to see what we made this season, and we’ll just have to wait and see.’
XO, Kitty is available to stream on Netflix.
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