'XO, Kitty' Season 1 Review: Netflix series has all the charm of 'To All the Boys', but no depth

2023-05-18 15:50

'XO, Kitty' has all the charm of the original film franchise, but not the depth

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Making a spin-off series is always a bit problematic because you would be catering to an audience that is already expecting a title that is as good and as interesting as the original. Netflix struck gold with the ‘To All the Boys I’ve Always Loved’ movie franchise and wanted to take the story forward by coming forward with a spin-off series based on a character that was one of the best parts of the original film series.

Titled ‘XO, Kitty’, the spin-off series chronicles the journey of Kitty Covey (Anna Cathcart) embarking on a journey to find her true love. She is in love with a guy named Dae (Choi Min-Young) and is planning to travel to South Korea to give her boyfriend a surprise. However, she is not just going as a tourist, but as a student because she applied to the same school where Dae was studying. That’s the main gist of the story, but things get awkward when she gets to know the truth about Dae after reaching the school and finds out new details about her mother as well. ‘XO, Kitty’ is much similar to ‘To All the Boys’ movies and it has the same charm, the only issue is that the series takes too much time to gather steam.

'XO, Kitty' Episode 5 Review: Alex's epic CONFESSION changes everything for Kitty

Kitty travels to Korea to find true love

The series begins with Kitty reaching Seoul and getting shattered when she finds out that her boyfriend already has a girlfriend in Seoul and her name is Yuri. Soon, viewers realize that Yuri and Dae are in a fake relationship for some reason and even though Dae wants to tell her everything, he is unable to. Things start to get more complex for Kitty and all the major characters when they find out what’s happening in their lives, especially Kitty.

Well, we won’t spoil the whole series for you, but we can tell you that this series has a lot of charm in it and follows the same formula that the original movie franchise did.

It is a characteristic series from Netflix and has all the ingredients of being a gigantic success for the streaming platform. But it doesn’t have the depth that the ‘To All the Boys’ franchise did and sometimes starts to feel a bit shallow because of all the convoluted storylines.

The best aspect about this rom-com series is easy on the eyes and could be binged without even thinking twice. There’s a wholesome family message, that includes messy relationships, and gives a good look at how things change in modern-day friendships and relationships. Even with so many positives, there are things that don’t take the series to a level where viewers could say that it’s a knockout.

The show is very predictable and some plot lines are stretched to the point where they start to have no meaning at all. Pacing is not an issue here, but the treatment several plot lines get in the series is a big issue.

Acting-wise, Anna Cathcart gives another superlative performance as Kitty. She is sweet, and innocent, and continues to charm everyone with her impeccable acting. Choi Min-Young is amazing as well and delivers a performance that’s really effective. On the other hand, Gia Kim is the real scene stealer here and does what Cathcart’s character did in the ‘To All the Boys’ franchise. Viewers will be invested in her story and how she takes her character forward. She is really the coolest aspect of this series.

The supporting cast is brilliant as well.

All in all, ‘XO, Kitty’ is a sure-shot success for Netflix, but that doesn’t mean that it is flawless. It has some problems that can’t be overlooked. Nevertheless, the show has been marketed well and it is surely going to cater to the target audience. So, it’s a win-win situation for Netflix.

**&1/2 stars of ‘XO, Kitty’.

'XO, Kitty' is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.