In XO, Kitty, teen matchmaker Kitty Song Covey (Anna Cathcart) sets out on her very own adventure of romance and independence at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (or, KISS). Yes, she’s ready to kick her love story with long distance boyfriend Dae (Minyeong Choi) into high gear and connect to the memory of her late mother Eve, who also attended KISS. But Kitty also has a major problem: She’s tired of living in the shadow of her older sisters Lara Jean (Lana Condor) and Margot (Janel Parrish). 

After all, Lara Jean’s high school experience was so exciting it birthed three whole rom-coms — the To All the Boys movie franchise, which introduced Kitty as a precocious and meddlesome tween. Whether you’re a longtime To All the Boys fan or total newcomer, you may wonder if you need to rewind to Kitty’s TaTB past to enjoy her XO, Kitty present.

The answer is… not quite. Co-showrunners Sasha Rothchild and Jenny Han both agree that XO, Kitty is meant to stand on its own as Kitty takes on the main character mantle. 

“[XO, Kitty] takes place in the same universe as To All the Boys, but it’s very much in its own world,” co-showrunner Sascha Rothchild told Tudum in March. Han, who wrote the To All the Boys novels, added: “You could enter into this story starting with XO, Kitty and be on Kitty’s journey as if you’re meeting her for the first time.”  

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go fall in love with To All the Boys (again) anyway. 

To All the Boys is the story of a wallflower finding true love with someone who can’t help but draw attention everywhere he goes (Noah Centineo as Peter Kavinsky) and, eventually, questioning if he’s really what she wants. XO, Kitty — which picks up about four years after the final TaTB movie — operates in an entirely different rom-com paradigm as Kitty travels to South Korea to spend her junior year at the fictional KISS.  

Lana Condor as Lara Jean Covey and Noah Centineo as Peter Kavinsky in ‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever.’

Katie Yu/Netflix

“XO, Kitty is about the big fish in a small pond who thinks she knows it all,” said Han. “Then she has a rude awakening when she’s put in a new place.” 

As we see in the first few minutes of XO, Kitty, its titular protagonist, now the same age as big sister Lara Jean was in the first To All the Boys film, has mastered teen life in Portland. Kitty hungers for the challenge of Seoul, which comes with its own surprises, new friends and unexpected love connections. While not everyone packs up their whole lives and moves across the world during high school, there’s something “very relatable and universal” about Kitty’s culture shock, Han explained. 

Similarly, Kitty’s journey over10 episodes is impactful whether you watched her steal scenes in To All the Boys or not. “It definitely works as a standalone series. I don't think you need to have the background to watch this story play out,” Cathcart, who’s  now portrayed Kitty since 2018, tells Tudum. But she does think meeting tweenage Kitty adds to the exhilaration of XO, Kitty. 

“I do hope that people watch the movies as a fun pre-watch,” Cathcart says. “Because getting to know Kitty as her younger self adds to the joy of watching her now in this stage.” 

When you press play on the To All the Boys movies before (or after) XO, Kitty, you may realize the new series does in fact allude to the initial trilogy. The core TaTB colors of yellow, cyan and magenta are part of the XO, Kitty palette, and one very special hat box just might make an appearance. And there’s one throughline connecting Kitty and Lara Jean: their shared passion for the written word.

“XO, Kitty is keeping with the ancillary theme of letters. The original movies are so much about love letters, but also family,” Han said. One integral scene in the XO, Kitty finale brings that subject back in an unforgettable way.  

So get out your pen and prepare to write a love letter of your own. No matter whether you’re all studied up on To All the Boys or not, you’ll be pledging your fandom to XO, Kitty — now streaming — always and forever.  

Meet the Characters of ‘XO, Kitty’