‘XO, Kitty’ returns with an even messier, and fun second season

In season two of the Netflix show, which premieres Jan. 16, Kitty is back at KISS—thanks to Yuri pulling some strings—but this time around, she’s determined to have a drama-free semester and actually focus on her schoolwork. Predictably, this is easier said than done, since as soon as she arrives, she’s assigned to a dorm with Yuri, Yuri’s girlfriend Juliana (Regan Aliyah), and KISS newcomer Stella (Audrey Huynh). And if that weren’t awkward enough, she’s also got to navigate her friendships with Dae and Min Ho, the latter of whom she had turned down on their flight to the United States.

I recently spoke to the cast of XO, Kitty about what we can expect this upcoming season, the importance of LGBTQ+ representation—for all ages—and more.

Queer girls embracing their queer selves

This season, Kitty pretty much decides to take a break from boys and tries dating girls, for a change. She’s had her “bi awakening,” and now she’s very much in her bi era. “During season two, we get to see her really explore this side of herself, from a place of excitement and curiosity,” Cathcart tells me. “I think that's so, so special, and it kind of shows it doesn't have to be negative all the time, or this scary, big, bad thing. It's a beautiful thing. Love in any form is something to embrace and to be excited about.”

Cathcart notes how special it is to also see this type of representation onscreen—especially with young people—where a character, as well as the people around them, embrace their queerness “with so much love.”

Kim and Aliyah agree, noting how meaningful Yuri and Juliana’s relationship is and how blessed they are to be portraying it. “It's very complex because (Yuri) is dealing with very real issues of societal expectations, versus her identity, and what is expected of her, and what is taboo,” Kim says, adding that these problems add layers to the characters’ relationship as they deal with issues that many people deal with in real life.

Aliyah personally understands the importance of their characters’ relationship being so clearly defined, as this was something she would have wanted to see more of when she was younger. She even notes that the whole reason she came out was because of a TV show in which she saw herself represented in one of the characters. “We can't deny how media is important, and specifically media that isn't trying to hide these relationships,” Aliyah says. “They're not being like, ‘Well, if you know, you know.’ They are very loud and proud that this is a Sapphic couple. These are two lesbians together and that in itself is very, very powerful and (as) somebody being out and proud, myself, it makes me really excited to see.”

The importance of male friendships

It wouldn’t be a teen show without drama and while Kitty and the gang’s romantic antics definitely bring it, platonic relationships are also tested this season. This includes Dae and Min Ho’s friendship—notable as we don’t often see male friendships portrayed in this way.

When I ask Choi and Lee about the ups and downs these BFFs face this season, they note how these are things they have both experienced. “I never thought about that. Those kinds of interactions, you can’t see them a lot in shows. But for me, I was pretty comfortable thinking about that circumstance. You have experiences like that,” Choi says, pointing to Lee, before pointing to himself and saying, “I have experiences like that.”

Lee adds that while this may be the first time Min Ho and Dae really get into a true argument, it’s necessary for their relationship. “I think that first experience was always a good experience that he had to go through with Dae, for the later good of the future,” he says.

Family secrets will be revealed

Family also plays an important role this season.

For Q (Anthony Keyvan), Kitty’s Filipino Iranian American best friend, we get little hints about his family throughout the eight episodes. Keyvan says showing that side of Q is important—not just for him, but also for anyone who might resonate with the character or share a similar background (Keyvan also shares his character’s heritage). “I'm really grateful to the writers for even touching on his family life,” he says. “There’s a lot to fit in these episodes. We only got eight this time, so I understand why we didn't maybe see more of that. But I'm very hopeful that season three, or in future seasons—hopefully we get those—we'll get to see more of where he comes from or who his family is. I have hope that the writers have something planned for that, but you know, we'll see.”

Of course, no season of XO, Kitty would be complete without some family secrets being revealed. And while Cathcart and I couldn’t dish on Kitty’s big discovery, all she could tell me was that she’s excited for people to see our favorite chaos queen go on an adventure and discover more about her family’s history. “We do it in a lot of interesting ways that I think people will be surprised by, and be really interested in,” she says. “And there's a lot of surprises, as well that I really want to speak more about, and some things that people might not be expecting that I'm really, really excited to see what they think.”