Netflix’s To All the Boys franchise has reached a low with its audience.

Netflix adapted Jenny Han’s bestselling novels into a movie trilogy, which followed Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) confronting her past crushes after her love letters were accidentally mailed. After the three movies became a success, an original spinoff series was created to focus on Lara Jean’s sister, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), and her pursuit of love. XO, Kitty just returned with season 3, but audiences have elicited strong feelings about the new episodes.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, XO, Kitty season 3 has set the record for the lowest audience score in the entire franchise, with an underwhelming 35%. It’s even lower than the second movie, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, which had a 45% audience score. Season 3 also had the lowest critical score of the entire series, but it’s still fresh at 75%.

Viewers were disappointed with recent developments in Kitty’s venture at KISS. Some noted that season 3 regressed in its approach to the queer romance, as it was getting too stereotypical. However, the biggest issue was that Kitty lost her identity once her relationship began with Min-ho, despite the previous installments showing her growth and independence. Several reviewers complained that her decisions were overly reliant on Min-ho, which, in turn, felt forced and uncharacteristic.

In ScreenRant’s review of XO, Kitty season 3, Cher Thompson agrees that the new installment “lost its identity in the process of striking out on its own” because the stories “don’t seem to connect for both Kitty and the rest of her classmates at KISS.” Still, season 3 was “still a fun ride” because “the cast’s big scenes together were an intensely bright spot,” which earned a 6 out of 10 stars.

Despite a mixed and disappointing audience reception, XO, Kitty season 3 is performing well on Netflix, as it has held the No. 1 spot in the United States since its premiere on April 2. It’s even outpacing series like Love on the Spectrum, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, and Bloodhounds season 2.

Whether Netflix will renew XO, Kitty for season 4 is up in the air. Although viewership will play a major part in determining the show’s future, season 3 reached a point where Kitty is in her senior year at KISS. In fact, it’s been heavily rumored that the third installment could be the end of the Netflix series, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.

While XO, Kitty season 3 ending kept some doors open, Han has yet to comment on the show’s future. She will also be busy because the author has just finished adapting The Summer I Turned Pretty, which ran for three seasons on Prime Video. After the series ended, she confirmed that there would be a movie, which is currently in the writing stage. However, a recent update indicated that the movie is facing some hiccups due to a salary dispute.

If XO, Kitty season 3 turns out to be the closure of the youngest Covey’s story, it’s unclear if any more spinoffs could be in the works to continue the franchise. It may be a while until Netflix provides any update on the franchise’s fate, so viewers will just have to sit and wait.

All three seasons of XO, Kitty are now streaming on Netflix.

Release Date

May 18, 2023

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Jenny Han

Directors

Jennifer Arnold, Katina Medina Mora, Anna Mastro, Jeff Chan, Steven K. Tsuchida, Pamela Romanowsky, Sherwin Shilati

Writers

Jessica O’Toole, Sarah Choi, Alanna Bennett, Hanna Stanbridge, Chris Martin, Emily Kim, Siobhan Vivian

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  Anna Cathcart

  Katherine ‘Kitty’ Song Covey