XO, Kitty Season 3 release date update: Stars tease Mooncovey endgame, fans on countdown mode

There’s officially an XO, Kitty–shaped hole in fans’ hearts. And the fandom: Surviving on crumbs. It’s been a year since Season 2 wrapped in January with that cliffhanger, and Mooncovey shippers have been spiralling ever since. Season 3 was announced in February, with the cast wrapping up the shoot by July. Since then, silence.

In the Season 2 finale, Kitty Song Covey (Anna Cathcart) finally clocks what fans have known forever: she’s in love with Minho (Sangheon Lee). Naturally, she reacts in the most Kitty way possible—by impulsively deciding to join him on his summer tour with his rockstar brother and famous father.

And honestly: Minho has earned a win. The boy has been through it. In Season 1, he gets brushed off by Madison, who insists on keeping things “casual,” only to later fall hard for Kitty—who rejects him. Season 2 somehow ups the misery: he dates Stella, who turns out to be using him as part of a long-game revenge plot against his father. Emotional damage, served weekly.

Even showrunner Jessica O’Toole isn’t giving it away. When asked if Min Ho actually knows that Kitty is in love with him, she told TVLine that it’s not so straightforward.

“That’s something that we might have to wait and see, if we’re lucky enough to get a Season 3,” she had said said.

O’Toole added that Min Ho isn’t the same guy he used to be.

“The old Min Ho would’ve been like, ‘Oh, so she’s obviously into me.’ But I think now that he’s kind of vulnerable a little bit, and gone through something pretty tough with Stella, can he trust his instincts anymore?”

And that uncertainty is exactly what makes the ending hit so hard.

“That’s kind of what I love about that moment,” O’Toole explained. “We know they’re going to go off on some kind of adventure together, but it’s a little bit open to what’s next. You just know it’s going to be something delicious.”

So yes, Mooncovey fans are clinging to hope that Season 3 will finally deliver a romance-forward payoff after what has been the slowest, most painful—and somehow still thrilling—burn imaginable.

Adding fuel to the chaos, actor Philippe Lee chimed in via Instagram comments, promising fans that this is the season for Mooncovey. Naturally, the internet combusted.

What we know so far

Season 3 will centre on Kitty’s third semester at KISS, following what’s been described as a “short detour.” According to What’s On Netflix, four of the eight episode titles have been revealed—listed alphabetically, not in release order. Episodes 7 and 8 are still a mystery. Anthony Keyvan who plays the peppy Q in the series, had hinted at the Stranger Things premiere, that 'there are a lot of mature themes' in the new season.

The episode titles causing fandom meltdown

Before Sunrise
A possible nod to the Richard Linklater classic? Fans are betting on one long, uninterrupted night of walking, talking, and finally saying the feelings out loud.

Euniq
Is this Eunice’s rise-to-stardom moment? The spelling twist has Q written all over it. Expect world tours, strained friendships, and maybe a dash of rivalry drama.

Ride or Die
Amusement park chaos? Loyalty tests? Both? Kitty’s choices are spinning—and so is everything around her.

Seoul Sisters
A Covey sister reunion, perhaps? Margot and Peter are confirmed back. Could Lara Jean swing by from Thailand? Or is this about Kitty forming new sisterhood bonds with Yuri and the gang?

Ships in the Night
Peak slow-burn energy. Missed connections, aching feelings, and maybe even a Busan harbour moment. Will Kitty and Minho finally align—or miss each other again?

Behind the scenes, returning writers Valentina Garza, Siobhan Vivian, Sarah Choi, Nina Kim, and George Northy are back, with Deirdre Shaw joining the team. Garza is also stepping into a larger role across multiple episodes.

When is it dropping?

Netflix has confirmed XO, Kitty Season 3 is coming in 2026, with Sangheon Lee teasing that it’s arriving “soon.” How soon is soon, though? Fans are betting on March, wildly theorising that Netflix may be waiting to wrap promotions for Bridgerton Season 4. Others fear Virgin River could push the release to April.

Until then, the fandom will do what it does best: speculate, overanalyse episode titles, ship aggressively, and emotionally prepare for the summer-soaked chaos Jenny Han is bringing from The Summer I Turned Pretty straight into XO, Kitty Season 3.