XO, Kitty Season 4 update: Netflix mulls movie finale, fans want more than a rushed goodbye

It has been more than three months since Kitty Song Covey left Seoul, reunited with Min Ho at the subway station, and embarked on yet another emotional adventure in XO, Kitty Season 3. And since then, fans have been waiting for Netflix to answer the question that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: is Kitty coming back?

The silence is starting to feel particularly suspicious because XO, Kitty previously had a speedy renewal track record. Both Season 2 and Season 3 were announced less than a month after their respective premieres. This time, however, the 28-to-60-day window has long come and gone, and fans are understandably getting impatient.

But the show has not been secretly cancelled. According to a report by Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, XO, Kitty is currently stuck in a rather frustrating state of creative limbo.

Paramount Television Studios, which produces the series after absorbing Awesomeness, has reportedly extended Netflix's option on the show. More importantly, the options for the cast have also been extended. This means Anna Cathcart, Sang Heon Lee and the rest of the ensemble remain available if Netflix decides to order more episodes.

So, what exactly is taking so long?

The question, it seems, is not simply whether Kitty's story should continue. It is how it should continue.

According to Deadline, Netflix and the show's creators are considering two possible paths: a traditional fourth season or a feature-length movie that would wrap up the story.

And while a movie might sound like a neat, tidy finale on paper, plenty of fans are already firmly in the “give us Season 4” camp.

After all, viewers have spent three years growing alongside these characters. They have watched Kitty navigate love, heartbreak, family, friendships and the general chaos of being Kitty Song Covey. Min Ho went from being her enemy to one of the show's biggest emotional investments. Other characters have also spent multiple seasons building relationships, changing and figuring themselves out. What will happen to Anthony Keyvan's Q? What happens to Gia Kim's Yuri's fashion brand?

That is a lot of character development to cram into one film.

A full fourth season would give the series room to properly explore those arcs instead of rushing everyone towards a grand goodbye. Fans do not just want to know where Kitty ends up. They want to see how she gets there — and the same goes for the characters they have followed since the beginning.

Still, the movie option is reportedly on the table. And if creator Jenny Han ultimately chooses that route, it would fit her previous storytelling pattern. The original To All the Boys I've Loved Before story was wrapped up as a trilogy of films, while The Summer I Turned Pretty is also heading towards a movie conclusion after three seasons.

In other words, Han may have a thing for the rule of three.

Creatively, Season 3 did leave XO, Kitty at a point where a finale could theoretically work. Kitty and Min Ho finally reconciled and headed back to the United States, where Min Ho was set to meet Kitty's father.

But “theoretically” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

The Netflix numbers suggest the series is hardly gasping for attention.

According to Netflix's latest What We Watched report, XO, Kitty Season 3 ranked No. 16 globally, recording 29.3 million views between its April 2 premiere and June 30.

Its audience retention was also impressive. The third season opened with 12.9 million views in its first week, only a modest drop from Season 2's 14.2 million opening-week views. It also remained in Netflix's Top 10 for three weeks.

For comparison, the first three weeks of the seasons recorded:

So, while the numbers may have dipped, XO, Kitty is still very much pulling its weight.

For now, Netflix has the final say. And if fans have anything to do with it, the answer will not be a feature-length rush to the finish line. They want one more full season — enough time for Kitty, Min Ho and the rest of the characters to actually complete the arcs viewers have invested in for the past three years.