Yahoo Lifestyle ‘XO, Kitty’ Season 2 Made Anna Cathcart Realize the Power of Growing Up in the Spotlight
Anna Cathcart just made the biggest decision of her life. The Canadian actor has long been in the spotlight, even more so with the second season of her show, XO, Kitty out now. This year, though, she’s deciding to put it all out there for her career. She is taking a break from her studies at the University of British Columbia to focus on acting (and a few other surprises) full-time. But that doesn’t mean that she’s still not pulling double duty. After all, she does call both her hometown of Vancouver and the hotel that she stays in Korea while filming home. She has two sets of sisters: an older Cathcart sis and the Covey gals from the beloved To All the Boys series. And now she’s starting to explore things both in front of and behind the camera, all while being number on the call sheet.
But don’t worry—she’s not letting the imposter syndrome get to her. Much like Katherine “Kitty” Song Covey in the show’s recent second season, she is facing it all with a confidence and determination that can only come from being in the game for quite some time now. With more time and yes, more opportunities, she’s so ready to see what happens next.
Cosmopolitan caught up with Anna in New York City as she celebrates the release of season 2 of XO, Kitty to talk about this new chapter in her career, growing up in front of the camera, and what it’s like to go from the Kenny Oretga world of dancing to the K-pop world.
It’s been several years since you went from the supporting actress to the starring role. How has that shift been now that you’ve been in it for a while?
Season 1 was such a steep learning curve because there’s a lot of new experiences. Though I had acted for a while, it was a very different position for me to be in. There was pressure that I’d never experienced, and a lot of that was just internal pressure for myself wanting to make sure I did an amazing job. Learning how to be a lead, having adult work hours, I was away from home. There’s just so many aspects about it that was really difficult.
For season 2, there was a sense of I can do this. I have support systems and I have a cast that I know and love. Between seasons 1 and 2 were some of the most transformative years I’ve ever had in my personal life. I went to university, I moved out of the house, and I became an adult. My sisters said, “You’re leveling up! Having a glow-up constantly in your career, that’s such a good thing to be experiencing.” Even though you’re one-upping yourself and you’re learning and growing, things are also getting harder at the same time. It definitely does come with challenges and I’m still figuring that out how to handle all the crazy things that come with this job and this industry as an adult.
It’s interesting because with this season especially, you’re really the veteran of the group.
It was really cool to be in a position to be like, “I can support you guys.” Sometimes they would just text me asking, “Is this normal? Or is this crazy for me to ask?” Something with acting is that you know what you’re doing if you have done it, but if you’ve never done it before, it’s harder to get those jobs. It’s a classic loop. I feel very lucky that I started when I was younger, because I think there’s a lot of leeway. People don’t expect you to know what you’re doing yet until you’re an adult.
What has been the biggest change you’ve noticed now being older?
When I was a kid, this felt like a hobby and was the exciting thing I got to do after school. The way my friends did soccer, I did acting. The biggest thing was learning that it can be hard, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing it. When you are 12 and 13, you should always be having fun. I was often checked in on by people asking that.
But you’re allowed to have hard days or want a day off or want to rest, because anyone in their adult career life is gonna feel like that. You’re allowed to have valid feelings that you’re tired and your job can be hard sometimes.
You were studying creative writing in college. Is that the direction you want to go now as well? Or are there other things that you’re itching to do?
I have a lot of, like, hopes for this year, and we’ll see what happens, because it’s such an unpredictable industry. It was a really tough decision, but I talked to my team in the summer and with the release of season 2, I’m trying to use that momentum to see if we do something new which would be really exciting for me.
I would love to dive into the producing or the directing world. I think doing creative writing at school has taught me that that might not be the lane that I want to go toward in film and TV, because what I love so much and get so excited about is the specific vision and visuals of everything, like camera work or how we can reflect something onscreen. I feel so far from knowing truly what it takes to be a director, but I hope to learn and one day get there. I’m so passionate and excited to even just visualize that!
Especially after the success of XO, Kitty, do you feel like your interactions with people you meet in life have changed? Either they think you’re Kitty or have this idea of you because of your career?
I was lucky that things have happened relatively gradually. It wasn’t one of those experiences of no one knows you and the whole world knows you the next day. That would have been way too overwhelming for me. I’m still learning what it means to be in the position that I am. The imposter syndrome is a very real thing, but that’s a big thing that I’m trying to work on. My sister and I talk about this a lot of being, like, you’re allowed to think you’re awesome, but I’m always worried that I would come across as conceited. In spaces like school, I want to make sure people treat me like I’m the same as everybody else and that I don’t come across that I think I’m better than anyone else because of my career. I think that can cause a negative loop of feeling like you’re not deserving of your success or deserving of the spaces that you’re in. I’m figuring it out and honestly, probably should talk to my therapist about it more.
One of the beautiful things about the show is also seeing Kitty on her journey in discovering her identity. At the start of this season, she realizes she’s bi. But it’s also so rare to see an female Asian American character go on this journey, especially in a country like Korea where same-sex marriage is still not legal.
It’s definitely one of my favorite parts about our show, and I think it’s handled with a lot of care and intention of how we tackle these topics. I’ve seen it connect with our viewers and see it impact people’s lives. They’ll say, “This is the first time I saw someone with the story that reflected mine so much.” Or like, “Kitty makes me feel more confident to be myself.” That is what makes all of this worth it, honestly.
I think specifically the connection with Korea and it being two Asian women as well, seeing Yuri and Kitty onscreen together is really special. I love to think about the conversations that we are prompting for people. I think for people watching this show, it gives them an opportunity to even bring this up with their parents or just talk about this as a topic with their friends, making it less of a taboo thing to speak about and something that feels more approachable. It has such a long-lasting impact and could do so much positive change.
It was nice to see her also approach things with a clean slate. She originally went to KISS for Dae. Now she’s doing it for herself.
Kitty is someone who loves love. This season showcases that there’s a lot of different kinds of love and it’s not just romantic—it’s also family love and figuring out where what your roots are. Kitty gets to be a lot more vulnerable this season and we have a lot more emotional scenes and times where you see more of her core and what matters to her.
There’s also a lot of power in seeing a young person onscreen who’s discovering that they’re queer and figuring out their sexuality with everyone in their life supporting them. Kitty’s messiness doesn’t come from the fact that she’s queer, but rather because love at 17 is messy for everybody.
Did going back to Korea feel different this time?
Seoul will always hold an incredibly special space in my heart, because it represents so many defining moments in my career and my life. We stayed in the same hotel that we did in season 1, and just walking back into the lobby and the smell of the place brings you back. It was a trippy experience being back as a much more adult and experienced version of myself.
Y’all also had a different experience this time because you were under COVID restrictions during season 1. How did that change the cast bonding experience?
Our social media game was a lot stronger this season. We made so much content and we were making up our own ideas and not just doing the things the network plans. I will shout-out Reagan Aliyah. So much of the creative genius came from her. She’s literally the best. It is so cool to be in a group of people that I feel so supported by and can feel like I can be 110 percent myself around. That’s something that’s really hard to find and rare in a group this big.
I know you’ve been asked constantly about reuniting with Noah Centineo, but I do want to ask about reuniting with Janel Parrish. What was it like to have her back? And will we ever see another Covey sisters reunion?
I’m so glad you brought it up because I haven’t gotten a chance to talk about this as much as I would have liked to. That was so special for me. Janel is someone who truly feels like a big sister in real life. She’s someone who’s been in the industry for so long, that I’ve learned so much from, and I can look to her for advice. To be back onscreen as our characters and as sisters was so cool and so special. It meant a lot to have someone who gets it and who’s known me since I was a kid. I have no idea about a full reunion, but I would love it!
We have to ask: What was it like to do the dancing scene in the finale?
That was new for a lot of us. As Kitty, I’ve never had to dance before and we didn’t have that much time to rehearse. We would practice in the hotel lobby. It was so fun because we didn’t have to be amazing dancers. It was to show our friendship and how we were supporting Dae and all coming together at the end of the season. And it was so fun getting to wear K-pop outfits.
It’s very different from the Kenny Oretga dance bootcamp!
Exactly! That was, like, two months of everyday dancing with the most professional, coolest people! It’s very different!
Any hopes for season 3?
I’m crossing my fingers! I’m always just excited to see Kitty following her heart. I admire her for it and it’s always interesting and entertaining. She is always doing what’s right for her, and I trust that.
Season 2 of XO, Kitty is now streaming on Netflix.
Watch 'XO, Kitty' on Netflix
Stylist: Kyle Kagamida. Hair: TerraRose Puncerelli. Makeup: Courtney Hart.
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