Spoilers forward for XO, Kitty. When Gia Kim logged into her Netflix account, she couldn’t consider her eyes. XO, Kitty was the number-one present watched on the streaming web site. The teenager rom-com has captured hearts the world over with its difficult love triangles and squares, and the overwhelmingly optimistic response to the present remains to be very touching for the South Korean actress.
“To simply see it hit primary in a day is loopy,” she tells me on a Zoom name the day after the present premiered. “Many individuals, no less than in North America, have watched it already. I see some feedback being like, ‘Oh, I binged the complete factor already.’ So it’s at all times wild to suppose that we took so lengthy to shoot and produce the entire season, after which folks can simply end it in a single sitting in a single day.”
Associated: XO, Kitty‘s Anna Cathcart on That ‘Sudden’ Twist: ‘I Ship Whoever She Ships’
Gia performs Yuri Han, the Queen Bee of KISS (the Korean Unbiased Faculty of Seoul). Her character had a curler coaster of a primary season: She began in a rivalry with Kitty (Anna Cathcart), pretended thus far Kitty’s boyfriend Dae (Minyeong Kim) when she was really hiding the actual fact she had a girlfriend, later made up with Kitty, after which got here out to her strict mom. In Season 2, Yuri and her girlfriend Juliana’s (Regan Aliyah) relationship turns into fractured after she spends extra time with Kitty (who got here out as bisexual to her), and her lavish spending habits have been mysteriously halted when her bank cards declined.
Forward, Kim talked to StyleCaster concerning the buildup that led to Yuri kissing Kitty, and if we’ll ever see them romantically collectively within the present.
After Season 1, I feel Yuri has change into some of the iconic Gen Z Asian queer characters. What have the fan interactions been like listening to tales from younger individuals who have the identical experiences as Yuri?
A whole lot of the suggestions that I’ve gotten was extra on-line. Even when I meet followers in particular person, I haven’t had fan conferences the place I can really converse with them and listen to their suggestions personally. However on-line, I’ve followers sending me lengthy tales of their private journeys with their sexuality, how the present got here into their life on the time once they wanted to observe it, the way it gave them solace, and that they’re not going by it alone.
I can inform from how they write these messages that it’s very private for them, they usually had been being very susceptible once they’re sharing it with me. It simply meant the world. What makes my job significant and fulfilling is once I know that my work has made an influence in that means in somebody’s life. Even when it’s only one particular person, to have a number of folks achieve braveness or aid, or no matter it’s that they might have felt after watching the present. I’m simply so past grateful for that.
Particularly with Kitty’s popping out scene in Season 2, I really feel like that’s one thing very particular for younger folks—to see a help system like that.
Yeah! Yuri’s popping out, after which Kitty’s popping out are simply actually all very fascinating. For Kitty, it wasn’t very apparent from the very starting of Season 1 that she’s queer. She wasn’t conscious of it totally. After which as Season 1 progressed, she was like letting herself really feel the whole lot that she was feeling with out judging it. I really feel like that journey in itself is a phenomenal factor too.
Yuri is looking for herself and is sort of occurring this journey of self-discovery and goes by this kind of tumultuous time with Juliana, what was it wish to channel all these complicated feelings?
I don’t know if I can articulate it fairly nicely, as a result of the whole lot was an instinctual course of. As an actor, I attempt to analyze the scene earlier than, after I learn it, and analyze all of the issues I can with my head. On the finish of the day, it must be one thing that comes from intuition or instinct. Clearly strategies are concerned to assist the method alongside of exploring the character and entering into her and embodying her.
Season 2 was undoubtedly harder by way of preparation as a result of I used to be attempting to construct an entire basis for this world. I feel in the course of the method I spotted that Yuri is confused and misplaced. So, it’s OK that I’m confused and misplaced on this entire course of too. I don’t should have the whole lot found out as a result of my character doesn’t have the whole lot found out. So why would I, proper? I feel once I considered it that means, it relieved plenty of burden on myself to have found out the whole lot beforehand.
A serious turning level within the season is Yuri kissing Kitty after they uncover who Simon is. What was your response whenever you first learn the scenes, and what was filming the scenes like?
I used to be simply screaming to myself as I learn that a part of how they kiss in that dorm room. I used to be like, “Oh my god, it occurred!” The precise filming a part of it was fairly simple. Like, not simple, however clean crusing, I might say, as a result of Anna and I’ve already constructed a really snug relationship and rapport. So we’re very snug working with one another normally, and we rehearsed that particular scene with the director the night time or two previous to taking pictures that scene.
The one factor was it was the primary day of working with the director the place we needed to shoot such an vital, intimate scene with the brand new director as nicely. In order that was nerve-wracking, as a result of clearly we haven’t labored with this particular person. Nonetheless, we have now to shoot this very momentous scene for each characters. In the long run, the director was pretty. He was very beneficiant in making us really feel snug. Anna and I had been very snug vocalizing no matter we wanted to speak about and discussing the sort of choreography of all of it on the day. Actually, I feel I can communicate for each me and Anna, that we had been each fairly snug and we had been proud of how the scene turned out.
So Season 2 ends with some disappointing information for Yuri, The place do you suppose Yuri’s future is heading?
Actually, I don’t know. Part of me thinks that despite the fact that her household is broke, the largest deal to her is Juliana. I don’t even know if her household’s monetary scenario hit her but. I don’t suppose she even realizes what the repercussions of that’s in her life.
However so I feel to this point, no less than in Season 2, she’s nonetheless very preoccupied with Juliana and the way she thought they had been going to get again collectively, however they haven’t. That’s actually disappointing, and I really feel like that’s at all times on her thoughts. If we do have season three, possibly it’s time for her to take care of what it’s like not having the monetary privilege that she’s at all times had. That’s going to be one other fascinating factor for her to sort of work on.
Do you suppose Yuri and Kitty can find yourself collectively sooner or later?
Simply primarily based on what I see largely within the feedback, I feel the Kitty/Min Ho shippers are very dominating. I really feel like that’s what the present is gonna give them as a result of we don’t wish to piss off too many individuals. There’s the next likelihood of Kitty/Min Ho shippers getting what they need than Kitty/Yuri shippers I might say. However I don’t know, I’m not a author, so who is aware of?
I noticed that you just’re a fan of rom-coms. What rom-coms do you suppose XO, Kitty is a mixture of and which rom-com would you like the subsequent season to be impressed by?
Actually, the enemies-to-lovers trope is so frequent in Okay-dramas that I really feel like I may say something and it might match that trope. I haven’t watched current rom-coms, however I might say Okay-dramas from the early 2000s like Secret Backyard, Boys Over Flowers, or Lovers in Paris. We’ve already performed with so many tropes. We’ve executed enemies-to-friends, enemies-to-lovers, frenemies-to-friends. Like, what’s left? I don’t know!
No matter it’s on the finish of it, I simply hope that everybody finally ends up with everybody they need. Perhaps that’s not gonna please everybody, however it’s what it’s. The characters will go on their very own journeys and discover who’s proper for them, even when which means selecting themselves over another person. The writers and administrators clearly studied the Okay-drama method so nicely that they’re doing such a great job of integrating it into an American present.
Season two of XO, Kitty is now obtainable to stream on Netflix.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability.