Credit: Prime Video
Published May 11, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT
El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel.
Romance thrives on the strength of its characters, and luckily, Prime Video's latest romantic book adaptation, Off Campus, has a plethora of great characters to choose from. Based on the college-set, hockey-focused contemporary book series by Elle Kennedy, the eight-episode first season chronicles the unlikely but surprisingly authentic love story between aspiring songwriter Hannah "Wellsy" Wells (Ella Bright) and hunky hockey captain Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli).
Given Prime renewed Off Campus for a second outing months before the first season's official premiere, it's clear Amazon MGM Studios has genuine faith in Louisa Levy's vision for the show. Honestly, having watched the full first season, it's easy to see why. Despite a shaky two-episode start, it feels like Prime Video has another bingeable romantic hit on its hands, as Hannah and Garrett fall in love after a string of tutoring sessions, fake dates, and casual sleepovers.
Between the adaptation's cheesy and awkward split-screen scenes and numerous flashy if unnecessary montages — the series never really finds its own unique visual style, not in the same way The Summer I Turned Pretty captures the nostalgic feel of summer or how Netflix's Bridgerton frames and celebrates high society's opulence — its clear that the team behind Off Campus truly cares about the source material, these characters, and the genre as a whole.
Off Campus Adapts Elle Kennedy's The Deal With Surprising Finesse
As is the case with all book-to-TV adaptations, someone's favorite scene or line is bound to get cut. Such is the nature of adaptation; what works on the page doesn't always work for the screen. Hannah and Garret's book, The Deal (and the other three books in Kennedy's series), is written in first-person narrative, evenly split between Hannah's and Garrett's points of view. If anything, this makes adapting the story even harder. How do you convey the same emotional tone and intensity when it's impossible to get inside your characters' heads?
In Off Campus' case, the changes they make to Hannah and Garrett's stories, both individually and as a couple, actually help alleviate this issue. Small screen Hannah is still a music major, but with a vastly different focus. Her songwriting journey beautifully ties in with her desire to acknowledge her traumatic past and reclaim her sexual agency. Likewise, the minor differences in Garrett's dynamic with his retired NHL pro dad, Phil (Steve Howey), and his feelings towards hockey in general, create opportunities for his character to be more introspective without becoming too heavy-handed. Neither character's backstory is softened nor sanitized.
As a whole, the show hits on all of Hannah and Garrett's most important moments as a couple, fusing and shifting them around as necessary. Their first physically intimate scene together is a direct recreation of the corresponding scene in the book, as Garrett helps Hannah feel more relaxed in her body while in someone else's presence. It's one of the foundational events in their relationship; I'd even go so far as to say that the scene in the show is more powerful than the one in the source material, prefaced by a disgustingly cute dance moment and a fabulously vintage needle drop.
The show hits on all of Hannah and Garrett's most important moments as a couple, fusing and shifting them around as necessary.
Most importantly, Hannah and Garrett's friends-to-lovers arc comes across as genuine, even if they don't initially bond during a Breaking Bad marathon. The chemistry between Bright and Cameli works well both platonically and romantically. Cameli's Garrett is flirty and fun, caring and honest, while Bright's Hannah is sweetly shy and awkward yet brazen and bold in Garrett's presence. When they finally share their deepest desires and harrowing formative experiences, it feels earned. It's obvious these characters trust each other, and the audience can clearly see why.
Hannah and Garrett aren't the only characters in Off Campus, however. While the book filters Wellsy's and Graham's experiences at Briar University through their limited perspectives, Off Campus takes a more Bridgerton-esque approach to the narrative, turning the show into an ensemble drama instead — and the series is all the better for it.
Off Campus' Entire Ensemble Cast Elevates The Show
Kennedy's Off Campus saga is what's known in the romance world as an "interconnected standalone" series, meaning each book can be read on its own while being part of a larger whole. The show is structured this way, too. Much like fellow romance hit Bridgerton, each season will focus on a different couple; Hannah and Garrett's romance essentially sets the series' other love stories in motion, as their lives and social circles become increasingly intertwined.
In the book, though, what readers can learn about the other characters is limited by what Hannah and Garrett know about them. As a result, they feel quite two-dimensional, understandably lacking in focus and depth. Off Campus completely changes this, however. It properly introduces Garrett's closest friends — John Logan (Antonio Cipriano), Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Kalyn), and John Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks) — as well as Hannah's best friend, Allie Hayes (Mika Abdalla), and Logan's younger sibling, Jules (Julia Sarah Stone).
The entire cast plays off each other with ease, combining to create a funny, intense, hockey-fanatic found family that viewers will undoubtedly come to love.
Rather than just being side notes, supporting players in Hannah and Garrett's lives, they feel fully realized, made all the better by the undeniably likable and charismatic performers portraying them. Kalyn is especially convincing as the "player with a heart of gold," Dean Di Laurentis, while Cipriano and Cameli's dynamic as best friend duo, Logan and Garrett, offers real emotional weight. Thomas Brooks' Tucker doesn't get as much screen time as the others, but his charming personality is obvious. Abdalla's Allie is a genuine delight, and her relationship with Bright's Hannah is a highlight of the show.
The way the series balances its ensemble cast is genuinely commendable. Even a half-episode interlude away from Hannah and Garrett's romance, a la Heated Rivalry's Scott and Kip-centric episode, fits snugly within the overall story arc. The entire cast plays off each other with ease, combining to create a funny, intense, hockey-fanatic found family that viewers will undoubtedly come to love. At no point does it feel like the other characters are overshadowing Hannah and Garrett's romance, though. They're still the center of attention, and rightfully so.
Off Campus isn't groundbreaking television. It's a little corny; the dialogue can be cheesy, it's at times overly reliant on romance micro tropes, and it never really manages to create a distinctive atmosphere. Still, though, as far as book adaptations go, this one was clearly made with genuine love and care, and in the end, that's all anyone who enjoys reading and watching romance can really ask for.
All eight episodes of Off Campus season 1 will be released on Wednesday, May 13, exclusively on Prime Video.
Release Date May 13, 2026
Network Prime Video
Episodes 8
English (US) ·