'Off Campus' Stars Reveal the Ending That We Never Saw Coming for Allie and Dean

Romance novel lovers rejoice! Off Campus is finally out on Prime Video! The series based on the Elle Kennedy book series of the same name just released Season 1 and is already starting work on Season 2. The first season follows Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) as he makes an unlikely deal with his classmate Hannah Wells (Ella Bright). Hannah, who has a crush on musician Justin Kohl (Josh Heuston), is desperate to get his attention, and fake dating Garrett is the key that. Supported by her best friend Allie Hayes (Mika Abdalla), Hannah jumps into her deal with Garrett with two feet, but of course, things don't exactly go as planned.

Collider spoke to both Heuston and Abdalla about their parts in the Prime Video series, breaking down some of their major moments while also looking forward to the future where their characters will also play a larger role in the world of Off Campus. Abdalla discussed the show starting Allie's romance early with Dean (Stephen Kalyn) and what it was like filming those scenes together. Heuston talks about the potential of more romance for Justin in the future while also teasing Season 2 of Dune: Prophecy, where he plays Constantine Corrino. Read the full interview below!

Mika Abdalla Reveals How She Met Stephen Kalyn for the First Time as Dean in 'Off Campus'

"Getting to see the ways that they honored her in Season 1 and also changed a few things about who Allie is was really exciting."

COLLIDER: Mika, I'm so glad that you're in this season. Allie is one of my favorite characters in that whole book series. She's such a girl's girl, I love her. What was it like reading the script and realizing that you'd be jumping in earlier in the series to explore her story?

MIKA ABDALLA: Obviously, I was very excited for that. I knew before the original audition that Allie would be a little more involved, so I read The Score and loved her character. So yeah, getting to see the ways that they honored her in Season 1 and also changed a few things about who Allie is was really exciting.

What was it like acting across Stephen [Kalyn] for the first time and meeting him?

ABDALLA: Stephen and I, at first, didn't talk to each other at all. Do you remember that?

JOSH HEUSTON: [Laughs] I do.

ABDALLA: We, like, didn't talk to each other, really. And then, I don't know, we just all started hanging out, and it was great. Honestly, Stephen's a really great scene partner. We have very similar ways of approaching a scene or approaching characters. We both can be really hard on ourselves, so it was great to have each other to settle ourselves and be very supportive. We trust each other a lot. So, yeah, he's amazing.

Great. Did you guys have any chemistry reads or anything like that leading up to it, or were you thrown in the deep end?

ABDALLA: Yeah, we did, but my chemistry with Stephen was over Zoom. All the rest of us were in a massive room with, like, a thousand people freaking out, in person. It was terrifying. And then we had to do the Dean chemistry reads over Zoom after the rest of us were cast. So I felt bad because Allie and Dean's scenes are all very physical, and there's just a proximity that helps to have in a chemistry read, but he did amazing. He obviously booked the role, so it was great.

Josh Heuston on Singing and Playing Justin in 'Off Campus'

"They can have the ice. I'll have the yodeling."

Josh, out of all of the guys in this show, everybody is doing hockey, but you get to perform, and you get to sing. What was it like doing that aspect of it, and did you ever want to be on the ice? Did you ever take a ride on the ice?

HEUSTON: Well, I feel like everyone, after watching them, wants to take a ride on the ice. That sounded bad. I meant to say… [Laughs]

That was poor phrasing on my part.

HEUSTON: Oh, you set me up to fail then. Well played. No, jumping into the music, I just love that whole experience of learning. I had an amazing music team around me, everyone from Rosie for vocals, and then Michael for guitar. It was just a really enriching and nurturing experience you go through.

I don't know, there's something about singing that, like, it does feel super vulnerable and naked, and it's a really, I guess, cathartic experience in a way, which I wasn't expecting. But yeah, I'm glad it played out the way it did. Yeah, I wouldn't change it. They can have the ice. I'll have the yodeling.

ABDALLA: The naked singing.

HEUSTON: The naked singing! Taking a ride on the ice. I’m just going downhill.

I regret saying “ride on the ice,” I’m not gonna lie.

ABDALLA: He followed it up with naked singing, so you're good.

HEUSTON: Well, it would have been fine in isolation, but here we are.

Heuston Ponders Justin's Future Romance in 'Off Campus'

"I think he's definitely just trying to focus on his music..."

In the books, Justin finds a girlfriend later on. Is that something that you want to explore with your character, or is that something that is being pursued as a question for the future?

HEUSTON: Yeah, at the time you find him in Season 1, I think he's definitely just trying to focus on his music, and I think you can kind of see that he loves it and has a lot of ambition, but he's also quite insecure about it and nervous in a way, especially when he's showing Hannah some of his music. There's a scene in Hannah's bedroom where he performs for her, and then she doesn't really say anything right away, and he's like, “Oh, did you like it?” And I think for him, he's just focusing on that. In terms of a love story, his first one didn't go so well, I guess, so he's just focusing on music for now.

Abdalla Reveals the Original Ending to 'Off Campus' Season 1 Was Changed

"I thought it was a really fun way to introduce Hunter as a character."

Mika, at the end of this season, Allie gets involved with a guy that she doesn't learn the name of until pretty much the last moment, who is Hunter, who is also obviously in Elle Kennedy's books. Can you tease anything about that relationship and what it was like reading that and being like, “Oh god, we've just thrown another wrench in this mix?”

ABDALLA: That wasn’t originally the way that the season was supposed to end, and so that being thrown into our inboxes kind of towards the last minute was crazy. But I think it's a really, really great way to end the season. I also think it was really important to Dean and Allie’s relationship. We do dive into Dean and Allie earlier than you would expect in Season 1, and so I think adding in the Hunter of it all helps to kind of slow that down a little, which is great. But yeah, I thought it was a really fun way to introduce Hunter as a character.

I'm curious, what was the original ending, because you said that you got that change later in the process.

ABDALLA: No comment. [Laughs]

That’s fair.

ABDALLA: It was Justin finally getting a girlfriend.

HEUSTON: I finally got the girl.

Abdalla and Heuston Reveal Their Ideal Songs for Their 'Off Campus' Characters

"It's giving yearning."

Obviously, music plays a big part in Season 1. Do you guys have an anthem or a theme song that you have for your character, or a song that you played to get into the mood of playing this character?

HEUSTON: Well, I made a playlist for Justin. I think they released one of them. But then on my personal one, there were, like, 60 or 70 songs in there. It's everything from “Thought It Was a Drought” by Future to “Revelry” by Kings of Leon. A lot of Australian music, like Royel Otis, but it depends on his mood. Sometimes he's hyper confident, and then there's extreme anxiety when he's trying to perform or something like that. So it's a combination of a bunch of things.

ABDALLA: Pretty brooding. Yearning.

HEUSTON: Yeah, it’s giving yearning.

ABDALLA: It’s giving yearning.

HEUSTON: Bring back yearning.

ABDALLA: I listen to a lot of female pop. I listened to also a lot of ABBA. That's where I was. I was in my Chappell Roan, Addison kind of situation.

Heuston Gives a Sneak Peek of 'Dune: Prophecy' Season 2

"It's a wild ride."

Josh. I want to ask you about Dune: Prophecy because I honestly love you in that show. I love that show. Season 1 was amazing. Can you tease anything about Season 2?

HEUSTON: It's just bigger and better, I guess. Everything's on a bigger scale. We filmed in three different countries, which is fun. It’s a lot of similar characters, but I think everything is just on a much grander scale, from the fights to the storylines to everyone trying to undercut each other. It's a wild ride. It's fun.