Finally a book-to-show adaptation worth readers’ precious time
Heated Rivalry came out in Dec. of 2025, paving the way for other sports romances to be adapted by big TV companies like Amazon and Netflix. Every summer, it seems, we have a new show to obsess over. Last summer was The Summer I Turned Pretty. This summer brought us… drum rolls, please: Off Campus.
Author and storyline
In 2015, Canadian author Elle Kennedy released the first book of her Off Campus series, The Deal, a college hockey romance with a whole lot of banter, heart, and second chances. It led to four follow up books in the same series and two multibook sub-series; Briar U and Campus Diaries. Then, thanks to the development of social media and booktok, the books became popular all over again in recent years.
This summer, Amazon Studios developed the series into a TV show, with each season following a different book couple. The first season followed Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham, the main characters of The Deal, and when it was released in mid May, it blew up. The show was renewed for season two and three shortly after release.
The show revolves around Hannah Wells, a musician and sexual assault survivor, and Garrett Graham, a cocky hockey player with unresolved anger issues, who agrees to a tutoring deal with Wells. Throughout their arrangement, sparks fly and… well, for the rest, read ahead. Now, this is your final warning, if you plan to read or watch, spoilers are ahead.
This show just has something different than most rom-com drama series right now. It is not a fluff storyline with spicy scenes intertwined in it. -Hana Grace
What did the Off Campus show do better?
Wow! What a show! Talk about a new comfort show! I started reading Elle Kennedy a few years ago and absolutely loved her writing. (It also helps that she’s a Canadian girlie). When I read The Graham Effect, which follows the second generation of the Off Campus series, I actually brought the book to work and read it on my lunch because it was ‘un-put-down-able.’ I was hooked!
I am a huge critic of book adaptations. Books are always better, but this show actually matched readers expectations. I absolutely loved that the cast was full of new faces. Of course, they all have credits to their names, but it’s not like Garrett Graham was played by Jacob Elordi. I am so sick of seeing the same four actors in every other film this year. Watching fresh young actors get an opportunity to shine made the show so much more personal.
This show just has something different than most rom-com drama series right now. It is not a fluff storyline with spicy scenes intertwined in it. It portrays healthy relationships with real-life communication about real-life problems.
Hannah is dealing with the PTSD that follows her after being assaulted, Garrett’s dad is abusive, and John Logan’s mom is an alcoholic in rehab. These are big time issues that many young people have to deal with but are not talked about in the main media, let alone portrayed well in teen romance shows.
Another huge plus of this show was the music. The show used a lot of alternative emerging artists like G Flip, The Beaches, and Remi Wolf with a nice mix of 80s classics like “Cherry Pie” and “Dancing with Myself” and, of course, rebirthing the iconic Jennifer Lopez song “On the Floor.” The music was a chef’s kiss.
Sports angle of the show
Being an athletics reporter means I had a whole other angle to look at the show from. In the show, the athletes do play hockey. The games are a huge aspect of the show. Sometimes you get these shows that are focused on athletics but the actors actually cannot play the sport they are supposed to be acting out.
However, the producers of Off Campus used real life NHL players to be the stunt doubles. They even had a “boot camp” for the actors to learn hockey skills. The physical sport being played in the show is actually executed well.
This show felt like the creators and producers wanted it to do well. It was not cringe worthy. It should age well, which is a nice change of pace. The show had a lot of parts at play that created an actual decent adaptation. I am really looking forward to season two. Let’s just hope that the creators keep up the fantastic job!
