If The Summer I Turned Pretty helped establish Prime Video’s reputation for teen literary adaptations, Off Campus: Unlikely Loves is here to cement it. In recent years, productions like Maxton Hall, We Were Liars, and the My Fault trilogy helped pave the way, but judging by the air of anticipation over the past few weeks, it was clear that expectations were truly pinned on the series adapting Elle Kennedy’s book saga. Fortunately, they’re met.

• Unlikely Loves | Season 2 casts Phillipa Soo and India Fowler

In Off Campus, we follow the unlikely romance between Hannah (Ella Bright), a classical music student, and Garrett (Belmont Cameli), captain of the university hockey team. The two are on completely different paths until Garrett bombs his Philosophy exam and decides to ask for help from the only person who got a perfect score: Hannah. In return, he offers to pretend to be her boyfriend to make the guy she has a crush on jealous: Justin (Josh Heuston).

It’s a simple premise that never hides where it’s headed, but the series created by Louisa Levy succeeds by recognizing and embracing its own format. If fans want eye candy, the very first episode wastes no time introducing us not only to the first season’s leading man’s toned physique, but also to his best friends (and future leads of the coming seasons): Dean (Stephen Kalyn), Logan (Antonio Cipriano), and Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks). Want “enemies to lovers”? Hannah and Garrett’s sharp back-and-forth is there from the very first scenes. “Fake dating”? They check every box.

But Off Campus really works because it gives the couple time and space to develop, both individually and together. They aren’t just drawn to each other out of convenience. They share their traumas and comfort one another. They have common interests in movies and music, and they learn to value each other’s hobbies and passions. That’s without even mentioning the intense chemistry between Bright and Cameli, who are convincing with nothing more than a simple exchange of glances.

On top of that, Garrett never falls into the “trash boy” stereotype. Quite the opposite: even as hockey team captain, the son of a sports legend, and the group’s leader, he is attentive and caring. It may sound obvious, but in a series with this kind of reach and audience, seeing a guy make sure a girl’s drink hasn’t been tampered with and sleep on the floor when she lies down drunk is a relief. Even among his best friends and teammates, they never slip into toxic male competitiveness—the seventh episode almost takes a step backward in that regard, but fortunately there’s redemption by the end. 

Already setting up its future seasons (the idea is for each year to adapt one of Elle Kennedy’s books—each centered on one of Garrett’s roommates), the Off Campus series uses its eight episodes well to introduce and begin digging deeper into each of them. It’s hard not to sympathize with Logan’s conflicting feelings, fall for Dean’s charm, and want to be Tucker’s friend. Not to mention Allie (Mika Abdalla), who rises above the role of just the protagonist’s best friend and is a breath of fresh air every time she appears.

After watching the first season (and after all the buzz surrounding the cast’s visit to Brazil), it’s actually easy to forget how harshly the adaptation was criticized about a year ago when its actors were first announced. The release, however, comes as final proof that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. As has been making the rounds on social media lately, it really does seem like the cast stepped straight off the pages of the book. 

There are some differences, yes, especially in the way the plot unfolds, but the showrunner understood enough to preserve the story’s essence while making the changes truly necessary to complete an adaptation. If the second season—which has already been confirmed—keeps this up, we’ll almost certainly see enough success for the entire saga to make it to the screen. Lucky us.

Off Campus: Amores Improváveis

Created by: Louisa Levy

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