It’s been two days since the internet’s latest hockey romance obsession, “Off Campus,” hit streaming. The show’s leads — Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli — haven’t really had a second to process it, and they won’t anytime soon.
“We’re going back to Vancouver in a couple days to shoot Season 2,” Cameli tells TODAY.com May 15 right after his and Bright’s joint appearance on the show.
“Off Campus,” based on the series of books by Elle Kennedy, premiered all eight episodes May 13 on Prime Video. The duo star as hockey captain Garrett Graham and singer-songwriter Hannah Wells, who fall in love after striking up a mutually beneficial fake dating scheme.
Based on the first book in the series, 2015’s “The Deal,” that titular deal involves Hannah tutoring Garrett, while he pretends to date her to attract the attention of her campus crush.
The show was renewed for a second season in February, months before Season 1 debuted. And after Episode 8 ended with a cliffhanger, through the introduction of a notable name who doesn’t star in the books until the “Off Campus” spinoff series, “Briar U” — specifically book No. 3, “The Play” — fans are already clamoring for more.
Below, Cameli and Bright discuss with TODAY.com that “mic drop” ending, react to “Heated Rivalry” comparisons and recall meeting Kennedy.
This interview was lightly edited for clarity.
“Off Campus” came out two days ago. There’s been fan reactions, a million fan edits — how are you feeling?
Belmont Cameli: I mean, this is crazy.
Ella Bright: It’s insane. We’re at the end of the press tour. It’s been a very emotional few weeks. We’re just so grateful and excited and can’t believe it’s finally out. It’s really crazy.
BC: We’ve been keeping very busy. I mean, we’ve had so much press, and we’ve been doing it all together, and it’s been really, really fun. … We’re going to stay busy, because we’re going back to Vancouver in a couple days to shoot Season 2, so it’s kind of nice, like we’ll all be together. And we’ve been together for this moment.
This book has been out since 2015, a fanbase 11 years in the making. What pressure did that bring?
BC: When we were making it, we knew that it had an already built-in fervent fanbase. But when we were making it, it felt like any other job. Our team had a really strong vision for the show, and it was so collaborative, that we didn’t really feel too much pressure. We just felt really grateful to bring these iconic characters alive.
EB: And be given the space to make it our own. But now being on the press tour, we’ve met so many people who have read the books or are fans, with all the countries we’ve been to. It’s been really crazy, and that’s kind of been the realization, I think. But as far as pressure goes, it’s just been actually really lovely. And everyone’s been so supportive.
Did you meet Elle Kennedy? How did that go?
BC: Elle came to set one day, or maybe for like a week? She was there for maybe a couple days.
EB: Yeah.
BC: And it was so fun to have her there. I mean, to watch her reaction of stepping into the world that she built in her imagination was just fascinating and so cute.
EB: She sat in on the table read, I think we were reading Episode 4. She’s awesome. I’m such a big fan of her work.
Did she give you any advice, or even just a comment or word that really stuck with you?
EB: She just showed a lot of support. She was getting some screeners and some clips of the show while we were filming, and just texting us, usually just being like, “It looks great. Really proud and happy about it.” That was always so encouraging.
BC: Her approval means the world to us.
EB: Yeah, like “Thank god.”
“Off Campus” was written before “Heated Rivalry,” but it’s so interesting seeing hockey romances brought to life specifically now, so soon after each other. Seeing the success of “Heated Rivalry” and the reaction last year, did it affect your expectations for “Off Campus”?
BC: I think in some ways, definitely. I was just happy for “Heated Rivalry” from, like, a TV success story, even separate from it being in the same lane. For a production like that to grab hold of an audience that large is success in any context for TV. So it was really cool to see, and obviously, it does play in our arena.
So having “Heated Rivalry” and the Olympics, you have the playoffs now, it’s just kind of been one thing after another. All hockey press is good hockey press, in my opinion.
EB: I mean, I’m from London. Never heard of ice hockey. So it’s really funny for it all to just be happening at the same time. But like Bel said, I’m such a big fan of the show, and it was really hilarious. Then seeing some people make comparisons, (it feels) crazy to just be in that conversation. It was really funny.
Was it intimidating, seeing the fan response to “Heated Rivalry”?
EB: I was just happy for them from just, like, an isolated standpoint. They were lovely. We got to meet them at a party we went to, and they had some really sweet advice, just in general, about just enjoying this.
BC: I wasn’t too intimidated … I mean, we’ve just been taking this whole thing one day at a time, regardless of the “Heated Rivalry” of it, like this experience has been very individual to us.
“Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie (center) with cast of “Off Campus” in January.Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for Vanity FairWas there anything about the script and reading the character description that you knew you could bring to the role and that made you want to go for it?
EB: I loved Hannah’s quirkiness and bubbliness and her confidence in who she is as a person. And I feel like I see myself in that a lot, like I am very clumsy and insane. (Laughs.) I really related to her on that level. I thought her story was really beautiful and important, and I felt very connected to it right away. And the “deal” scene in the end of the pilot that was when I really realized I really wanted this role so bad.
BC: I think for me, Garrett’s dedication to his sport is something that really resonated. The way I approach my work is very Garrett Graham, in his, like, concerted, universal effort to just be the best he can be. I was excited to step into his shoes for that reason.
I thought Garrett’s story had a lot of meat on the bone and had some really important elements to tell as storytellers. So I was just excited, kind of across the board. But that’s the first thing that stuck out to me, was his competitive drive and his dedication.
In the finale, with Garrett opening up to Logan about his relationship with his father, the abuse he’s faced — what about that became the catalyst for Garrett to want to get back together with Hannah?
BC: So for Garrett, his walls have been so high and so fortified against sharing his story and being seen. Obviously, we see him share his story with Hannah, and that’s a big step for him, but he needs to let in his best friends, too, in order to be supported and and to appreciate the sport that he inherently does love.
It’s easy to build up a resentment for something that you’ve been doing for since you were a really small child, especially when it comes to athletics. Especially when it comes to the dynamics with his father and the domestic violence that he’s experienced. But the whole reason he loves hockey is because it’s about being on a team. So opening up to Logan really unlocks for him his love for hockey. It’s a big moment, and so I’m excited to see in future seasons his relationship with hockey blossom just as much as with Hannah and with the guys.
There is the through line of Logan’s crush on Hannah, and there’s a moment at the end where he tells Garrett, “You guys are perfect for each other.” Do you think Garrett has an inkling of Logan’s crush?
BC: I don’t think I clocked that Garrett clocked it in Season 1.
EB: I don’t think so.
BC: And I certainly didn’t play it that way. But I mean, we’ll see.
At the very end, that mic-drop final line about Hunter Davenport. I understand both of you have only read “The Deal.” Is that correct?
BC: That is still true.
EB: This is true — well, no, I’ve read — yeah, I’ve read the two — well, I’ve read the next few books. (Laughs).
BC: Oh, you have?
EB: Yes, I have. … When we got the second season. Because I’m very superstitious. I was like, “I don’t want to read it until …”
But yeah, when we were filming, I’d only read the first, so when we found out about this Hunter Davenport character, I was very confused. But it’s the “Briar U” series. … But he’s in “The Score” a lot.
How did you react to that being one of the last lines of the script? How was it explained to you, the significance of it?
BC: Well, you know, it kind of was and it wasn’t. Because there is a whole backstory that the audience is not made aware of, and in some ways, we were not made privy to either, to protect that kind of compelling, mic-drop moment for us as performers, too.
We’re supposed to be incredulous as it’s happening. We’re not supposed to know what’s happening, so it wasn’t explained to us thoroughly.
And we’ll flesh that out more when we get the new episodes.
EB: What was fun about the filming process is we would get two episodes at the time. So we didn’t know how the show ended until a month before.
BC: Right.
EB: So it was like reading it and watching it at the same time. It was kind of like the experience for the audience. It was just like a fun, plot-twist moment.
The focus and the leads of Season 2 — I know you can’t say who it is, but do you have any advice to whoever it might be?
BC: Ultimately, no. I have so much confidence in our whole cast. I’m really excited to watch whoever’s up next and whoever may be after them step into these shoes. Because, I mean, everybody is really prepared for this moment and deserves it entirely.
EB: Absolutely.