\u201cOff Campus,\u201d based on the series of books by Elle Kennedy<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n Based on the first book in the series, 2015\u2019s \u201cThe Deal,\u201d that titular deal involves Hannah tutoring Garrett, while he pretends to date her to attract the attention of her campus crush. <\/p>\n The show was renewed for a second season in February, months before Season 1 debuted. And after Episode 8 ended with a cliffhanger<\/a>, through the introduction of a notable name<\/a> who doesn\u2019t star in the books until the \u201cOff Campus\u201d spinoff series, \u201cBriar U\u201d \u2014 specifically book No. 3, \u201cThe Play\u201d \u2014 fans are already clamoring for more.<\/p>\n Below, Cameli and Bright discuss with TODAY.com that \u201cmic drop\u201d ending, react to \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d comparisons and recall meeting Kennedy.<\/p>\n This interview was lightly edited for clarity.<\/p>\n Belmont Cameli: I mean, this is crazy.<\/p>\n Ella Bright: It\u2019s insane. We\u2019re at the end of the press tour. It\u2019s been a very emotional few weeks. We\u2019re just so grateful and excited and can\u2019t believe it\u2019s finally out. It\u2019s really crazy.<\/p>\n BC: We\u2019ve been keeping very busy. I mean, we\u2019ve had so much press, and we\u2019ve been doing it all together, and it\u2019s been really, really fun. … We\u2019re going to stay busy, because we\u2019re going back to Vancouver in a couple days to shoot Season 2, so it\u2019s kind of nice, like we\u2019ll all be together. And we\u2019ve been together for this moment.<\/p>\n This book has been out since 2015, a fanbase 11 years in the making. What pressure did that bring? <\/p>\n 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\u2019t really feel too much pressure. We just felt really grateful to bring these iconic characters alive.<\/p>\n EB: And be given the space to make it our own. But now being on the press tour, we\u2019ve met so many people who have read the books or are fans, with all the countries we\u2019ve been to. It\u2019s been really crazy, and that\u2019s kind of been the realization, I think. But as far as pressure goes, it\u2019s just been actually really lovely. And everyone\u2019s been so supportive.<\/p>\n Did you meet Elle Kennedy? How did that go?<\/p>\n BC: Elle came to set one day, or maybe for like a week? She was there for maybe a couple days. <\/p>\n EB: Yeah.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n EB: She sat in on the table read, I think we were reading Episode 4. She\u2019s awesome. I\u2019m such a big fan of her work. <\/p>\n Did she give you any advice, or even just a comment or word that really stuck with you? <\/p>\n 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, \u201cIt looks great. Really proud and happy about it.\u201d That was always so encouraging.<\/p>\n BC: Her approval means the world to us.<\/p>\n EB: Yeah, like \u201cThank god.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cOff Campus\u201d was written before \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d but it\u2019s so interesting seeing hockey romances brought to life specifically now, so soon after each other. Seeing the success of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d and the reaction last year, did it affect your expectations for \u201cOff Campus\u201d?<\/p>\n BC: I think in some ways, definitely. I was just happy for \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d 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. <\/p>\n So having \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d and the Olympics, you have the playoffs now, it\u2019s just kind of been one thing after another. All hockey press is good hockey press, in my opinion.<\/p>\n EB: I mean, I\u2019m from London. Never heard of ice hockey. So it\u2019s really funny for it all to just be happening at the same time. But like Bel said, I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n Was it intimidating, seeing the fan response to \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d?<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n BC: I wasn\u2019t too intimidated … I mean, we\u2019ve just been taking this whole thing one day at a time, regardless of the \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d of it, like this experience has been very individual to us.<\/p>\n EB: I loved Hannah\u2019s 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 \u201cdeal\u201d scene in the end of the pilot that was when I really realized I really wanted this role so bad.<\/p>\n BC: I think for me, Garrett\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n I thought Garrett\u2019s 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\u2019s the first thing that stuck out to me, was his competitive drive and his dedication.<\/p>\n In the finale, with Garrett opening up to Logan about his relationship with his father, the abuse he\u2019s faced \u2014 what about that became the catalyst for Garrett to want to get back together with Hannah? <\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to build up a resentment for something that you\u2019ve 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\u2019s experienced. But the whole reason he loves hockey is because it\u2019s about being on a team. So opening up to Logan really unlocks for him his love for hockey. It\u2019s a big moment, and so I\u2019m excited to see in future seasons his relationship with hockey blossom just as much as with Hannah and with the guys.<\/p>\n There is the through line of Logan\u2019s crush on Hannah, and there\u2019s a moment at the end where he tells Garrett, \u201cYou guys are perfect for each other.\u201d Do you think Garrett has an inkling of Logan\u2019s crush? <\/p>\n BC: I don\u2019t think I clocked that Garrett clocked it in Season 1.<\/p>\n EB: I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n BC: And I certainly didn\u2019t play it that way. But I mean, we\u2019ll see. <\/p>\n At the very end, that mic-drop final line about Hunter Davenport. I understand both of you have only read \u201cThe Deal.\u201d Is that correct?<\/p>\n BC: That is still true.<\/p>\n EB: This is true \u2014 well, no, I\u2019ve read \u2014 yeah, I\u2019ve read the two \u2014 well, I\u2019ve read the next few books. (Laughs).<\/p>\n BC: Oh, you have? <\/p>\n EB: Yes, I have. … When we got the second season. Because I\u2019m very superstitious. I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t want to read it until …\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778849981227_tdy_pop_8a_off_campus_ella_bright_belmont_cameli_260515_S3_1920x1080-b58969.jpg\")
\u201cOff Campus\u201d came out two days ago. There\u2019s been fan reactions, a million fan edits \u2014 how are you feeling? <\/p>\n![\"Vanity](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/connor-storrie-off-campus-cast-bc-0515-cbff56.jpg\")
\u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d star Connor Storrie (center) with cast of \u201cOff Campus\u201d 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?<\/p>\n