‘Off Campus’: 5 Major Book-to-Show Changes That Have Been Revealed
What To Know
- Prime Video is adapting Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus book series into a TV show.
- The show comes out in May 2026, but several book changes have been revealed so far.
- The teaser trailer revealed a major book change.
We’ve had years to sit with (translation: obsess over) Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus books, so you already know that we’ve been cataloging every single detail about Prime Video’s TV adaptation since it was announced — including all the ways Off Campus will differ from the book. The newly-released teaser trailer already confirmed that the adaptation will be making a few changes.
“We really want to honor the book and where these characters are coming from, but we only have eight episodes to do it as opposed to a full novel,” showrunner Louisa Levy explained to Entertainment Weekly. “So there are some moments that I’m sure the fans will be very excited to see that we are not able to dramatize or find a way to do that to the full length. But we really are going to honor the book and do our best to honor the characters and be true to them, and also do our best to include as many Easter eggs as possible of both plot points and moments from the book.”
We can (reluctantly) accept that some changes need to be made when a story switches formats. We’ll be happy as long as the show retains the essence of the beloved hockey romance series, which it sounds like it will. We still have a way to go until we can judge that for ourselves, but what we can do is go ahead and analyze all of the differences revealed so far. Keep scrolling for the major ones we’ve spotted ahead of Season 1.
Justin is a musician
In Kennedy’s The Deal, music major Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) agrees to fake date hockey player Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) to make her crush jealous. The show will follow suit, though with one major difference: Justin (Josh Heuston) isn’t a football player. They’ve made him a musician, like Hannah, instead.
Levy explained the reason for the switch-up in an interview with Teen Vogue. She wanted Hannah’s type to be “artsy guys,” highlighting that “Garrett is not the person she had on the agenda for herself.” Further, Hannah is “not a fully realized singer-songwriter yet, and part of what she’s crushing on with Justin is … she wants to be able to do what he does. So it allowed us, yet again, to externalize what is internal.” (We approve of this change, in case you were curious. It makes total sense.)
Prime Video
Hannah’s part-time jobs
In the book, Hannah is a waitress at a ’50s-themed diner called Della’s. The show appears to be taking a different approach, based on the teaser. Hannah can be seen working at the Briar U hockey rink. She’s cleaning up the locker room when she finds Garrett in the showers. (It doesn’t look like the book’s steam will be watered down for TV.)
Prime Video
In another scene, Hannah is behind the bar at Malone’s, which readers know the Briar U hockey team frequents. A new photo shows Allie (Mika Abdalla) in the same shirt, so it seems like they’ll not only be besties like they are in the book, but coworkers, too. RIP, Della’s, but we’re living for these changes.
Prime Video
Phil Graham’s motivations will be fleshed out more
It seems like Phil Graham (Steve Howey), Garrett’s abusive dad, will be more complicated in the show. “Phil doesn’t think he’s a villain,” Levy told Teen Vogue. “He thinks he’s doing the right thing for his kid.”
Further, in the show, “Garrett’s deepest desire is that his dad could reform so that he can have a relationship with his dad.” Levy added, “We were really curious what would happen if he starts to hope that maybe that the man is not what he was. It was also important to us, as a writers’ room, that we didn’t wrap it up neatly and tidily in a bow, because that’s not how life is.” (Hmm. We’ll have to wait until the show comes out before we can judge this one.)
Other romances will be developed outside of their seasons
We already know that the show will focus on a different relationship in each season, switching to a new couple like the books do. However, in the central five-book series, Kennedy doesn’t spend much time with couples other than the main one. They do appear, but their stories don’t progress much past their book. Teen Vogue revealed that the relationships between the supporting characters will be built out before (and possibly after) they lead.
Prime Video
There’s a chance moments from Kennedy’s The Mistake, The Score, The Goal, and The Legacy could be worked into Season 1. “We scoured the books, and we did a lot of work to try to fold in as many of those Easter eggs as possible,” Levy said. “Some of them are real moments, but maybe they don’t take place in the order of the books. So I would say look out for the similarities that might not come the way you expect.”
Tucker is aged down
We knew this one was coming before Levy confirmed it. In September 2025, Kennedy shared a photo of the Briar Hawks Team Roster, straight from the Off Campus set. The Instagram post revealed that some of the Off Campus male leads have different grade levels than they do in the book, including Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks). He’s a sophomore instead of a senior.
“He’s the oldest in the books, and he’s the youngest in our series,” Levy said. “That’s just because his [story] is the fourth book, and we want to make sure he’s still in college by the time we get there. We don’t want to be forced to overlap timelines in the same way if that doesn’t make sense for us. We want to keep driving the story forward, and we don’t want to be limited in that regard.”
That means, if the roster is accurate, Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Kalyn) has been aged up. He will be a senior when we meet him in Season 1. (Does that mean he’ll be the star of Season 2, we wonder, even though his book comes third in the series? TBD.)
The roster photo also didn’t include characters like Colin Fitzgerald and Hunter Davenport, two younger Briar U hockey players. They go on to become the main characters in spinoff books The Chase and The Play, respectively. Levy may or may not have assuaged our worries about their absence. “Just because [a character’s] not in the show yet doesn’t mean that we don’t have plans for them in the future,” she teased in Teen Vogue.
What are your thoughts on the book-to-show changes revealed so far? Sound off in the comments section below!
Off Campus, Season 1, May 13, Prime Video
