'Off Campus' Cast Defends Biggest - and Most Controversial - Book Changes

The cast of Off Campus addressed the Prime Video show's biggest changes from the books - and defended the decision to shift away from some of the most memorable moments.

"It's definitely great to have the blueprint of this fabulous book series to start with, but adapting for a TV show is a little bit different," showrunner Louisa Levy exclusively told Us Weekly. "We need to keep the audience's focus in a different way."

Levy broke down the approach from page to screen.

"We have a lot of stories told in different ways. We have eight episodes instead of the whole book," she noted. "So we really started with the things that were super nonnegotiable - that without those things it wouldn't be Off Campus."

She continued: "From there, we added as many of the book moments as we could. We dropped them in like Easter eggs, and we just really spent time taking one's inside character and externalizing them."

Based on the Off Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show, which premiered Wednesday, May 13, follows an elite ice hockey team and the women in their lives as they "grapple with love, heartbreak and self-discovery - forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood," read the official synopsis.

Hannah (Ella Bright) and Garrett's (Belmont Cameli) love story took center stage in season 1 - with several key moments from their book, The Deal, swapped for an updated version. At the same time, the show set up Allie (Mika Abdalla) and Dean (Stephen Kalyn) as the next possible leads despite them being featured in the third book in the series.

Keep scrolling for the cast's candid insight on the biggest changes:

Hannah and Garrett's Breakup

While Garrett (briefly) ended his romance with Hannah on the show, the book actually had his dad to blame. Bright told Us that swapping it to have the focus on Hannah and Garrett was due to the "characters themselves."

"That's what makes it such a poignant and upsetting moment. It is so heartbreaking because they're both having such awful days at the exact same time. So that miscommunication is, of course, going to end in that way," she noted. "Because they are losing the ability to connect and hear each other out. They're dealing with their own things at the same time. So it is really difficult, and it makes it definitely a saddest scene."

Cameli, meanwhile, referred to it as "very upsetting and a heartbreaking" fictional split, adding, "We wanted it to come from the characters."

Levy elaborated on the vision for the scene.

"A big reason why we made that change was because 11 years ago - when the books were published - college athletes couldn't make money off of their image like this and now they can," she explained. "The financial leverage that Phil has doesn't really work anymore in today's climate. We knew that we had to make a change there."

She continued: "But then on top of that, we also really wanted it to come from Garrett's inner fear that he might become his father. So even though Phil is not directly responsible, he's still kind of tangentially responsible. Because that is Garrett's deepest fear is becoming his dad. You don't want to do that and make Hannah go through that."

Hannah Kissing Logan Over Dean

In the book, Hannah kisses one of Garrett's teammates in front of him. Kennedy's version had it be Dean, but Off Campus leaned into the drama with Logan (Antonio Cipriano) being the ultimate choice.

"I know that some people are going to be a little upset about that one change. But honestly, for the story that we're trying to tell and where Logan has that kind of spark with Hannah, it's only going to feed the story a little bit more for his attraction toward her," Cipriano shared. "How that moment meant nothing to Hannah but everything to Logan."

Cipriano hoped the vision came along.

"He appreciates her, and it's all innocent and all love. I also think the addition of Jules and making him a middle child is really interesting," he added. "It changes the dynamic completely. And I'm a middle child myself, so I feel like I knew exactly who this guy was."

Allie and Dean's Romance Getting Moved Up

"Since the cast was announced, I feel like there's been theories circulating online, and it's been really interesting to read it," Mika Abdalla told Us about Allie and Dean's bond. "I for sure think people are going to be at least surprised."

She continued: "Even though we do tease Dean and Ali a lot earlier than people expect, you are still left wanting a lot more. That's something I'm really excited about too because I get it if I was on the other side of it."

… And That Hunter Introduction

To push Allie and Dean's story along, the show introduced Hunter Davenport despite him not being linked to Allie on the page.

"It was really important to have that scene to slow down what was happening between Allie and Dean. I want to see them kind of go. I want to see them really separate," Abdalla hinted. "Allie just got out of a long-term relationship. She can't do what she always does. … I really like the edition of the Hunter story line drama. They need to grow as individuals. And so I really want to see Ali and Dean grow separately in season 2."

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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 3:05 PM.