Lately, Prime Video has been proving itself to be one of the biggest experts in book adaptations. The streaming platform has realized there’s a massive audience for this kind of content, especially after the explosion of BookTok and the growing power of romance stories on social media. However, finding a title that really breaks out is not an easy task. Heated Rivalry, acquired by HBO Max, for example, became a huge success, but how do you even compete with that? Here, there is already strong potential for future seasons (so much so that a third book featuring the main characters is set to be released in 2027 due to the show’s impact).
The biggest issue with many productions in the genre is that they work well at the beginning, but then spend many episodes and seasons trying to invent reasons to keep going when the adaptation process itself isn’t properly planned. More often than not, we see characters going through the same conflicts over and over again. And that’s exactly where Prime Video’s newest hit comes in, potentially finding something far more valuable than just another drama-romance like HBO’s.
Off Campus Has the Perfect Structure for Multiple Seasons
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Based on Elle Kennedy’s book series, Off Campus follows students at Briar University as relationships, friendships, rivalries, and typical personal drama intersect on campus. Recently released, the first season adapts The Deal, which centers on Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) and Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), a highly popular hockey player, who convinces her to help him academically in exchange for helping her get the attention of another guy she’s interested in. Yes, it sounds like a classic rom-com premise, and it really is, but the show stands out because it gives exactly what audiences in this genre want to see, in full detail. Literally nothing feels missing.
But no, the real difference isn’t reinventing the formula; it’s about knowing how to use it well. The fake dating trope, the emotionally complicated athlete, the reserved female lead, and the slow-burn romantic tension — Off Campus takes these extremely familiar elements and turns them into an addictive viewing experience. And the most interesting part is that it doesn’t rely only on Hannah and Garrett to stay engaging. This is basically the same idea as Bridgerton, since the books were written with different protagonists in mind: each volume follows a new couple within the same friend group. But the big advantage here is that narratively, everything happens at the same time, so no character ever disappears.
So far, the main saga has five books: The Deal, The Mistake, The Score, The Goal, and The Legacy. For the show, each protagonist has already been cast from the beginning, but the romantic pairings haven’t been completely revealed yet, meaning they will be introduced gradually. Plus, according to creator Louisa Levy, the idea is that, in order to keep interest high, the next featured couple will already have their arc introduced in the previous season. And, even if nothing long-term about the adaptation has been confirmed, considering the number of Kennedy’s books, there is enough material for many seasons.
After the original series, the universe expands into the spin-off Briar U, with four more books focused on other students at the university: The Chase, The Risk, The Play, and The Dare. After that, there’s the Campus Diaries series, which essentially follows a new generation of the same universe, currently made up of four books: The Graham Effect, The Dixon Rule, The Charlie Method, and Love Song. And all of these eight books feature new characters and some who are connected to the original series’ protagonists. Looking at all of it, that essentially means Prime Video already has enough material for almost a decade.
Is Off Campus Competing with Heated Rivalry?
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If you compare it to Heated Rivalry, the first thing they absolutely have in common is the setting, since both shows revolve around hockey players, which seems to be becoming a trend. However, one is focused on the LGBTQIA+ space and appears centered on a single couple, Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) (although one episode includes a different love story). Still, in the literary world, they connect in the sense that both are book series focused on different couples, because yes, Heated Rivalry also follows that same structural approach. In the adaptation, the idea is to center on the already-known couple, but showrunner Jacob Tierney seems open to expanding into other stories within the Game Changers universe.
And that leads to the question: are the two adaptations competitors? Well, since the release of Off Campus, comparisons have been constant, and that’s natural given the similarities. With that in mind, it raises the idea that Prime Video might actually be building something that could serve as a response to Heated Rivalry. And what can’t be denied is that Off Campus is really promising when it comes to a TV series. Beyond the sheer number of books, the stories themselves are several interconnected arcs with room to explore young, impulsive, messy, gossip-driven characters across classrooms, dorms, fraternity parties, games, music presentations, and even settings outside the university. It’s not limited, and audiences connect with it much more because of that.
image courtesy of prime video
And that kind of structure is a huge advantage because it also avoids a very specific and relevant problem in today’s shows (especially drama and romance): fatigue. The audience doesn’t have to watch the same characters going through the same drama for many seasons in a row. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course, since it depends on the overall planning and writing of the show. But Off Campus makes it easier because it’s a series that can simply shift focus without losing its core ensemble. You get attached to the characters, knowing they’re not completely disappearing, but there will also be something fresh at some point to keep you invested.
We’re talking about a platform that’s at the top of literary adaptations in terms of quality and faithfulness, with a show that already has the potential for an extensive number of seasons, where the audience doesn’t just follow a single romance, but also friendships, chaos, parties, rivalries, and the everyday coexistence of these characters (and, in the future, a second generation of them). Prime Video didn’t just find a hit — it found a model, a franchise blueprint that nobody else is really doing for TV.
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