Off Campus author Elle Kennedy is sounding off on the show potentially making changes by shifting the book order.
“The first season is Hannah and Garrett. You get to see the glimpses of the other characters, so fans are going to be like, ‘Who’s next? What’s going to happen?'” Kennedy exclusively told Us Weekly. “We’ll have to watch and find out.”
Kennedy clarified that new leads didn’t mean characters would be written off.
“They’re all best friends, and they’re all still living in the same house. The guys and Hannah and Allie are in the same dorm room,” she added. “I don’t believe it will be that you see them in season 1 and then they’re gone forever.”
Kennedy continued: “It’s still interconnected. I do think that there is a vision to keep that ensemble alive in the show.”
Based on the Off-Campus book series by Kennedy, the show follows an elite ice hockey team — and the women in their lives. Season 1 focused on Hannah (Ella Bright) and Garrett (Belmont Cameli), but despite Logan’s (Antonio Cipriano) story being next based on the books, Dean (Stephen Kalyn) could come first and then Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks) last.
“I would hope that book fans go into it with an open mind. The fandom for this series tends to be positive. They love these characters and they love this world,” Kennedy said about onscreen shakeups. “I just came back from a book tour and literally every stop it was just constant excitement.”
Kennedy was hopeful about the reaction from viewers.
“I do think that they’re going to love it,” she noted. “I hope that they’re going to go into it knowing some things have to change in an adaptation. But they’re going to get the same feeling that they got when they read the book.”
In addition to Bright, Cameli, Cipriano, Brooks and Kalyn, the show introduces characters played by Mika Abdalla and Josh Heuston.
“I wasn’t involved in the day-to-day process. I wasn’t in the writers’ room, and I didn’t have casting decisions,” Kennedy explained to Us. “I did get to read the scripts as they were being written, and I was able to, like, offer feedback. And sometimes we get on a Zoom with the showrunners because they did appreciate the author’s input.”
She continued: “They would say, ‘What are nonnegotiable scenes or things that you know have to be in there?’ They were collaborative in that sense. But in terms of final decisions, that was completely up to the creative team there.”
Despite providing feedback, Kennedy told Us she didn’t have “specific” requests about what should make it on screen.
“I went into this knowing they’re going to have to change certain things. Every adaptation has that — especially because the book is written in first-person, so you’re getting their thoughts a lot. They have to find different ways to show it,” Kennedy shared. “I just honestly wanted to see the relationship dynamics be captured. … I want to see the relationships. I want to see the characters in whatever situations they’re in.”
Off Campus is streaming on Prime Video now.
