Off Campus creator explains wild Dean and Allie…
It’s a hat trick.
Warning: Spoilers forward! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched all eight episodes of “Off Campus.”
Prime Video’s hockey romance “Off Campus” throws a curveball for those who know the show’s source materials: Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Kalyn) and Allie Hayes (Mika Abdalla) get their story unexpectedly thrown into Season 1.
Showrunner Louisa Levy completely told The Post that it felt “organic” to inform the story this approach.
Allie (Mika Abdalla) in “Off Campus.” Liane Hentscher/Prime
Logan (Antonio Cipriano), Dean (Stephen Thomas Kalyn), Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks) and Garrett (Belmont Cameli) in “Off Campus.” Courtesy of Prime
“Allie is Hannah’s best friend, so that felt really easy,” she explained. “Also, [Allie and Dean’s] love story starts as a secret – so, what better way to surprise fans than launch it a little earlier than expected?”
“Off Campus” has already been renewed for a Season 2. The show is based on the guide collection of the same identify by Elle Kennedy. Each novel follows a different couple, and the blokes are all hockey gamers at the fictional Briar University.
The first guide (and Season 1 of the show) facilities on Garrett (Belmont Cameli) and Hannah (Ella Bright).
Garrett (Belmont Cameli) and Hannah (Ella Bright) in “Off Campus.” Liane Hentscher/Prime
Showrunner Louisa Levy at the Amazon Upfront on May 11, 2026 in New York City. Getty Images for Amazon
Garrett is the campus hockey star; Hannah is a music pupil. Allie is Hannah’s best pal. Party boy Dean is one of Garrett’s teammates and roommates.
Dean and Allie’s romance is the third guide in the collection, “The Score.” In the show, they start their steamy hookup relationship in Season 1, as a facet plot from Garrett and Hannah’s story. Dean and Allie keep their trysts a secret from their mates. They both insist that it’s a informal fling, but at the end of Season 1, Dean begins falling for Allie.
When requested if this means Dean and Allie would be the focus of Season 2 instead of the anticipated Season 3 (since they’re the third guide), Levy told the Post, “We’ll have to see.”
Mika Abdalla at the premiere of “Off Campus” at Linwood Dunn Theater on April 29, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images
Stephen Kalyn at the premiere of “Off Campus” at Linwood Dunn Theater on April 29, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images
Quite a bit of materials from the third novel is used in Season 1. Levy explained that when Dean and Allie get their own season, it is not going to be fully “off book,” but “we are stretching it, a little bit.”
She told The Post, “We’ll find ways to honor the books, and still tell the stories and get the fan favorite moments from the books into the show.”
Among the main ensemble, Kalyn was the last actor solid.
“It took us a little longer to find him,” she said. “But once we put him on a Zoom with our other guys and also with Mika, who plays Allie, sparks just flew. The friendship dynamic was there, the romance was there…He rounded out the cast perfectly.”
Antonio Cipriano, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Louisa Levy, Belmont Cameli, Ella Bright, Stephen Kalyn, Mika Abdalla, and Josh Heuston at the Amazon Upfront on May 11, 2026 in New York City. Getty Images for Amazon
Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli in the key artwork for “Off Campus” Season 1.
The “Off Campus” books have been printed in 2015 – before “Heated Rivalry” – but the show has come out after that collection grew to become a phenomenon.
“I love ‘Heated Rivalry.’ I am honored to be in the same breath,” said Levy.
She also identified that “hockey romance” is the only similarity between the 2 reveals.
“We’re in college. We have Hannah and Garrett’s love story, but it really is surrounded by a robust ensemble. It’s a show that has its own personality, its own vibe. There’s so many football shows. Why can’t there be lots of hockey shows?”
“Off Campus” solid members Belmont Cameli, Louisa Levy, Antonio Cipriano, Stephen Kalyn, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Ella Bright, Mika Abdalla and Josh Heuston at The Empire State Building on May 11, 2026 in New York City. Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust
Logan (Antonio Cipriano), Garrett (Belmont Cameli), Dean (Stephen Thomas Kalyn), and Tucker Jalen Thomas Brooks) in “Off Campus.” Liane Hentscher/Prime
Although “Off Campus” is mild in tone, it doesn’t draw back from some darker themes. Hannah and Garrett both have some trauma in their personal lives.
Levy said the tone was “challenging” to steadiness. “But at the same time, finding that sweet spot felt like the magic of the show. The characters all do have darker backstories, but they don’t allow those backstories to weigh themselves down, or the show.”
She called “Off Campus” a show that is about, “finding your person.”
The traumatic occasions are usually not shown onscreen, “because that’s not what this show is about. The show is about surviving, and healing.”
“Off Campus” is now streaming on Prime Video.
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