How ‘Off Campus’ Studied ‘Bridgerton’s Romance Game and Improved On It

For the last week, Prime Video‘s infectious new hockey romance series Off Campus has taken over my life. I’ve rewatched my favorite scenes — er, episodes — multiple times, have plowed through a bunch of Elle Kennedy’s original romance novels, and started trading Off Campus-related memes and gossip with the work bestie.

I have fallen head over heels for the sweet romance that develops when music major Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) tutors hockey star Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) in exchange for him pretending to date her so she can impress her crush. I am obsessed with how elegantly Off Campus Season 1 weaves in a second secret romance between Hannah’s best friend Allie (Mika Abdalla) and Garrett’s friend Dean (Stephen Kalyn). I can’t wait to see how India Fowler‘s Grace Ivers upends John Logan’s (Antonio Cipriano) life in Season 2 and have now totally forgiven Jalen Thomas Brooks for skipping out on most of The Pitt Season 2 to play Tucker.

The last time a show made me fall this madly for an entire romance series was when Bridgerton came out during the lonely winter nights of quarantine in 2020. As soon as I binged that show, I tore into Julia Quinn’s books and found myself bewitched by a vast fantasy world of oh-so-horny characters.

While it remains to be seen if Off Campus will eventually match Netflix‘s Bridgerton for pop culture cache, it’s already obvious to me that the Prime Video show studied the popular Regency romance closely. Many of the choices that Off Campus creator and co-showrunner Louisa Levy has made in adapting Elle Kennedy’s vast list of books set at Briar University seem to be cribbed from Bridgerton‘s creative successes or designed to avoid the Netflix’s hits few stumbles.

Here are the five lessons Off Campus seems to have taken from studying Bridgerton…

1. Lesson 1: Immediately Establish The Fantasy of This Universe

   One of the key ways Bridgerton hooked viewers from the jump was by creating its own idiosyncratic universe. It’s a fantasy version of Regency London, where racism doesn’t exist, ball gowns are bedazzled, and everyone dances to string arrangements of pop songs. 

   Off Campus’s contemporary college setting might feel more grounded than Bridgerton, but it’s no less a fantasy. Now, I’m not saying there can’t be a Massachusetts college where hockey and performing arts are equally important on campus — hell, I went to Boston University — but it’s rare for Remi Wolf to play a block party for free or for a rendition of Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back” to woo a Gen Z boy.

   Instead of puncturing the fantasy of Briar U, every silly anachronism or corny touch establishes the peculiar rhythms of this world. You buy into it all, or not at all.

2. Lesson 2: You Can Play Fast and Loose With the Source Material

   So many of the things Bridgerton fans love about the show are sharp departures from the source material. We’ve already cited the race-blind casting, but there have also been gender-swapped characters, deeper backstories for supporting characters, and charming subplots that have stolen audiences’ hearts. (I, for one, am thrilled that Cressida Cowper is a three-dimensional character we can now root for!)

   On a larger scale, Bridgerton has also shown that you can’t just tinker with the source material. You can completely reshuffle it. Colin and Penelope’s love story came together earlier in the show’s run than in the books, and rightfully so. Current showrunner Jess Brownell was building off storylines that had already been seeded. It would have been frustrating watching Penelope spend one more whole season as a wallflower! Similarly, it makes thematic sense to move Francesca’s romance to Season 5 since we’ve already tread so much of the backstory. 

   Off Campus is embracing this spirit from the very beginning, gender-swapping members of Logan’s family and mixing in storylines from much later books in the overall series. Overall, these major changes are making a better show!

3. Lesson 3: Decide If You Are An Ensemble Show From The Jump

   One of my biggest issues with the last season of Bridgerton is it seemed torn between what it was structurally attempting to do. Is Bridgerton an ensemble period drama or a Regency romance hyper-focused on one couple per season? It was originally meant to be a one book-to-one season adaptation of Julia Quinn’s books, but the delightful subplots of the Ton are now devouring screen time that past seasons would have granted the main couple.

   Straight out of the gate, Off Campus knows it’s adapting Elle Kennedy’s books as a whole into an integrated ensemble show. That’s why we got Allie and Dean’s romance beginning in Season 1 versus a third season down the line, as well as important details about the characters’s lives we wouldn’t have learned until further down the saga. 

   Because Off Campus Season 1 understands its approach already, I have fewer concerns about how future love stories will be adapted. I can already see how Season 2 can introduce Logan and Grace’s love story while also focusing on Allie and Dean’s developing romance and the next steps for Hannah and Garrett…

4. Lesson 4: Lock in That First Couple for the Long Haul

   When Bridgerton first premiered back in 2020, Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor became instant celebrities. Their chemistry helped catapult the show into the zeitgeist and Page even got the plum gig of hosting SNL. So it was a bit of a disappointment when Page immediately exited the show and Dynevor only returned for a few scenes in Season 2. 

   Now, it’s not that Bridgerton hasn’t been successful without Page and Dynevor, but the Duke and Daphne’s absences are felt in the plot. We’re supposed to believe that the Bridgertons are the most tight-knit family in the Ton, but two key members never show up for major events? 

   So I was thrilled to stumble upon an interview where Off Campus stars Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli confirmed they’re not only returning next season, but stoked to return to see what comes next. 

   As we established, Off Campus already understands how to adapt these single romance books into a compelling ensemble drama, so it’s nice to know that the actors are on board with that vision because it’s hard to imagine the show going forward without Garrett and Wellsy still hanging around Briar U.

5. Lesson 5: Don’t Leave Us Waiting Too Long For The Next Season

   If there’s one thing that frustrates me as a Bridgerton fan the most it’s the insane lag between new seasons. While Brownell has told DECIDER in the past that they “are always hoping to get to fans sooner,” the sheer scope of the production usually delays new seasons for at least years. 

   So I’m extremely heartened to know that not only is Off Campus already returning for Season 2, but they’re wasting no time getting back into production next month. Off Campus Season 2 heroine Grace Ivers has already been cast and Prime Video has already teased actress India Fowler’s chemistry with Antonio Cipriano. (If you haven’t read The Mistake yet, trust me when I say this prank really fits the Act 1 energy between Logan and Grace!)

   Given that the first season went into production last June and wound up on our screens in under a year, we should expect Off Campus to return next spring!