The Off-Campus Timeline, Explained
What do you get if Bridgerton and Heated Rivalry had a baby? The answer is Off-Campus, a sprawling world of romance set within the world of competitive university hockey.
Originally a book series written by Elle Kennedy, each novel centres on a different romance with each member of the Briar University ice hockey team. So, you can see where the comparisons to both of these other trashy (which I say with the greatest of affection) romance shows come from.
Off-Campus, which was released on Prime Video earlier this May, has become an unprecedented hit — although, that being said, Amazon had so much faith in the show that it ended up commissioning it for a Season 2 before Season 1 had even begun. However, like Bridgerton, Amazon isn't necessarily adapting all the books in order. So, to clear up any confusion, keep reading as we break down the Off-Campus timeline. But be warned, there are spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen Season 1 yet!
The Off-Campus Timeline, Explained
In an interview with The Wrap, showrunner Louisa Levy confirmed that each season of Off-Campus covers just one semester on campus. “Every season is a semester, so it slows down the time,” Levy explained.
“It also allows us to have them be a little more mature, a little older when we meet them, since we are dealing with some spicier, sexier things—the older we can get them in the college bracket helps those of us who are out of college not feel like we’re watching teenagers.”
So, in terms of timing, the next season of Off-Campus will cover the spring semester at Briar, picking up pretty much immediately from where the first season ended.
The book that was adapted for Season 1 was ‘The Deal', the first in Kennedy’s series. The titular ‘deal’ refers to one made between music student Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) and ice hockey team captain Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli).
The deal is this: Hannah will tutor Garrett if he helps her make fellow musician and crush Justin Kohl (Josh Heuston) jealous. How do they do this? With a good old-fashioned fake relationship. Eventually, to the surprise of literally no one, this fake relationship became real.
Which Book Is Getting Adapted Next?
Outside this core romance, the timelines between the books and the TV show have begun to diverge. While we met John Logan (Antonio Cipriano), the star of book two, ‘The Mistake,’ it became apparent throughout the series that Season 1 is building toward an adaptation of book three, ‘The Score,’ for its second season. This much is clear because the main characters of book three, Allie Hayes (Mika Abdalla) and Dean DiLaurentis (Stephen Kalyn), started sleeping with each other in Season 1.
It made for a compelling B-plot that continued to build until the arrival of Hunter Davenport (Charlie Evans), with whom Allie had a tryst, threw a spanner in the works. Hunter is a side character in the second and third books, but he is clearly playing a bigger role in the TV show moving forward. So, this is a second major change. And with no sign of Grace, who ends up being the romantic partner of John in the second book, all signs are pointing to an adaptation of ‘The Score.’
When asked by TVGuide why she decided to plant the seeds of Allie and Dean in Season 1, Levy said: “It was always in an effort to keep the momentum going. Happily ever afters are wonderful and so important for this genre of novel, but they're not that helpful for television because we have to keep telling stories. So part of that was my attempt to give [viewers] the Hannah and Garrett happily ever after that I wanted, that I know fans will want, but still leaving something hanging and some question going into Season 2 of, ‘How is this going to be resolved, and how is this going to drive the story forward?’ I want people to tune in to Season 2 and watch what we have in store.”
So, given that Levy is going full steam ahead with ‘The Score’ in Season 2, we can expect Season 3 (if commissioned) to take place the following fall season. When it comes to what book they will adapt next, the strongest indication is probably whoever gets the main B-plot in Season 2. Whether there will be a return to order or another diversion remains to be seen, but we all know it will be entertaining.
