“Off Campus” Author Elle Kennedy's Hockey Romance Skates Onto Screens with All the Slow-Burn Angst of the Books (Exclusive)

Lizz SchumerTue, May 12, 2026 at 8:30 PM UTC

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Elle Kennedy and 'The Deal'
Credit: courtesy of Align PR; Elle Kennedy Inc. -

Elle Kennedy's Off Campus series was first optioned in 2019 but faced delays due to COVID and a writer's strike — but it's finally headed to screens

The Prime Video adaptation premieres May 13 and will follow the books' order starting with The Deal

Kennedy says the show captures the series' "fun vibe" and slow-burn romance despite creative changes for TV

It's been a long road to premiere day for Off Campus author Elle Kennedy.

The beloved book series she launched in 2015 was first optioned in 2019, and for a while, the author didn't think it'd ever see the light of day.

"There were a bunch of obstacles because there was COVID, there was a writer's strike, so it was basically kind of tied up for a few years, and I was like, you know what, this is never gonna happen," Kennedy tells PEOPLE.

And then, a tale as old as the Hollywood sign: "things move really, really, really, really, really slow, and then all of a sudden, really, really fast," Kennedy says. Fast forward a few years and now, the Briar University team is headed to Prime Video on May 13.

"It was fun to see it go from just a producer who's like, I love the book series, and I think we should make something, and to now actually see it made," the author adds.

Author Elle Kennedy
Credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty

The Off Campus series consists of five books, each following Briar University hockey players as they navigate the relationships, heartbreak and self-discovery that come with the cusp of adulthood. The Prime Video adaptation will follow the order of the books: season 1 will be based on 2015's The Deal, which follows the unlikely love story between hockey-hating music major Hannah and star player Garrett.

Much like Bridgerton, each season of the show will feature a different love story, starting with Garrett, who will be played by Belmont Cameli and Hannah, who will be played by Ella Bright.

For Kennedy, seeing the chemistry tests between the actors was one of the most fascinating parts of watching her book come to life onscreen. While testing whether lead couple Cameli and Bright would gel made sense to her, the author was fascinated to see chemistry tests between other members of the ensemble cast, too.

"I think the casting process was really fun, because it wasn't just focusing on, do these two people have chemistry? It's do all of these people have chemistry?" she explains. "So that was really fun to see."

The cast agrees, Bright told PEOPLE at Creation Entertainment's Page, Screen and Everything in Between convention in Whippany, New Jersey, on Sunday, May 10.

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"They wanted the tension and you could really feel it in the room," she says. "I remember the first time I met Belmont ... it was really funny, because we would get really, really close and they would go, 'And cut!'"

Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli in 'Off Campus'
Credit: Liane Hentscher/Prime

And fans of the book series can also breathe a sigh of relief that, while there were creative changes to bring the novels to the screen, the "overall fun vibe of Briar" remains intact.

"I was expecting there's gonna be creative changes, and that was all headed up by the Amazon team, and they kind of lead the conversations about what's gonna work, what's not gonna work, and I kind of defer to the experts," Kennedy explains. "The books are written in the first person, so a lot of introspection, and how do you show the characters' thoughts? So you kind of have to trust the TV people to be like, we know how to show this."

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That said, "I think that the vibe of book series, and the dynamics with the characters, the slow burn of the romance, they didn't try to just rush it," she adds. "I think they kind of captured the overall Briar universe, as well as the angsty parts of the story."

'The Deal' by Elle Kennedy
Credit: Elle Kennedy Inc.

As for the other hockey romance everyone's talking about? No, she hasn't watched — or read — Heated Rivalry yet, because she's hard at work on her next book. But readers' rabid obsession with hockey romance is good news for everyone writing in the subgenre, she says.

"I think hockey romance has always been the most popular of the sports romances... I think BookTok gave it more of a bit of a mainstream impact, which was so cool, and it created a gazillion new hockey fans," she says. "But I've always loved sports romance, and I know so many people who do, so I'm not surprised that it took off. But now seeing it really in the mainstream, especially with Heated Rivalry is really cool."

Off Campus premieres Wednesday, May 13 on Prime Video.

The Off Campus novel series is available now, wherever books are sold.

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