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| Are Hannah and Garrett Real People? The Truth Behind Prime Video’s Off Campus. (Credits: Prime Video) |
Prime Video’s ‘Off Campus’ may look like another glossy university romance packed with attractive students making questionable emotional decisions at 2am, but the series actually pulls much of its emotional realism from real-life experiences.
While Hannah and Garrett are fictional characters, the world around them was heavily shaped by author Elle Kennedy’s own observations of young adulthood, hockey culture and the weirdly chaotic energy of university life where everyone pretends to know what they’re doing while clearly not knowing at all.
The romance drama follows hockey star Garrett Graham, a talented athlete trying to escape the pressure attached to his famous surname, and Hannah, a music major more focused on her future than campus romance.
Their relationship begins through an academic deal after Garrett needs tutoring and Hannah wants help attracting another guy. Naturally, what starts as a practical arrangement quickly becomes emotionally complicated because fictional university students apparently cannot have one peaceful semester without developing feelings.
Despite its grounded emotional tone, ‘Off Campus’ is not a true story. The series is adapted from Elle Kennedy’s bestselling book series of the same name, particularly the first novel, ‘The Deal.’
Kennedy first came up with the idea in 2014 while taking a break from writing darker romance stories. Wanting something lighter and more playful, she shifted toward young adult romance and placed the story inside a fictional university setting called Briar University.
At the time, the new adult romance genre was still growing, making the project slightly risky. But Kennedy leaned into the uncertainty. Rather than creating polished fantasy versions of young adults, she focused on messy people still figuring themselves out.
That awkward period between teenage life and adulthood became the emotional backbone of the story. It is the stage where confidence is mostly fake, emotions are dramatic, and everyone suddenly believes one conversation in a library can somehow change their entire future.
The decision to make Garrett a hockey player also came from Kennedy’s own background. Growing up in Canada, she was already deeply familiar with hockey culture and understood both the excitement and pressure surrounding the sport.
She also happened to be dating a hockey player at the time, which gave her direct access to locker-room dynamics, team friendships and the emotional strain athletes often experience behind the scenes.
That real-life exposure helped shape Garrett into more than a stereotypical campus athlete. Instead of becoming another overly perfect romantic lead with suspiciously unlimited free time and flawless emotional communication skills, Garrett feels grounded.
He struggles with expectations, academic pressure and identity issues beneath his confident exterior. The hockey setting also added extra intensity to the story, because few things say emotional vulnerability quite like someone skating aggressively into a wall at high speed.
When television developer Louisa Levy adapted the books for Prime Video, she wanted the show to capture the emotional honesty that made Kennedy’s novels resonate with younger readers.
Levy reportedly drew inspiration from classic coming-of-age films such as ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ and the works of John Hughes, aiming for a mix of romance, humour and emotional discomfort that feels painfully familiar to anyone who survived university group projects.
The casting process became a major part of bringing that realism to the screen. Actress Ella Bright, who plays Hannah, had not fully read the books before auditioning.
Still, producers were impressed enough by her interpretation of the character to cast her in the role. Because Hannah is a music major, Bright later had to develop musical skills for the series, including singing performances that became part of the character’s identity.
Meanwhile, Belmont Cameli, who plays Garrett, underwent hockey training alongside the rest of the cast. The actors attended a two-week boot camp to learn the basics of the sport before filming began.
While professional stunt doubles handled more difficult action scenes, the training added a believable physicality to the performances. Cameli also contributed creative ideas for Garrett’s appearance, including suggesting the tattoo featured on the character’s back.
That extra effort is one reason the series feels more authentic than many streaming romances that rely entirely on attractive lighting and slow-motion staring contests. The characters in ‘Off Campus’ feel emotionally imperfect in ways audiences recognise immediately.
Hannah deals with insecurity and self-worth issues, while Garrett constantly wrestles with pressure and expectations. Their chemistry works because neither character feels entirely polished, which honestly is refreshing in an era where fictional university students somehow live like luxury influencers.
ICYMI: Where Was Off Campus Filmed?
Online reactions to the series have been sharply divided in the most predictable internet way possible. Fans of the original books praised the chemistry between Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli, with many saying the adaptation successfully captured the emotional tone of Kennedy’s novels.
Some viewers especially enjoyed the balance between romance, humour and personal growth, while others admitted they unexpectedly became invested in hockey despite previously understanding absolutely nothing about it.
Not every reaction has been glowing, however. Some viewers argued the series still leans heavily into familiar romance tropes, including the emotionally guarded athlete and the academically focused love interest.
Others joked that fictional universities continue to offer students far more free time, emotional energy and perfectly timed dramatic encounters than real campus life ever allows. Still, even critics largely agreed that the emotional sincerity of the performances helped elevate the material.
For viewers considering whether to start the series, ‘Off Campus’ delivers exactly what many modern romance audiences want: emotional tension, flawed characters, university chaos, attractive people making emotionally questionable decisions and enough slow-burn chemistry to keep social media edits alive for months.
Beneath the romance, the show also explores identity, pressure, ambition and the uncertainty of early adulthood without becoming overly heavy.
Most importantly, the series understands its audience. It knows viewers are not just watching for romance, but for that nostalgic feeling of being young, confused and convinced every emotional interaction is life-changing.
Sometimes it is dramatic, sometimes it is funny, and sometimes it feels one text message away from complete disaster. Which, to be fair, is probably the most realistic part of all. So now the question is whether viewers are ready to emotionally attach themselves to another fictional hockey player and suffer through the wait for Season 2 discussions online