What to Know About ‘Off Campus,’ the Prime Video Book Adaptation That Could Be the New ‘Heated Rivalry’

By Tim Chan

Tim Chan

Hot off the Heated Rivalry buzz, Amazon is hoping that lightning strikes twice on the ice with the upcoming Prime Video series, Off Campus.

Based off the bestselling book series by Elle Kennedy, the show follows the studious and introverted Hannah Wells, who agrees to a pretend date with Briar University’s hockey all-star, Garrett Graham, in order to make another guy jealous. But what starts as a little playful teasing quickly turns into something more, and as a book description teases, “it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.”

Season one of Off Campus premieres May 13 on Prime Video and is streaming free online for Amazon Prime members. Not a Prime member? Get a 30-day free trial here and use it to watch Off Campus online.

You can also pick up the original book series that Off Campus is based on, with Amazon currently discounting the paperback novels by more than 50% off ahead of the new show.

The Deal (Off-Campus, 1)

$9.04 $18.99 52% off

The first book in the Off Campus series, titled The Deal, was released in 2015 and follows Hannah and Garrett’s “opposites attract” romance. From publisher Bloom Books, the 400-page novel is also available for Kindle and as an audiobook, read by the author Kennedy herself (you can listen to The Deal audiobook online free right now with a 30-day free trial to Audible here).

What Is the Show Off Campus About?

While Off Campus and Heated Rivalry are both set in the world (and locker rooms) of hockey, Off Campus focuses on collegiate athletes rather than professional players. And just as Heated Rivalry introduced the made-up Major League Hockey, and the fictitious teams, Montreal Metros and Boston Raiders, Off Campus introduces the fictitious Briar University and the Briar Hawks.

Other similarities: both shows have played up their steamy sex scenes and just as Heated Rivalry’s Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) doing a little um, stick checking, in the locker room showers, a teaser for Off Campus shows Hannah accidentally catching a peek of Garrett’s equipment when she’s cleaning up in the men’s change room.

The colder the ice, the hotter the action. #OffCampus is coming to Prime Video on May 13. pic.twitter.com/HCUDJhS3i2

— Amazon MGM Studios (@AmazonMGMStudio) March 19, 2026

Still, while Heated Rivalry addressed things like million-dollar contracts, PR campaigns and other business dealings in professional sports, Off Campus chronicles the perhaps more familiar experience of messy relationships and broken dreams, all while trying to get through school.

According to a Prime Video release, the new show is billed as a “college soap” that “follows an elite ice hockey team, and the women in their lives, as they grapple with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery—forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood.”

Is Off Campus Based on a Book or True Story?

While Heated Rivalry was reportedly inspired by NHL players, Kennedy has said that Off Campus is purely fiction and not based on anyone she knows. The first season of Off Campus is based on The Deal, the first title in Kennedy’s book series, but Prime Video has already greenlit a second season, no doubt expecting the show to take off with fans and viewers.

Off Campus Series 5-Book Collection

$52.99 $67.43 21% off

If you want to get ahead on the source material, Amazon has all five books in the series available for 20% off right now. The books are titled The Deal, Mistake, Score, Goal and Legacy.

Worth noting: Heated Rivalry was actually the second book in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, but showrunner Jacob Tierney decided to focus the HBO Max/Crave series on the characters of Shane and Ilya from Heated Rivalry rather than the characters of Scott and Kip from Game Changers book 1.

The new Off Campus show, meantime, stars relative newcomers Ella Bright, Belmont Cameli, Mika Abdalla and Antonio Cipriano. If the response to the actors in Heated Rivalry is anything to go by, the Prime Video stars should buckle in for a wild ride.