Off Campus showrunner discusses major mid-season change

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By

Therese Lacson

Published May 13, 2026, 7:24 PM EDT

Therese Lacson is a Senior TV Editor who has been with Collider since 2021. She got started in this business over ten years ago working primarily as an interviewer and critic. At Collider, she works closely with the features team to support the writers and also ideates and develops content daily. She has covered major industry events including Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Toronto International Film Festival, and San Diego Comic-Con. Although she reviews and covers both film and television, her focus is in television and her expertise is in fantasy and sci-fi genre shows. Her favorite shows to cover include House of the Dragon_, Bridgerton,_ Fallout_, 9-1-1, and Rivals. 

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Collider sat down with showrunner Louisa Levy to discuss the first season of the series and break down its biggest moments. Based on the book The Deal, Season 1 stuck closely to the topics of the novel, and Levy discussed how important it was to include the trauma that both characters experienced in the past and why it was crucial to the story. Levy also discusses working with author Elle Kennedy on the series and the decision to introduce more relationships in this freshman season that are explored in later books. Read the full interview below!

Louisa Levy Breaks Down What It Takes To Adapt the 'Off Campus' Books

"I know Elle is excited about the show, and I hope that the fans are too."

COLLIDER: How much of the series do you guys have planned out? I noticed that you're planting a few seeds for the future. Do you guys have plans to go through all of [Elle Kennedy's] books, or is that kind of a rough draft right now?

LOUISA LEVY: We certainly have plans to go through at least the first four. We'll see about the rest if Amazon will let us do more. But I came on to adapt the first four books, and the fifth book being an epilogue, it's one of those things where if we can sprinkle pieces in, great, but really it's those four romances that are the crux of it. So, I certainly have plans to get through those if Amazon will let me.

It's very interesting to see how loyal Season 1 is to the books, but then knowing that you're mixing it up, especially with introducing Dean and Allie’s story a little bit earlier, is it daunting to take something that people love so much and remix it for a television series?

LEVY: Yeah, I think at the end of the day, I can only stay true to my own north star and tell the stories that I get excited by. These books are so wonderful and so rich, and there's so much to work with, and sometimes it'll have to happen a little bit differently than in the books, because we are doing this in a television medium. We have different expectations — externalizing the inner monologue, for instance. Certain scenes are a little easier to just drop in, and some others you have to adapt. So, it was a little daunting at first because I know how passionate the fans are, but I hope that we honored the source material in a way that I know Elle is excited about the show, and I hope that the fans are too.

How involved was Elle in the process? Is she just there as a creative advisor, or is she more involved in the process of making this series?

LEVY: She's a producer on the show. She's read every episode, she's seen every cut, so she has been able to be part of that process in that way and given us her blessing.

Levy Discusses Hannah's Assault and Garrett's Abuse in 'Off Campus'

"It's about them _surviving _the traumas."

_ Ella Bright in Off Campus Season 1.Image via Prime Video

It's very interesting to see the fan anticipation for this series, specifically people worrying that you were going to cut things like Hannah's trauma or Garrett's past. Obviously, it would have been much easier as a showrunner to cut that out because it can be difficult to adapt. Why was it important for you guys to keep that in and keep the soul of those types of topics intact?

LEVY: You got it exactly right. It is the soul of these books, and I don't think these books would be the same. They'd be fun, but they wouldn't be what makes them special without that depth, and that's what I got most excited about adapting when I first read them, so I would never have cut those out. We did need to do them in a slightly different way, because we have this visual medium, and it was really important to me to take care of this trauma, both Hannah's and Garrett’s, and handle it responsibly on TV, and so it was very important that we never show the actual trauma, because the books aren't about either of their traumas. It's about them surviving _the traumas. So it was really important to tell the story of survivors and two people who have this piece of themselves that they're hiding from the world, and recognize this thing in the other person, and finally feel seen. So, that was the core that I really wanted to stay true to.

Levy Reveals Why 'Off Campus' Decided to Introduce Allie and Dean's Story Early

"It made more sense to start with Allie and leave a little cliffhanger there."

_ Mika Abdalla in Off CampusImage via Amazon Studios

I really like the way you guys remixed the series and included Allie and Dean’s story; they're my favorite couple in the books. Why did you guys make that decision to incorporate more of the couples as opposed to focusing solely on Garrett and Hannah in just Season 1?

LEVY: For me, it was a matter of where do we leave the end of the season? It's not a feature film. A feature film, we'd be able to give Hannah and Garrett a happily ever after, and then end the story, and then our next feature film could tackle the next book. But because it's a series, there needs to be some sort of cliffhanger, and I didn't want Hannah and Garrett to be left on a cliffhanger. I wanted to give the fans that happily ever after, and it felt really organic, because Hannah and Allie are best friends, to start there. We don't need to introduce another character, who I'm very excited to introduce, but we don't have the space in Season 1 to meet Grace, for instance. So, it made more sense to start with Allie and leave a little cliffhanger there.

Levy Teases Expanding Beyond the 'Off Campus' Books

"I love the Briar U books, too. I would love to make it that far."

Belmot Cameli, Antonio Cipriano, Stephen Kalyn, Jalen Thomas Brooks in Off CampusImage via Amazon Studios

**I loved getting to see Hunter, as well, because I was not expecting that. The gasp that came out of me was so massive. **

LEVY: Yay!

You mentioned that you're only interested in the first four books, but Hunter is obviously a character from a little bit later on, I'm guessing you're planting those seeds, hoping that the tree will sprout.

LEVY: We would love to. Listen, I love the Briar U books, too. I would love to make it that far. And we do want to plant some things early on. Hunter is in Dean's book, so he is in The Score_, but he obviously doesn't have as much story as when we get into the Brier U series. So, our hope is to make it that far.

I know you guys were greenlit for Season 2, which is fantastic. Where are you guys in the process of planning for Season 2 right now?

LEVY: We finished the writers’ room. We have all of our scripts. We're diving into production very soon.

Do you have an actor already for Grace?

LEVY: I don't know that I can say that. We’ll see!

I'm going to take that as a yes.

LEVY: We'll see!

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Related

'Off Campus' Star Officially Confirms Hannah and Garrett Are Still a Big Part of Season 2

While on Collider Ladies Night, Bright discussed Hannah's biggest moments in Season 1 and teased what's to come in Season 2!

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By Perri Nemiroff

Levy on Working With New Actors and the Future of Hunter's Character in 'Off Campus'

"We put them through a rigorous audition process to get here because we wanted to make sure they were up for it, and they've all just really blossomed."

Belmot Cameli, Antonio Cipriano, Stephen Kalyn, Jalen Thomas Brooks in Off CampusImage via Amazon Studios

What was it like working with these younger actors who are, for the most part, coming into this as their first big project and seeing them embody these characters?

LEVY: Oh, it's been so special. They're all so wonderful and so professional. We put them through a rigorous audition process to get here because we wanted to make sure they were up for it, and they've all just really blossomed. I can't wait to see what they do in Season 2 and beyond. But really, especially with Ella [Bright] and Belmont [Cameli] for Season 1, getting to watch them grow as actors and as actors together was really, really special. They're so good. I'll watch them for the rest of their careers.

They have amazing chemistry on screen, I just can't look away from it. I'm curious, because I was just talking to Mika [Abdalla] about the Hunter of it all, and she was telling me that it was kind of a late-game change. Why did you guys decide to change that ending and introduce him a little bit earlier?

LEVY: We had a different ending to Season 1 that I don't know that I can reveal, but it was a different ending. I'll just say it was a little sadder. So this allows us to have more of an “Oh no!” ending, and “What's going to happen next?” which is our hope.

I did try to get the original ending out of her, and you'll be proud to know that she remained silent.

LEVY: Yes! My girl.

Levy Hints at More Story for Hannah and Garret Beyond Season 1

"We wanted to surprise people."

Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli in Off CampusImage via Amazon Studios

You mentioned Garrett and Hannah having this happily ever after at the end of Season 1, but do you guys have a path that you want them to take for Season 2, and maybe even beyond, that gives them more to work with in the interim of these other stories?

LEVY: Yeah.** It's very important to us that Hannah and Garrett don't just ride off into the sunset, that they continue in the world**, and we continue building out the ensemble, because that is truly what makes this show special is the ensemble, that we will have Allie and Dean’s story, we’ll have Logan, we’ll have Tucker, we’ll have Hannah and Garrett, and maybe other characters, and the idea of building out each of their worlds. Because we also have a little bit longer before we get to Tucker's love story, but we want to give him some story, as well. So, we get to kind of slowly build out our world and our ensemble.

I love that. I love that you guys mix it up because I was like, “I can't believe I have to wait so long just to get to Allie and Dean's story.” Then, when you guys did the flip, I was so excited, I was screaming in my room to nobody!

LEVY: That was our hope! We wanted to surprise people.