At the absolute epicenter of this cultural shift sits the highly anticipated adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s smash-hit Off Campus series, which is now streaming on Prime Video. For the actors tasked with embodying these fiercely guarded characters, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The internet is loud, BookTok is obsessive and every single reader already has a crystal-clear vision of Briar University in their minds.

On the ground in Brazil, I witnessed the fiercely passionate fans. Ear-splitting screams, hand-painted banners and a level of pure, unadulterated passion could rival a Stanley Cup final greet the stars at every turn. The global hype for this show is so palpable that a second season has already been officially announced before the first dropped last week.

Based on Elle Kennedy’s massive bestselling book series, Off Campus has become television’s next great obsession. It follows Briar University students Hannah Wells, a guarded music major and Garrett Graham, the captain of the hockey team who strike a deal: Hannah will tutor Garrett in exchange for him posing as her fake boyfriend so that she can get her crush Justin to notice her.

The incredibly charming cast that includes Belmont Cameli (Garrett), Ella Bright (Hannah), Stephen Kalyn (Dean), Jalen Thomas Brooks (Tucker), Mika Abdalla (Ali), Antonio Cipriano (Logan) and Josh Heuston (Justin), They sat down with me in Sao Paulo to talk about the fan favorite series, fake dating, the pressure of adapting a cultural phenomenon and how the series redefines masculinity on screen.

The sheer scale of the project is something the cast is still wrapping their heads around. “It’s crazy. I haven’t processed it,” Cameli confesses, before adding, “But it’s so cool. We’re lucky to be a part of a project that already has so much love.”

When millions of fans are tracking your every move, how do you find creative clarity? For Cameli, stepping into the highly anticipated role of Garrett Graham meant dealing with a massive wave of internet expectations. But instead of letting the noise get to him, he leaned into collaboration.

“I am not really paying too much attention to what the internet’s got to say,” he admits with a laugh. “Already on mute! But I mean, like, for me… I just approached this job like I would any other. It’s nice to know that there’s already a fan base for the thing that you’re working on. That’s not always the case, and that’s really special. But like, for me as an actor preparing to perform Garrett Graham, I mean, like, that was the process that was my own and then shared amongst like Ella and our cast and our creators. It was deeply collaborative.”

For Mika Abdalla, who plays Allie, the secret was remarkably simple: unplugging. “I honestly don’t spend that much time on TikTok, specifically, which I feel like has been really helpful,” she laughs. “So, no, I haven’t really consciously done anything to block it out.”

Instead of fearing fan expectations, she welcomes their deep knowledge with open arms. “The small amounts of content that I do see from fans of the books is helpful, more than anything, because they all know these characters so well. Getting to see how people interpret Allie is great – I don’t take it all to heart, but it is kind of nice to know.”

Josh Heuston, who stars as Justin, shares an equally artistic philosophy regarding the weight of fan expectations. “I feel like anytime anyone reads a book, everyone can read the exact same pages and have completely different pictures in their head of what someone looks like or how they reacted to something,” he says thoughtfully. “And I feel like that’s the absolute beauty of it. When you adapt something and you put your own spin on it, it’s like your personal creative expression of that world.”

The 2026 adaptation redefines Hannah’s journey, framing it around agency, healing, and the subconscious ways we carry old wounds. Bright points out that this version of Hannah approaches her struggles from a completely different starting point than the original 2015 novel. She explained: “I think when we meet Hannah she’s in a very healed place. I think she’s dealt with things in the way that she thinks is whole. But obviously, those things come back under the surface throughout the season, and I think her writer’s block is something that she thinks that can’t ever be changed…I love the cathartic moment like the pop showcase at the end.”

This nuanced focus on Hannah’s internal world underscores Prime Video’s broader, highly successful strategy: positioning itself as the undisputed powerhouse of female-led, young adult storytelling. The streamer has built an absolute juggernaut of an empire by validating young female audiences, following the emotional heights of The Summer I Turned Pretty to the gripping tension of We Were Liars.

Instead of treating young adult romance as a passive backdrop, Prime Video treats these stories with prestige-level gravity. In doing so, they give characters like Hannah the space to be flawed, resilient and entirely in control of their own narratives, securing the platform’s spot at the forefront of contemporary YA television.

For the rest of the Briar University lineup—Antonio Cipriano, Stephen Kalyn and Jalen Thomas Brooks—the reality of the show’s massive scale is just starting to hit home.

“I mean, it’s such a blessing to have people excited already for something that we worked on,” Cipriano says. “To do an adaptation with these beloved characters, and now to bring them to life. It’s very exciting, a big responsibility, but we’re all just really pumped.” Jalen echoes the sentiment: “It’s what we want as an actor to have that pressure or the eyes on the project and everything. So it’s fortunate, and it’s just it feels larger than life, but it’s cool to have all the people that are on this.”

Brooks agrees that the show offers a refreshing perspective for fans of the book. As he puts it, seeing a young man in a “leadership position” that is “gentle and selfless” is exactly what the genre needs right now.

The shared experience has bonded the cast tightly, creating an intense “found family” dynamic off-screen. “We’re doing it all together,” Kalyn adds. “Which is like, I think it’s making an experience even more fun watching us all grow as people, and to do this together has been like… it’s been awesome.” But he doesn’t hide the pre-premiere nerves, describing his feelings as: “Yeah, so excited, terrified.”

Landing these coveted roles completely disrupted the actors’ lives in the best ways possible. Brooks found out he booked the job in the middle of a major milestone. “I actually, strangely, I found I got cast on the day of my cousin’s wedding,” he reveals. “So, it was, it was insane. I didn’t tell anybody, but it was such a cool family moment.”

Kalyn, on the other hand, had to hold onto the massive secret under strict orders. “They told me, ‘Don’t say anything. You need to keep this like, really secret.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, yeah, absolutely. I can do that.’ Immediately after the call: ‘Dad, I’m going to Vancouver!’ I’m going home. I just told my immediate family, I had to… it was euphoric.”

Cipriano was in an entirely different creative zone when his life changed. “I was actually… I was working on a different project, and it was a musical project,” he shares. “I was in the middle of dance rehearsal when I ended up having to go take the call and then go back, so I was able to get all that excitement energy out, and just like my dance moves and everything.”

Armed with a passionate global fandom, an officially greenlit second season and an infectious off-screen bond, the stars of Off Campus have successfully skated past the pressure of fan expectations and delivered television’s next great obsession. They’ve taken Elle Kennedy’s beloved universe and infused it with genuine emotional agency, heart and undeniable chemistry. The stakes couldn’t have been higher for this young cast, but if the screaming crowds in São Paulo and the immediate internet fervor are any indication, Briar University students have officially won the season.

All episodes of Off Campus are now streaming on Prime Video.