Off Campus

This frothy “opposites attract” series will fill the YA romance series hole in your life.

Less steamy, less emotional and, somehow, possibly even less interested in the sport of hockey than Heated Rivalry, Off Campus is unlikely to supplant the earlier series in most romance lovers’ hearts. But once you get over the show it isn’t, the show it actually is has modest pleasures of its own to offer.

It is high-class, lovable nonsense, and I love it.

It all feels so algorithm-driven that much of Off Campus plays like those “spicy” vertical dramas currently interrupting Instagram Reels and TikTok binges with soul-crushing short-form romance. That’s a byproduct of the show’s lifeless direction—even the on-the-ice action is surprisingly lethargic—and astonishingly bad acting.

Off Campus is sometimes a little too glossy and derivative, but while it isn't necessarily original, Garrett and Hannah's relationship is sincere enough to win us over.

Even with their clothes on, the charismatic characters are fun to be in the company of, with their day-to-day lives serving a balance of drama, comedy, romance and raunch that's eminently bingeable.

Overall, “Off Campus” is a wonderful addition to the wildly popular YA romance genre — and a worthy successor to Prime Video megahit “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” And while fans of the OG books might not love the way in which certain scenes (or even characters) were re-written, when comparing the two, a lot of the rewritten beats flow more naturally for the characters.

Encompassing all of the tropes of an opposites-attract love story, “Off Campus” isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s still an interesting ride.

Detractors might call the show cheesy or a guilty pleasure, but for lovers of romance, there's nothing guilty about it, and by the end of the finale, you'll be clamoring to return to Briar U as soon as possible.