We’ve been writing about Off Campus a lot since its release on May 13, and in the last five years, there’s been nothing quite like it. It’s not exactly rare for a show to go viral and garner mass success, but there’s something really indescribable about how it’s all happened for Off Campus. And a large part of this reason isn’t just the gorgeously vulnerable relationship between Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham, but it’s the safe space that’s cultivated through the ensemble of characters. It’s the friendships and the thoughtfully penned writing from Louisa Levy and the entire team.
When I first pressed play on my screeners, I was expecting a similar formula to the anthology romance adaptations we’d been getting, and if I’m being perfectly honest with everyone, I was a little apprehensive because I am someone who generally doesn’t want to get attached to shows these days. (I’m still crying over the Shadow and Bone cancellation and the fact that we never got to see all six of the Crows together!) Because of that, any show that’s adapted from a romance or fantasy, I now tend to tread very, very lightly. Don’t. Get. Attached. But naturally, considering where we are now, and the number of times I’ve written about this show, everyone and their mothers could tell how attached I am. We all are. And rightfully so.
The ensemble cast, plus their respective characters, are the reasons why. I started watching my screeners at around 8 p.m., thinking I’d only want to watch one episode, and stayed up until 5 a.m. to finish. Couldn’t tell you the last time I stayed up late watching something in the last few years, but instantly Off Campus drew me in. I didn’t realize it at the time because I was so charmed by everything that it was because the show was an immediate safe space.
I grew up on shows like One Tree Hill and movies like Star Wars. And as much as romance was a huge part of what pulled me into both these properties, it’s the found family that I kept coming back for. The safe space that reminds us that both romantic relationships and platonic ones should be celebrated. Off Campus achieves something really special by delivering friendships that are both gorgeously real and unceasingly loyal. (Hi, yes, we aren’t randomly going to see Allie and Garrett hook up then spend episodes trying to fix that mess.) And as much as I’ll always love everything that One Tree Hill gave me, even as a teenager, I was often disturbed by the dramatic betrayals and questionable choices.
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This is why Off Campus is essentially setting a new standard with romance adaptations in how it’s delivering organic stories that can keep trust at the forefront between viewers and creators. At Obsessed Fest last weekend, I was floored by how eloquently Levy broke down the show’s ensemble and her intentions toward creating a safe space within the show. Nothing’s more clear to me than the detail that Levy cares not only about the characters, but each of their relationships, too. And the same can be said about the actors, who reiterate time and again that the show’s about a found family.
And it’s that very found family that makes everything so beautiful, raw, and vulnerable. We’re so attached to the show version of Beau (played by Khobe Clarke) that the character’s death is going to destroy us all right alongside the characters. The inclusion of Julia Sarah Stone’s Jules, who isn’t in the books, is a solid choice to add layers and light in a way that feels completely organic. The lasagna scene in Hannah and Garrett’s “Bed on Fire” montage might be brief, but the sheer heart those few moments evoke in showcasing how much her presence adds comfort to the entire house is no small feat.
Hannah and Allie’s friendship is everything, and so important to me personally, that every time I think I’m ready to write a relationship deep dive, I cry after a single sentence. (So, eventually I’ll do that when I can stop crying.) The moment between Logan and Garrett when we flash back to the shots of Logan pulling Garrett off Delaney, then we see Garrett finally opening up? It’s so hugely significant to see beats like this and understand that friendships are just as vital as relationships. The scene of Tucker scoring and the little boy cheering for him while Garrett watches from the bleachers? Literally everything Tucker does at Thanksgiving? Someone get me a tissue. The way the boys all hold Dean back in the end? Dean jumping up and down behind Beau’s head and cheering for Wellsy after her showcase? Like, are you kidding me? I’m in shambles just thinking about it.
One of the first fan vids that ever crossed my feed was an ensemble feature set to Noah Kahan’s “Dan,” and I kid you not, I weep every time I hear it. There’s another one set to You Me and Six’s “Take on the World,” and once more, with feeling, I’m crying. I specifically keep coming back to the line, “Hey, that’s us, you and I will be found.” To me, the entirety of Off Campus essentially reminds me of the reason why I have the words “onward, forward” from Ted Lasso inked on my forearm. The moment where Ted tells everyone to look around the room and notice that even though they’re sad, no one in that locker room is sad and alone. And gone are the days of no transparency because I will be fully honest and ask: isn’t that what we’re all looking for nowadays? A reason to connect to people and feel a little less alone? And sometimes, that connection comes in the form of a TV show and the communities built around fangirling together.
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There’s also something to be said about the college setting and how, at least in Elle Kennedy‘s books, these characters never stop orbiting around each other. They’re in each other’s lives even though they end up in different places. And it’s so easy when we’re in that moment to think that everything will be as it is. But life happens, and I miss my best friends so much, but we’re both so busy it’s a miracle if we get to see each other once a month. Fiction, in this sense, makes it easier to sit with our own longings, too. Our own wants and the people we miss.
The world is far from rainbows and butterflies, and finding joy wherever we can makes the ordinary days a little easier. Again, I’m a romance author; I will never ever say no to more romance, but the relationships are made lovelier because of the ensemble. The shared joy is where the magic lies. The friendships bring something that we could all rely on.
The group hugs, the playful banter, the heart-to-hearts, the fights and makeups, the shared drinks and food, and every little moment we’ll get in the coming seasons. I can’t wait to continue crying over them. I can’t wait to cheer alongside every win and lament with every loss, and I can’t wait to see this little found family continue to love each other through everything: the good, the bad, the ugly. This is how Off Campus quickly became a safe space. A homecoming, if you will. It’s a romance, yes, but at its core, the show is about love in all its most beautiful forms.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Liane Hentscher/Prime