Reviews for Off Campus were embargoed until Wednesday, the day of its release, and while that can be a sign that a studio is nervous about a project’s reception, there’s nothing to worry about here. Critics are mostly enthused with the hockey-romance series.
Inspired by the first book in Elle Kennedy’s bestselling Off Campus series, the first season from showrunner Louisa Levy has received a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 71 score on MetaCritic. The consensus is that it’s a “fun and soapy watch,” while occasionally being “borderline exploitative” due to its nudity.
The plot of the Canadian drama follows the classic “opposites attract” love story between hockey-hating Briar University music student Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) and the school’s star hockey player Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli). Their unlikely love affair heats up when real feelings complicate their fake-dating arrangement and threaten to unravel deep-rooted scars from their pasts.
Due to its subject matter, critics are understandably comparing Off Campus to Heated Rivalry, the Peabody Award-winning gay hockey drama. However, Off Campus is less of an awards player geared toward adults, and more of a young adult romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Here’s a snapshot of various Off Campus reviews from around the web:
THE GOOD
Amber Dowling of The Globe and Mail writes, “[It’s a] fun and soapy watch that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but spins it for entertainment. It’s fast-paced, full of heart, and isn’t afraid to let its characters bare everything, and that’s exactly what fans of the hockey-romance genre will expect.”
Jackie Varriano of Seattle Times says it “scores in all the right ways,” adding, “What transpires across showrunner Louisa Levy’s eight episodes is (mostly) a marvel that bolstered my faith in the power of frank communication, the importance of friendship, and how representation on screen can mean so many different things.”
“[This] adaptation will make you fall in love,” remarks Priscilla Blossom of The Wrap, who claims it is “a wonderful addition to the wildly popular YA romance genre. … But don’t get it twisted — this is not Heated Rivalry.”
Therese Lacson of Collider raves, “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.”
THE MIXED
Aramide Tinubu of Variety notes how Off Campus is “mostly solid, and Bright and Cameli have lovely chemistry, as do side characters who get their own moments to shine.” However, Tinubu also points out that the “excessive display of breasts in the pilot feels borderline exploitative.”
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw of TV Guide explains how it’s “lighter in tone” than Heated Rivalry and unfortunately kicks off with a “cringey first episode where the characters are mostly reduced to one-note tropes.”
Finally, Christina Izzo of AV Club declares that Off Campus “isn’t playing dirty enough” and “needs to be far less corny and way more horny.”
All eight episodes of Off Campus Season 1 are streaming now on Prime Video.
