When I first heard about the Off Campus TV adaptation, I was extremely excited. The book series by Elle Kennedy is one of my absolute favorites. Since the release of the trailer, however, my excitement for the show has dwindled down to frustration. I know that part of the reason is that the book, which season one is based on, The Deal, is such a great read. In this article, I am going to highlight all the major changes from the trailer, most of which I find frustrating because they deviate from the original text. I also want to preface by saying that I am not a hateful person, but all these changes are making me so angry that I can’t help but be annoyed.
The casting
Technically, there is nothing wrong with the casting for the show. I’m sure that all the actors are great and will do their roles justice. What is throwing me off with the cast is that none of the actors match how I imagined the characters in the books. Mika Abdalla, playing Allie Hayes, is gorgeous, but I always imagined Allie as a blonde girl while reading. Again, this is a very minor issue, but it’s annoying me because the book is one of my favorites, and I don’t feel attached to the actors playing the characters. Similarly, I don’t find any of the male actors attractive, when that’s literally the whole point.
Hannah’s jobs
In the books, Hannah works several jobs on campus. None of them involve working for the hockey team, which makes sense, as Hannah and Garrett meet in their philosophy class. The teaser trailer shows Hannah cleaning up towels in the hockey team’s locker room, leading me to believe that she works for the team in the show. Aside from the fact that this isn’t in the books, adding this plot point doesn’t make sense. If Hannah works for the team, wouldn’t she know Garrett prior to their philosophy class? Or wouldn’t they at least recognize one another? I just don’t understand why they added this into the show. It seems unnecessary.
It appears that Hannah also works a job at the campus diner in the books and the TV show. What I’m confused about, however, is the name of the diner: Malone’s. In the Off Campus books, Malone’s is the college bar that everyone goes to. In fact, it’s where crucial moments in Hannah and Garrett’s relationship take place. Given that the diner is now called Malone’s, I’m wondering if the show is also going to change this aspect. Will they go to a different bar instead? Will the scenes from the bar happen at a series of house parties? Or will what appears to be Malone’s diner turn into Malone’s bar at night? I have so many questions.
Justin is a musician, not a football player
Hannah and Garrett develop a fake dating relationship to impress her crush, Justin. In the books, Justin is a football player, which explains why Hannah dating Garrett would get his attention. As athletes, both interact in similar social circles, so Justin would naturally be at the same parties as Garrett. Therefore, he would see Hannah and Garrett interacting as a couple together and potentially grow jealous. Watching the trailer, it appears that Justin is a musician, not an athlete. In theory, this change makes sense. Hannah is also a musician, so she would be around Justin a lot more with this similarity. Also, making Justin a musician makes it more realistic that Hannah would have a crush on him because again, similar interests and social circles.
What I don’t like about this change is that it defeats the point of her dating Garrett. In The Deal, Garrett proposes the fake-dating arrangement to Hannah to make Justin jealous while also grabbing his attention, as Garrett is someone well sought-after on campus. While some of those elements are still present with this plot change, it makes me wonder why Hannah couldn’t just find another musician to fake date. What’s so special about Garrett in this case? Answer: nothing.
Allie knows about the fake dating
While Hannah and Garrett eventually start a real relationship, their arrangement starts as fake. Both keep this secret from their friends, who all believe the relationship is genuine from the start. Based on the trailer, it looks like Hannah opens up to Allie about the reality of the situation. At one point in the trailer, Allie says that the plan is “unhinged” and she is “obsessed with it.” While I don’t know for sure if she is talking about Hannah and Garrett, I’m assuming that she is, as the dialogue is followed by clips of the couple. In my opinion, this ruins the whole point of the fake dating trope.
Garrett’s Latin tattoo
Again, I have mixed feelings about this one. In the books, Garrett has a tattoo, but it’s kind of corny, so I can appreciate that his tattoo in the movie is anything but that. At the same time, I feel like the tattoo in general is stupid. His tattoo in the show reads “nullum gratutium prandium,” which means “no free lunch” in Latin. According to Teen Vogue, the tattoo was actor Belmont Cameli’s idea. I think the idea of the tattoo makes sense for Garrett, as it represents that nothing in life is free, which is a motto I can see his character living by. If this was the only change made, I would be more accepting of it, but since so many other things from my favorite romance novel are being tweaked, this minor detail annoys me.
What once was excitement for the Off Campus series has now turned into frustration, annoyance, and distrust. I feel like the show is changing a lot of aspects of the book that don’t need to be changed. At the same time, there are a handful of additions that don’t make sense to me. What’s so frustrating about the whole thing is that the book was extremely good. I’ve re-read it multiple times, and each time I have zero complaints. I don’t understand why the television adaptation cannot use the script provided to them in the book. Despite all this, I am still going to tune into the series premiere (and release of all eight episodes) on May 13 to see how things play out.