Entertainment
Prime Video’s ‘Heated Rivalry’ Replacement Talk About That Major Season 1 Finale Twist
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Off Campus Season 1.If you’re looking for another hockey romance to sink your teeth into, then look no further than Prime Video’s latest binge drop, Off Campus. Based on Elle Kennedy‘s novel series of the same name, Season 1 has officially dropped on the streamer, and it’s about to become your new addiction. The series is set in the fictional Briar University, where hockey reigns supreme, and at the center of it are four star players: Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), John Logan (Antonio Cipriano), Dean Di Lauretis (Stephen Kalyn), and John Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks). As four of the best players and the hottest guys on campus, they are not only popular with the ladies but beloved by the school.
We sat down with Cipriano, Kalyn, and Brooks to talk about the sensational new series and what it takes to play in such a physically demanding role. The trio revealed their own experience playing hockey and what it was like training for such a rigorous sport, with some of them coming in with zero to little experience. The group talked about the secrets behind those plentiful shirtless scenes and what prep comes with it. Kalyn discussed Dean’s surprising storyline with Allie (Mika Abdalla) and what’s in store for them with Hunter (Charlie Evans) now in the mix. Cipriano teased a bit about Season 2 and what to expect with Logan’s story centered in that season. And Brooks, who also stars in The Pitt as Mateo, reveals what’s harder: playing hockey or spending a full shift working in The Pitt.
Stephen Kalyn, Jalen Thomas Brooks, and Antonio Cipriano Reveal Who Is the Best at Hockey in Their Group
“They were horrible at first, but now they’re pretty good.”
COLLIDER: Guys, I love this show. I was a huge fan of the books when they first came out, and you guys play these characters amazingly. Obviously, all three of you play hockey players, and I have to ask you what the training was like to get on the ice. Did you have experience ice skating or playing hockey before this?
STEPHEN KALYN: I grew up in Toronto, Canada, and I played hockey my whole life since I was six years old, so this has been awesome. This is great. I get to act and play hockey with a bunch of cool dudes. Yeah, we did a two-week boot camp before, and actually, we did another one recently, and we’re going into another one, I think. They were horrible at first, but now they’re pretty good.
JALEN THOMAS BROOKS: We’re getting there, yeah.
KALYN: Okay, they weren’t horrible. Sorry.
BROOKS: No, we were horrible.
ANTONIO CIPRIANO: Terrible.
KALYN: Okay, alright.
BROOKS: [Laughs] You don’t have to be nice.
You’re all great in the show, so that’s what matters.
BROOKS: Shout out to Dave Tomlinson. We got trained by this Vancouver Canuck Hall of Famer, Dave Tomlinson. Shout out Dave!
KALYN: Dave, you’re a beauty.
Kalyn and Brooks Joke About the Prep It Takes for Those Shirtless Scenes
“I didn’t know about the shading and coloring.”
Obviously, in a show like this, there are a lot of shirtless scenes, and I know for actors that can be very daunting, and prepping for that. Was it nerve-wracking for you guys to know that, “Okay, I’m going to have to work out like crazy leading up to some of these shoots, or was it like, “Okay, I can’t wait to do this?”
KALYN: I’ve always kind of stayed active my whole life, because I’ve always played sports, so it’s been a real part of my routine to stay active. Those days are kind of, especially like Dean, for some reason, always needs to have his shirt off quite a bit, so there are some days you’re a little hungry, for sure. But yeah, the makeup team does a great job giving us all a six-pack. What do you say, guys?
BROOKS: Absolutely! [Laughs] I didn’t know about the shading and coloring.
KALYN: I don’t know about any of that stuff.
BROOKS: On the day, you have all these markings on you, and then you see it on camera, and you’re like, “Whoa! I look like that?” Nah.
Kalyn Discusses Dean’s Story With Allie and That Major Hunter Twist in the Finale
“It’s a nice little breather for a second to kind of jump into something different.”
Stephen, I want to ask you a little bit about Dean, because obviously, when I was going into this season for the first time, I had no idea that they were going to be mixing the stories together a little bit. What was it like for you finding out that you would be exploring Dean’s character a little bit more in this season that’s sort of mainly dedicated to Garrett and Hannah?
KALYN: I was so excited to do that part because we’re, I guess, a B-plotline, you’d call it, and so when we had our episode, it’s cool because you get, of course, everybody together, you get Hannah and Garrett, and then it kind of goes to Dean and Allie, and it kind of breaks away. Isn’t that the name of the episode?
BROOKS: “The Breakaway.”
KALYN: “The Breakaway.” Genius!
BROOKS: Good job.
‘Off Campus’ Star Officially Confirms Hannah and Garrett Are Still a Big Part of Season 2
While on Collider Ladies Night, Bright discussed Hannah’s biggest moments in Season 1 and teased what’s to come in Season 2!
KALYN: Thank you. And just to kind of separate from that and get a completely different scenario from Hannah and Garrett. It’s a nice little breather for a second to kind of jump into something different. So yeah, it was just really, really cool to do that.
Can you tease anything about his and Hunter’s relationship in the series? Because obviously, the way Season 1 ends, I was like, “Oh, okay. I did not expect this twist.” Can you talk about any of that relationship if you know anything at this point?
KALYLN: I think we had something to begin with, something to do with Dean’s sister, but I don’t know exactly what we’re going to be going with later on. But some sort of thing happened in the past, and we kind of moved from that, but I don’t know too much. We’re still waiting on some scripts.
I heard the scripts are ready from Louisa [Levy], so you’ll probably get them soon.
CIPRIANO: Can’t wait.
KALYN: I’ll be doing some reading after this, I guess.
Cipriano Discusses Logan’s Unrequited Crush and a Future Romance in Season 2
Antonio, Logan, in the books, very much has this crush on Hannah, which I think we see glimmers of in this season. Is that something that you’re interested in leaning more into and having this sort of unrequited love for this poor guy?
KALYN: I’m excited to see that.
CIPRIANO: Yeah. I mean, he yearns quite a bit. He almost doesn’t hide it enough in the season. But yeah, that is a big part of his arc. Getting over that is something that he’s struggling with in his love story later on. So, obviously, there’s going to be some more of, like, coming to terms with, “Okay, this is not okay,” and also, “What do you actually want?” And then, “Let’s actually find some real love here.” So, I’m excited for that at some point.
I’m looking forward to a storyline with Grace. I just reread that book the other day, and I was like, “Okay, this is going to be good.”
CIPRIANO: Yeah, that’s really sweet. Thank you.
Brooks Talks About What He’s Looking Forward To for Tucker and Which is Worse, The Pitt or the Ice
“These guys made hockey very, very easy.”
Jalen, obviously, I really wish we got more into Tucker’s story this season because I feel like there’s so much time until his storyline, and I’m guessing there’s going to be a little bit more mixing and matching. But I’m curious, what are you looking forward to exploring the most, moving into Season 2? We get a little bit of his family dynamic in Season 1, but it’s just a touch of it.
BROOKS: So many things. I think just the time that Tucker has to find himself and to find what he likes and to find, of course, his position within the hockey team, growing up as a young man and just becoming the guy that is in his book. I’m really looking forward to exploring his fun side, seeing him let loose, becoming a family man, and living that college life. Then, when you get to his book and how that is, he’s got that switch-up. It’s going to be a very lovely thing because the audience would have grown with him and known where he’s coming from in a sense. So yeah, I’m excited for that.
So what would you say is harder for you, to learn all of this hockey and have to be on the ice all the time, or playing in The Pitt and having to deal with the intensity of that shoot, which I know is pretty intense?
BROOKS: Yeah, absolutely. Of course, hockey is a very physically demanding sport. Stuff on The Pitt is very mentally medical dialogue, the chaos, the anxiety of it all, and long days, a bunch of people on set.
I wouldn’t say one was harder than the other. These guys made hockey very, very easy. It became more of a fun thing. But then the day, I was more exhausted on this show physically than I was doing The Pitt, which is crazy. But, yeah, both have things that were easy, things that were difficult, but it’s very nice as an actor to have something tangible for each role where you’re like, “I have to learn this, and I have to learn that.” So it was a cool separation of the two. It’s like, “I go here to do medical. I go here to play hockey with the boys — and take my shirt off.” [Laughs]
Brooks, Kalyn, and Cipriano Reveal Their Ideal Songs for Their ‘Off Campus’ Characters
So, just wrapping up, do you guys have a song or a playlist that you have for your characters to get into the mode of playing your character?
BROOKS: You did.
KALYN: I did, yeah. Oh, that’s right. I had a whole playlist of songs that really just gave me that confidence as soon as I walked out of the makeup chair. But the one at the top of my head would be “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Motley Crue. Yeah, that would be it.
BROOKS: That just makes so much sense.
KALYN: It makes sense. It’s like an anthem for him.
BROOKS: What was yours?
CIPRIANO: This has been getting me prepped for Season 2. I didn’t necessarily have one that was for Season 1, but in Season 2, as I’ve been just kind of prepping and working out and just being in my zone, in the headphones I’m listening to “Surrender” by Cheap Trick. I just feel like that’s kind of like… I’ve been listening to that in the auto shop while I’m working. That feels like Logan’s…
BROOKS: I wasn’t familiar with your game.
CIPRIANO: Yeah. That’s kind of where he’s at.
KALYLN: Oh, also “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” Def Leppard. “Pour some sugar on me!”
BROOKS: Of course, for me, it’s “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.”
Amazing performance, by the way.
BROOKS: Thank you so much!
CIPRIANO: Really good performance.
BROOKS: That means a lot coming from you.
- Release Date
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May 13, 2026
- Network
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Prime Video
- Directors
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Silver Tree
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