Off Campus ended its first season with a serious twist — and now the actor involved is breaking their silence on the major book change.
During season 1, which premiered in May, Allie (Mika Abdalla) formed a connection with a mystery man who she then hooked up with amid a casual relationship with Dean (Stephen Kalyn).
The final scene of the season showed Dean getting into an argument with the guy — previously referred to as Carter — who turned out to be Hunter Davenport (Charlie Evans) but no further details were revealed. There appeared to be a hint that Dean’s issues were connected to his sister, Summer, dating Hunter in the past.
“I went in for Carter St. James V, and I knew he was wealthy,” Evans told Swooon about how much he knew about the role before booking it. “I knew a little bit [that] he played for a rival team, things like that, just vague details. But no, I only found out after I got the job who he actually was.”
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Fans of Elle Kennedy‘s book series are familiar with the character, who was Dean’s teammate in The Score and they were on good terms. Hunter then became the focus of his own book — The Play — while Summer was featured prominently in The Chase.
“What I know is that [creator] Louisa [Levy] has a pretty stellar layout for season 2 that she’s ready to shoot, and it’s all about Dean,” Evans teased. “It’s all about Dean’s world and Dean’s history, and everyone close to him, and not so close to him, and I’m very excited for people to see that story.”
Evans didn’t rule out meeting Summer — and exploring her past with Hunter.
“I think anything’s possible. I think the way that we’re doing this show, Louisa has very cleverly set up these characters to be malleable and to react to their environments,” he added. “There’s a lot of topical, beautiful story shifts that she’s made that translate incredibly well on-screen, and that she’s going to continue to make.”
He continued “I mean, she really knows everything about the future of this story and how she wants it to be told, and I’m so grateful to be a part of that because it is comprehensive. I’ve been in those rooms and seen the boards, and they have the books out, and they’re pulling pages, and it’s really impressive.”
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According to Evans, it was always the plan to shake things up with Hunter.
“This was always the setup for Season 2. We knew the plan when we started, and that was where we went,” he shared. “I think we were pretty clear about that from the beginning. We wanted a big climactic ending. We wanted everyone in the same place. I mean, Louisa plans this stuff well in advance. She’s got the next five books down, ready to go.”
Evans expressed excitement at where the show goes from here, saying, “All that stuff with Allie, that vulnerability and that trauma, honestly, because he does have a bit of a sad history and letting those walls break down a bit.”
He concluded: “Seeing him just drop the BS and get into a place of realness, just kind of shedding all of these structural walls that he’s built up because of his family and what’s expected of him, and all of that stuff, and just kind of finding who he is.”
Off Campus is currently streaming on Prime Video.
