19 Off Campus TV Show Changes from The Deal That Actually Matter

Adaptation changes. The internet’s favorite blood sport. Every time a beloved book becomes a TV show or movie, the same question comes up: does a book adaptation need to be 100% accurate to be good? And honestly, I don’t think it does.

For me, changes can work as long as the adaptation keeps the essence of the story. I do not need every scene recreated exactly. I do need the emotional core to stay the same. The characters should still feel like the characters. The changes should feel intentional, not like someone skimmed the book.

And with Off Campus Season 1, I actually think most of the changes made sense. But there were quite a few.

Some are pretty inconsequential, like Hannah kissing Logan instead of Dean. Others feel like they make the story stronger for TV, especially the changes around Hannah not being able to write or sing because of her trauma. That gives her arc a more visible emotional thread onscreen, and it works.

I already shared my full thoughts on Season 1, but here are specifically the Off Campus TV show changes from the books. Since the show will continue, I’ll update this post by season as more changes happen.

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Off Campus TV Show Changes: Season 1

Season 1 mostly adapts The Deal by Elle Kennedy, Garrett and Hannah’s book, but it also pulls in pieces from The Score by Elle Kennedy. That means we get some changes to Garrett and Hannah’s story, plus early setup for the rest of the case.

Here are the biggest changes from The Deal to Off Campus Season 1, in no particular order.

Garrett breaks up with Hannah instead of Hannah breaking up with Garrett

In the book, Hannah breaks up with Garrett after his father threatens to cut Garrett off financially unless she ends the relationship and she gives the excuse of wanting to date other people. But in the show, Garrett is the one who breaks up with Hannah because he thinks she is scared of him after he beats up Delaney during a hockey game.

This is one of the bigger emotional changes in Season 1, and it makes sense because it shifts more toward Garrett’s own fear of becoming his father.

The “hands off Hannah” rule changes

Following the breakup in the book, Garrett invokes a campus wide “hands off” law around Hannah. But because in the show Garret broke up with Hannah, this couldn’t really apply as well. Garrett does not impose a hands off law. Instead, some members of the team spread that rumor based on a misunderstanding. I think the show is also trying to make some of the things in the book a little less problematic, and this was one of those changes for sure.

Hannah’s assailant is changed into a hockey player

In the book, Hannah’s assailant is not a hockey player and does not play against Garrett. Garrett later bumps into him and beats him up. But in the show, he is a hockey player, which brings that confrontation directly to the ice. That is a pretty major structural change because it connects Hannah’s past trauma, Garrett’s protective instincts, and the hockey storyline in a much more direct way.

Hannah kisses Logan instead of Dean

In the book, Hannah kisses Dean after kissing Garrett to prove a point but in the show she kisses Logan instead. This one does not really change the main plot in any way.

John Logan’s crush on Hannah is portrayed differently

In the book, Logan’s feelings are less about Hannah herself and more about wanting what Garrett and Hannah have. That realization is part of what helps shift him toward his own romance with Grace. However, in the show, they’ve leaned more into Logan’s crush on Hannah herself even before Garrett noticed her. He knows her, notices her, fixes her car, sees her at Malone’s, and there is more of a connection there that he never acts on.

This could affect how his romance plays out later maybe, because the book version of Logan has to realize he was more interested in the relationship than the girl. The show has made that crush feel a little more personal from the start.

Tucker is more prominent and his future storyline is foreshadowed earlier

In the book, Tucker is part of the group, but he is not as prominent in The Deal. In the show, Tucker has a larger presence in Season 1, as well as a complete personality change. The show also foreshadows his future storyline with the fruits he has to care for.

Beau is more prominent in Season 1

Same as with Tucker, in the show Beau has a larger role than in the books. He is friendlier with more members of the core group, including Allie. This will increase the emotional impact later on in the series.

Hunter and Dean are enemies in the show

Another big change is the introduction this early of Hunter Davenport. In the books, Hunter, Dean, and Beau are friends. In the show, however, they’ve made Hunter and Dean enemies. We don’t know much but it seems their conflict is tied to something to do with Dean’s sister, Summer. And of course, there’s even more conflict to come after the way the show ended.

Allie sleeps with someone else

In the books, Dean and Allie don’t sleep with other people. But in the show, Allie has sex with Hunter. This is another change that will probably matter more once the show gets deeper into Dean and Allie’s story. It will definitely bring all the drama in season 2.

Justin is changed from a football player to a musician

Justin’s character went through a big change from jock in the book to musician and songwriter in the show. This change also connects him more directly to Hannah’s music storyline instead of keeping him separate.

Justin becomes Hannah’s songwriting partner

Cass is Hannah’s collaboration partner singing for the showcase in the book, Mary Jane is the one writing the song. In the show neither one of those characters exist and they’re all rolled into Justin. This gives Justin a bigger role in Hannah’s creative life and changes how her music arc develops onscreen.

Hannah’s relationship to singing and songwriting changes

In the book, Hannah is a singer. In the show, Hannah is not singing and has difficulty writing lyrics because of her past trauma. This is one of the changes I think makes the most emotional sense for the TV version. Instead of Hannah’s music being something she simply does, the show makes it part of her healing arc. Her difficulty writing and singing becomes another way her trauma is still affecting her life and she has to overcome.

Hannah’s multiple jobs are combined into one main onscreen workplace

This is another small change but in the book, Hannah works at Malone’s and Della’s. In the show, Della owns Malone’s so they rolled them into one location. Hannah does tells Logan in the show that she has multiple jobs, but the show only shows her working at Malone’s. This is a pretty practical TV change.

Jules is a new character created for the show

Jules does not exist in the books. Logan only has a brother. In the show, Jules is Logan’s non-binary sibling.

Allie does not know the full truth about Hannah’s assault at first

In the book, Allie knows Hannah was raped. But in the show, Hannah told Allie the story as if it happened to a friend. Later, Hannah tells Allie the truth herself and this creates an emotional friendship and bonding moment between Hannah and Allie.

Logan’s mom is in rehab instead of his dad

Another small change around Logan’s family is that in the book, Logan’s dad is in rehab but in the show is Logan’s mom. Again, it seems we are getting a lot of changes around Logan’s character so I suspect that will be a bigger change season to come.

Dean and Beau celebrate their birthdays together

This is also a small change, book Dean and Beau celebrate their birthdays separately but in the show they have a combined birthday party. This setups nicely the hard launch of Garrett and Hannah’s fake relationship but also the initial iconic scene between Dean and Allie.

Garrett and Hannah bond over music instead of Breaking Bad

In the book, Garrett and Hannah bond over Breaking Bad and this is cut from the show. Now they bond over music instead. This makes sense with the show’s stronger focus on Hannah’s music and songwriting. It keeps their bonding tied to something personal to her character arc and does the same job for the relationship.

The guys’ more problematic language is softened

The show softens some of the more problematic language from the book, especially from the guys. For example, Garrett does not talk about Hannah’s “stripper tits” in the show. Dean also gets a more green-flag version in the show like talking about trust when it comes to helping a girl orgasm.

This is one of those adaptation updates that feels pretty expected to modernize the story. The books were written in a different era, and the show clearly wants the guys to feel easier to root for.

The timeline is different

The show is focusing on a semester per season as far as we know and they’ve had to move some storylines around in order to accommodate for that. Also, we are not getting 100% just one couple per season, but that also means the couples are not disappearing from the show after they get their HEA like we saw with a lot of Bridgerton for example. And I’m not going to complain about that.

Do the Off Campus TV Show Changes Work?

For me, mostly yes. Not every change is huge, and not every change will matter equally to every reader. Some are just TV streamlining. Some are future-season setup. Some are there to soften things that probably would not land the same way now as they did when the book first came out. If you want to hear more about why some changes were made, you can check out this interview with Louisa Levy about the Off Campus TV show changes.

But overall, Season 1 still feels like The Deal and the series does feel like Off Campus. Garrett and Hannah’s emotional core is still there. The hockey world is very much there. The found family is felt. And that is usually my adaptation test.

Did they change things? Yes.
Did they destroy the essence of the story? No.

So far, I think Off Campus Season 1 found a pretty good balance. Now we wait to see what they do with Logan, Grace, Dean, Allie, Tucker, and Sabrina plus the Briar U boys and girls. Respectfully: I am seated.

Don’t forget to check out all my thoughts on Off Campus season 1 here.

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