For the past few weeks, the TV show on the tip of everyone’s tongues has been the new hit Amazon Prime original Off Campus. From friends, to cousins, to even my 60-year-old uncle, everyone seems to be recommending this show as the new best bad TV show ever made. This genre of terrible — but actually fun — TV show has always been one of my personal favourites. From previous hits like The Summer I Turned Pretty and Heartbreak High, these trashy, predictable, corny love stories are taking over the small screen, with Off Campus stealing the spotlight this summer. The plot includes all the necessary ingredients to create the perfect hit: hockey players, fake-dating, difficult parental relations, and love.
Originally based on a novel by Elle Kennedy, the first season of the show takes place over eight episodes which map the protagonist, Hannah Wells’, journey through college as she begins to get involved with Garrett Graham, the drop-dead gorgeous captain of Briar University’s hockey team. Whilst the pair begin their interactions through a mutually beneficial agreement of tutoring and fake-dating, they end up falling for each other. Who would have ever seen that plot twist coming? Despite being able to guess the entire plot of the show within the first five minutes, Off-Campus is still a thrilling watch, as even though you know Hannah and Garrett will get together, the romantic tension remains palpable through the screen.
Additionally, it is not just the steamy love story which is catching the attention of the public and the press. Several news outlets are showering Off-Campus with praise for being such a smashing success, with an unprecedented viewership which rendered it a huge commercial win. However, the detail of the praise is rooted in the show’s treatment of women, and more specifically, the treatment of Hannah, as a survivor of sexual assault. Whilst the show does emphasise the PTSD-esque flashbacks common for survivors, at no point in the series is Hannah defined by her past and her trauma. In fact, the show portrays a wonderfully humanising, sympathetic, and accurate depiction of life as a survivor, highlighting the variety of difficulties including flashbacks, fear of drinking alcohol, and an inability to enjoy sex and ultimately orgasm. Through highlighting these details of Hannah’s life, yet allowing her to stand firm in the fact that she has survived her past and she has moved on, the show promotes a promising image for any survivor watching.
Ultimately, Off Campus is a brilliantly fun show of love, youth, drama, and hockey. However, its presentation of surviving an assault should be at the forefront of its praise, as it is not simply a great bad TV show, it offers hope to those who might need it.
Photo by Samantha Gades on Unsplash.