There's a new hockey romance series heading straight for our streaming watch lists, and it's another page-to-screen adaptation of a beloved bestseller. Hot on the skates of Heated Rivalry's global success last year, Prime Video preps its pop culture moment with the help of a popular sport romance book series with Off Campus.
Based on the fan-favorite books by Elle Kennedy, Off Campus season 1 adapts the first book in the saga, titled The Deal, on centers on music student Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) and hockey star Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) pretending to date each other. Garrett needs a good grade and Hannah wants to land her crush, and they agree to help each other out.
But is Off Campus as hot and heavy (and graphic!) as Heated Rivalry, or is this a romance series that's appropriate for younger audiences to enjoy? Unfortunately, this isn't a show for teens to watch as the show has landed a TV-MA rating. Wondering what contributes to the rating?
Off Campus on Prime Video rated TV-MA for nudity, sex, violence, and more
According to the official page on Prime Video, Off Campus has been given a TV-MA age rating, which means that the show is intended for mature audiences only. The streaming service explains the age rating with the follow categories: nudity, violence, substance use, alcohol use, foul language, and sexual content. Given the content of the book, readers likely knew what to expect.
However, if you didn't read the Off-Campus books before the series made its premiere, you might be wondering what to expect from the adaptation. We're sharing a spoiler-free rundown of the content that contributes to the TV-MA rating for prospect viewers to be informed and parents to make sure younger audiences are protected. Additionally, potential trigger warnings are included below.
Sex and nudity
Throughout the eight-episode first season, there are many instances of sex scenes and graphic nudity from both male and female characters. All of the sex scenes are between opposite sex partners and vary in graphic nature. In addition to traditional sex scenes, there are also instances of oral sex, implied female masturbation, and mutual masturbation.
As for the nudity, Off Campus kicks off the series with male rear nudity less than two minutes into the first episode. The scene is teased in the trailer, as Hannah walks in on Garrett in the shower, and while she see sees everything, the scene only shows his butt. There are many additional instances of male rear nudity that are both in sexual and non-sexual contexts. (Shirtless men appear throughout.)
The same goes for upper female nudity, as a few female characters appear topless in casual scenes and sex scenes. However, there's a shocking instance of graphic male full frontal nudity. In episode 8, the episode begins with a female character entering a male locker room. Many of the men are naked and penises are seen in a wide shot, then three non-prosthetic penises are displayed in closeup.
Language and violence
Since the series takes place in college and centers on college students, they talk like college students. They speak using heightened expletives and talk frankly about sex. There are plenty of instances of sexual acts and other aspects being described in common and casual terms. But none of it is out of the ordinary for a romance series.
As for violence, Off Campus features a range of violence, some of which will be described in the trigger warnings section. But there are some instances of violence during hockey games, with characters being hit and landing hard on the ice. A few male characters also engage in fights, and one particular scene shows a graphic fist fight that includes a character's bloody face.
Other trigger warnings
More violence in the series comes from the depictions of domestic violence. A male character has memories from when he was a child of a parent engaging in abusive behavior toward another parent, which gives him anger issues as he punches a wall. The domestic violence storyline comes back into the present timeline as the parent repeats abusive behavior on a new partner. Bruises are shown.
Viewers might find the domestic violence storyline triggering, as well as a season-long exploration of sexual assault. A female character speaks openly about being raped in the past on multiple occasions, but the incident is only spoken about and never shown onscreen. Still, the depictions of the character's grief could be triggering to viewers, so proceed with caution.
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