Josh Heuston Off Campus star wasn’t prepared for obsession with steamy hockey romances

When a television adaptation turns a quiet corner of publishing into a cultural phenomenon overnight, everyone wants to know why. Prime Video’s Off Campus — adapted from Elle Kennedy’s bestselling novel The Deal — has done just that, thrusting the cozy, fraught world of college hockey romance into the spotlight and surprising even its own cast with the intensity of fan devotion.

Australian actor Josh Heuston, who plays musician-turned-supporting-player Justin Kohl, says he only discovered the depth of the fandom after landing the role. What began as an audition led to a rapid dive into the books and an immersion into a subculture that’s become one of BookTok’s most viral forces.

How hockey romances became a BookTok juggernaut

Over the last few years, stories about brooding athletes, slow-burn relationships, and messy campus life have become staples on social media, especially TikTok’s BookTok community. That surge in interest helped titles like Icebreaker, The Deal, and Pucking Around grow from paperback fandom favorites into cross-platform phenomena, turning fictional hockey players into a new kind of pop-culture crush.

What fuels the craze:

• Relatable college settings that let readers project themselves into the story.
• Archetypal characters — the emotionally distant star, the resilient love interest — that inspire fan art, edits, and memes.
• Slow-burn romantic tension and explicit chemistry that translate well into short-form video reactions.
• Adaptations and shows that act as entry points for viewers unfamiliar with the books.

Josh Heuston on discovering the books and stepping into Off Campus

Heuston, already known to many for his role in Heartbreak High, says he was aware of Elle Kennedy’s novels but didn’t dive into them until he was auditioning for the series. Once he read The Deal, he understood why readers were so invested.

He described his own learning curve about the genre and its devoted followers, admitting he hadn’t appreciated just how passionate hockey-romance fan communities could be until production started. Still, the actor says the experience of joining the show felt natural, even when navigating a fandom that had strong expectations about character portrayals and chemistry.

From audition to on-set fit

Joining Off Campus involved more than memorizing lines. Heuston had to embody a character already familiar to readers, and adjust to working within a cast whose dynamics were being closely watched by a global audience.

Heuston’s takeaways:

• Reading the source material helped him shape Justin Kohl without overwriting readers’ expectations.
• He found the cast welcoming and noted that cultural differences — including his Australian colloquialisms — added charm rather than challenge.
• He acknowledged the unique pressure of portraying a role linked to a large, vocal fandom, but called the atmosphere on set “effortless.”

Why shows like Off Campus and Heated Rivalry amplify the trend

Television adaptations have the power to broaden a book’s audience, and series that lean into the tropes of hockey romance are enjoying mainstream success. Heuston mentioned that projects like Heated Rivalry were being filmed around the same time as Off Campus, suggesting a wider industry appetite for similarly themed stories.

These adaptations benefit from several advantages that boost discoverability and engagement:

1. Visual chemistry and production design that make romantic beats feel cinematic.
2. Cross-platform promotion that pulls book readers into streaming audiences and vice versa.
3. Fan communities that create and amplify clips, recaps, and character-driven content.

What the future looks like for Justin Kohl and Off Campus Season 2

Fans desperate for more screen time with Justin Kohl were hoping Heuston would return for a second season. The actor’s answer suggested that his involvement might be limited for now. Factors like scheduling, the series’ narrative priorities, and fidelity to Elle Kennedy’s wider book universe all influence casting decisions for future installments.

Key points he raised about Season 2 possibilities:

• Availability and timing play a major role in whether characters reappear.
• The showrunners are balancing many storylines from Kennedy’s books; that breadth means not every character can take center stage in each season.
• Staying loyal to the source material remains a guiding principle: the adaptation will prioritize the books’ arcs.

What this moment means for romance adaptations and fandoms

The success of Off Campus underscores how passionate fanbases and smart adaptations can turn a niche book trend into a streaming sensation. For actors, writers, and producers, the current climate offers both opportunity and responsibility: to honor the source material while creating series that feel fresh and accessible to new audiences.

As streaming platforms continue to mine popular romance novels for content, expect more crossovers between BookTok hits and television — and a steady stream of conversations online about who plays it best, which moments were left out, and which characters deserve their own episodes.

You might also like:

• Off Campus TV hockey romance: everything we know
• Off Campus vs The Deal: 8 key differences between the books
• Off campus vs the deal: 8 key differences between the books
• Off Campus review: honest take on steamy hockey TV series
• Book boyfriends dominate screens: are they cringe or cool now?

David Miller

David Miller is an entertainment expert with a passion for film, music, and series. With eight years in cultural criticism, he takes you behind the scenes of productions and studios. His energetic style guides you to the next big releases and trending sensations.