Off Campus has arrived as a new hockey romance set at Briar University, and one early review says it lands with plenty of heat. called the series “soapy, spicy and incredibly moreish,” while also arguing that “Off Campus is, in all senses, a straight copy of Heated Rivalry.”

That comparison matters because Heated Rivalry was built from Rachel Reid’s gay romance novel series, while Off Campus is drawn from Elle Kennedy’s heterosexual romance books. The new series shifts the action to a college setting rather than the pro-hockey world, and it centers on Garrett Graham, the Briar University captain and son of hockey legend Phil Graham, played by Steve Howey.

At the heart of the story is Hannah Wells, played by Ella Bright, a music major whose scholarship is abruptly terminated. Forced to find another way to keep going, she starts writing pop songs for a showcase instead of the classical music she prefers, hoping to secure funding. Her path crosses with Garrett’s in a setup that leans heavily on the kind of campus pressure and romantic friction that has made hockey romance such a durable sell.

The review lands in the middle of a broader wave of hockey romance entertainment, where the appeal is not just skating and scores but the emotional chaos that comes with young love, status and competition. Off Campus keeps that focus close to college life, with student deadlines, scholarship anxiety and team pressure carrying the story as much as the romance itself.

There is also an obvious tension in the comparison the review makes. On one hand, the series is being sold as part of a growing category with a proven audience. On the other, the claim that it is “a straight copy” of another title raises the question of how much room there is for a fresh take when the formula is this familiar. For viewers, that may be the whole point: a hockey romance that knows exactly what it is and does not try too hard to hide it.

What comes next is less about mystery than momentum. Off Campus is now being judged not just as a romance series, but as another entry in a crowded hockey genre where campus setting, family legacy and scholarship stakes have become part of the pitch. Whether it feels like an imitation or an irresistible rerun will decide how far it goes with the audience it is clearly trying to reach.