Off-Campus opens with Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself,” the track accompanying a split-screen view of Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) and Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) separately jamming to the song and being fully immersed in their own worlds before having an unexpected meet-cute (meet sexy?). The use of this iconic rock song is only the beginning of a beautifully designed sonic world that captures the lives of a tight-knit group of college students.
The eight-episode show follows Hannah, a classical music major, and Garrett, Briar University’s star hockey player, who strike up a mutually beneficial deal: Hannah will help Garrett pass his philosophy class, while Garrett will pretend to be Hannah’s boyfriend to make her crush jealous.
And… You’re Back in College
This season is an adaptation of the first book in Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series, The Deal. Released in 2015, the book portrays stereotypical American college life: frat parties, fanfare around collegiate sports, and more. Through its music, the show successfully evokes nostalgia while still feeling current, rather than dated or try-hard.
We get a mix of oldies rock, iconic pop, and indie sound; the show features “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by AC/DC, Jennifer Lopez’s “On the Floor” at a house party, and “Edge of the Earth” by The Beaches.
While curating a diverse lineup of songs, composer Alana Da Fonseca worked closely with the cast to keep the music relatable. “‘What inspires you? What do you like? What would you like your character to sound like?’ Well, that was the sentence… because they’re obviously in the demographic.”
The show uses Griff’s song “Vertigo” for one of Hannah’s pivotal moments, which was Bright’s “favorite song for so many years,” helping her to resonate more with her character.
Music supervisor Amanda Thomas explained that another way to strike the perfect balance between “timelessness” and being “current for kids in college today” is through covers. For example, the fictional band After Hours did a cover of Pink’s “U + Ur Hands” and One Direction’s “Kiss You” (book readers, IYKYK!) or Remi Wolf’s rendition of “Dancing with Myself.”
“Finding that mix, it was sort of a conversation every time, [for] every spot,” Thomas explained. “I think our guiding light was always just like, what feels intentional? If it’s a throwback, why is it a throwback?”
Get to Know the Couples Through Music
While this season’s main couple is Hannah and Garrett, we’re also introduced to Hannah’s best friend, Allie Hayes (Mika Abdalla), and Briar U’s most famous flirt, Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Kalyn). The two couples couldn’t have more different dynamics, as is evident in the sonic worlds built around their relationships.
With Hannah and Garrett, it’s established from the first scene that they are connected through classic rock and oldies. Thomas explained, “It started with that seed of this connective tissue between these two characters that you see many times in the pilot.”
Bright added how important the use of music in the show is in building the relationship between Hannah and Garrett. “What was so unique about these scripts is they had all the needle drops written in and even some of the lyrics written out [for] certain moments of the script,” she said. “So getting to listen with my headphones while reading it was so impactful for the world building in my mind… and how Hannah has this relationship with Garrett.”
When designing the sonic world around Dean and Thomas asked: “If Garrett is classic rock, is Dean hip-hop?” She looked back to Dean and Allie’s book, The Score (Off-Campus #3), for reference. “In The Score, there is a moment where they’re playing hip-hop on the radio. And there was a thought of maybe that’s something to play with for him.”
Collaboration Is Key
One word that came up a lot during the conversation was “collaborative.” Everyone, from the music department and showrunner Louisa Levy to the editors and the cast, played a role in shaping the show’s musical world. “Credit to Louisa for really inviting everyone in, hiring who she wanted, and then inviting everybody into the process,” Da Fonseca said.
Thomas explained, “What ends up in there is the combination of so many people’s thoughts and ideas and creativity.” She added, “Credit to music editors and editors, like it really takes a team to really make those moments feel the magic that you’re all feeling on the other side.”
The music department also took curating each character’s vibe very seriously. For example, when building Hannah and Garrett’s sonic world, they looked to the cast for inspiration. “We definitely started with our own, Hannah and Garrett playlists in our libraries and sent those off… We listened to Ella’s playlist…Bel sent us a playlist, we really used that and then built on it with everybody,” Thomas explained.
Bright also shared how much playlists helped her progress in her character and during her scenes. “I think for all of us, like we all had playlists, which was really fun to kind of hear everybody else’s take on what these characters might be hearing or listening to in their day-to-day lives.”
One key experience in the collaborative process that Da Fonseca cherished is the predominantly female team behind the show. She posted a picture during one of the days they had an all-women meeting. “Everyone had very strong opinions. And we were able to all come together on everything. It was inspiring. I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life,” she shared.
With the success of the first season and knowledge that the team behind the show puts in 110% to make sure every song hits in every scene, we can only anticipate good things to come!
