Josh Heuston Not Returning As Justin Kohl

One important character from “Off Campus” Season 1 will not re-enter the whirlwind hockey romance in Season 2, according to showrunner Louisa Levy. 

The Prime Video adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s “Off Campus” book series will focus each season on a different romantic couple at the fictional Briar University in Boston. In Season 1, feelings develop between music students Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) and Justin Kohl (Josh Heuston), though Hannah ends up with hockey star Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli). 

In a recent interview with TV Guide, Levy was asked if Justin will return, given that the love triangle appears to be over. “Not next season, but I love Josh and I would not write him off if I can find a way to bring Justin back at some point,” she said. “We never got a chance to meet Stella, who is the person he ends up with in the book. So maybe we’ll find a way to fold him into a future season. We don’t have him [available] next season, but never say never.”

Outside of Justin’s absence due to Josh Heuston’s scheduling conflict, “Off Campus” Season 2 will look very different from Season 1. While no official plot description has been released yet, the first eight episodes of the sports romance series set up Hannah’s friend Allie Hayes (Mika Abdalla) and Garrett’s teammate Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Kalyn) to take over as the main couple. 

This diverges from the books’ storyline, as the second novel, “The Mistake,” actually centers on Grace Ivers (India Fowler) and John Logan (Antonio Cipriano). By instead basing Season 2 on the third book, “The Score,” Prime Video’s “Off Campus” series is shaking things up for both viewers and readers.

During the same interview, Louisa Levy explained why she opted to change the source material. “It was always in an effort to keep the momentum going,” she shared. “Happily ever afters are wonderful and so important for this genre of novel, but they’re not that helpful for television because we have to keep telling stories. So part of that was my attempt to give [viewers] the Hannah and Garrett happily ever after that I wanted, that I know fans will want, but still leaving something hanging and some question going into Season 2 of, ‘How is this going to be resolved, and how is this going to drive story forward?’ I want people to tune in Season 2 and watch what we have in store.”