Are y’all watching Off-Campus? The Prime show is based on the popular book series by Elle Kennedy, and the first season is already a major hit for Amazon Prime. The series is the “third most-watched debut series in the history of Amazon Prime Video” and it reached 36 million viewers in its first 12 days of streaming. Someone at Prime has a real eye for developing shows geared towards audiences primarily made up of teenage girls and young women – Off-Campus is going to turn into this year’s The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Well, there’s already a “controversy” about the series. I mean, there are several controversies, but I don’t know if they’re picayune faux-controversies which are, in essence, attempts at a viral marketing campaign. But I’ve seen complaints about the real-life “age-gap” between the two lead actors, Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli. Bright is 19 – perfect to play a college student – while Cameli is 28 (and he’s playing a 19/20 year old). Keep in mind, they’re just love interests on-screen, not in real life! And keep in mind that most 19-year-old guys look like little babies these days, so they likely went older with the guy’s casting because they wanted someone who realistically looked like a hot-jock college hockey player. Well, Ella Bright is defending the age-gap. Which, again, is not about a real relationship.
Ella Bright wants the world to know that she and Belmont Cameli couldn’t be more professional amid concerns about their age gap and intimate scenes. The 19-year-old British-American actress defended her steamy onscreen scenes with her Off Campus costar, who is nearly 10 years her senior, on the Tuesday, May 26 episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast.
While speaking with host Amanda Hirsch, Bright revealed that she was 18 years old when the series was filming, and she’s seen fans express their shock to learn how young she was compared to Cameli, who is 28.
“It’s very funny when they … I came into this job and during the chemistry reads with more than enough information and knowledge and understanding of what this role required and the show,” Bright said. “And I just fell in love with Hannah and these scripts immediately. There was never a question that I wouldn’t want to do this,” she continued.
Off Campus is based on the best-selling books by Elle Kennedy about an elite college ice hockey team at the fictional Briar University as they navigate relationships, friendships, and young adulthood.
Bright plays Hannah, a music student who devises a fake dating scheme with hockey star Garrett (Cameli) to catch the attention of her crush, Justin (Josh Heuston). Things get complicated when Hannah and Garrett develop feelings for one another.
“I get people’s concern, but also not once did I feel, one, left out from being younger than everybody,” Bright said. “We’re all such a family and everyone was just more than perfect, and I couldn’t be more comfortable on this set with these people.”
“So it is funny when they say that I’m like I’m good,” she added.
Hirsch defended the role, saying that Bright was an adult college student, but admitted that the material can be “raunchy” but not “insane.”
I get it, and it’s fine to show concern about whether a 19-year-old actress feels uncomfortable about doing love scenes with a 28-year-old. While she doesn’t say this, there’s an intimacy coordinator on the show, and I would also assume that producers are keeping a watchful eye to ensure that there’s not a hint of exploitation. That being said, she’s a legal adult and she went into the job understanding the material and what it entailed. And to be fair, Belmont Cameli absolutely looks college-aged. Like, that’s how guys looked when I was in college, although I know a lot has changed since then.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid, Getty Images.
