Off Campus breakout Ella Bright has assured fans that her nearly 10-year age gap with co-star Belmont Cameli is nothing to worry about.
The British-American star, 19, leads Amazon’s Prime Video’s latest young adult romance series as college music major Hannah Wells, who begins a fake relationship with her school’s star hockey player, Garrett Graham — played by 28-year-old Belmont Cameli — in an attempt to make her crush jealous.
Bright was 18 at the start of filming, and is the youngest of the main cast members.
Appearing on a recent episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, the Malory Towers alum acknowledged fan concerns about the significant nine-year age gap between her and Cameli, but insisted that “not once did I feel, one, left out from being younger than everybody.”
“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,” Bright continued. “So it is funny when they say that. I’m like ‘I’m good.’”
She emphasized that she “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.”
Adapted from Elle Kennedy’s five-book romance series, Off Campus has easily followed in the footsteps of HBO’s gay ice hockey romance Heated Rivalry, making ripples across the entertainment world.
It premiered earlier this month and has already surpassed other Prime Video heavyweights, including The Boys and The Summer I Turned Pretty, to become the streamer’s third-most-watched debut series ever. Within its first 12 days on the platform, the series has reached 36 million viewers, per Amazon data.
“Obsession is officially in session at Prime Video, thanks to the fans who have embraced Off Campus,” said Peter Friedlander, head of global TV at Amazon MGM Studios, in a statement. “We couldn’t be happier to see such a passionate community come together around Season 1 of creator Louisa Levy and co-showrunner Gina Fattore’s interpretation of Elle Kennedy’s beloved story. When you earn trust and deliver for an audience, they show up — and they’ve certainly done so for Off Campus.”
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The series received an early renewal in February, ahead of its premiere, with season two expected to follow another romance storyline from Kennedy’s books. It was recently revealed that Josh Heuston, who stars as Hannah’s crush Justin Kohl, will not be returning next season.
Showrunner Louisa Levy shared the news with TV Guide earlier this month, saying: “But I love Josh and I would not write him off if I can find a way to bring Justin back at some point.”