If you’ve been on BookTok for a while or you are an avid romance reader, you know that hockey romance is a very, very popular subgenre. However, it’s only recently been making a big splash on TV. Now, following the success of Heated Rivalry in 2025, a new book-to-screen adaptation of a romance series involving athletes who shoot a puck around will hit the 2026 TV schedule. So, with all that in mind, I was wondering why hockey romance is “so in” right now. Thankfully, the cast of this new show, Off Campus, shared their takes.
For context, like Heated Rivalry (which you can stream with an HBO Max subscription), Amazon Prime’s Off Campus is based on a book series that follows hockey players as they fall in love. However, instead of them being pros, they are in college. Season 1 of this series will follow the school’s team captain, Garrett, as he makes a deal to fake date a music major named Hannah. It’s your classic love story, and its source material, which is a book series written by Elle Kennedy, is a massive hockey romance hit.
