Off Campus took some liberties with Allie and Dean’s story — and now Mika Abdalla is teasing what awaits them in season 2.
“Even though we do tease Dean and Allie a lot earlier than people expect, you are still left wanting a lot more,” Abdalla, 26, exclusively told Us Weekly. “And that’s something I’m really excited about. You just want to see more.”
Abdalla noted how the show wanted to “stay true to a lot” of Allie and Dean’s love story.
“Allie and Hannah’s story lines are so connected to one another that it just made a lot of sense to touch on that this season,” she said about the extended focus on Allie an Dean. “All the books, they build off of each other and they’re all connected. It didn’t really make sense to not include certain elements from the other books in this season.”
Based on the Off Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show, which premiered Wednesday, May 13, follows an elite ice hockey team — and the women in their lives — as they “grapple with love, heartbreak and self-discovery — forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood,” read the official synopsis.
Hannah (Ella Bright) and Garrett’s (Belmont Cameli) love story took center stage in season 1 — with several key moments from their book, The Deal, swapped for an updated version. At the same time, the show set up Allie and Dean (Stephen Kalyn) as the next possible leads despite them being featured in the third book in the series.
“With Allie and Dean’s scenes that come from the book, it was more of an excitement than a pressure to get it right,” she told Us. “I’m glad that we get to give the book fans this nugget.”
Abdalla was also thrilled at the chance to develop Allie even further.
“In the development of Allie, she this larger than life personality. She’s very much the center of attention. She’s very much just a ball of energy most of the time,” the actress, who originally auditioned for the role of Hannah, said. “When I heard they wanted to bring me back for Allie and I finally got a hold of the scripts, it was just right. And everything kind of fell in a in a place, in a really, in a really good way.
Looking ahead, Abdalla can’t wait to explore more — no matter how long of a wait it might be.
“I’m just really looking forward to digging deeper into who Allie and Dean are. They both kind of have these fronts, these personas that are hard to kind of crack through. They are kind of stereotypes of themselves, if that makes sense,” she was told. “But in the books, there’s so much beneath the surface of Dean and there’s so much beneath the surface of Allie.”
She continued: “When it is time for our season, I’m excited to dig emotionally into that a little bit more see QAllie and Dean as their exteriors a lot in season 1. And while that is fun, and they are super fun characters to play, I think as actors, selfishly, both of us are really excited to like, get psychological.
Off Campus is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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