What Off Campus Taught Me About TV Soundtracks
Inside the making of the soundtrack for Off Campus
Written by Lola Dogat — PR & Social Media Rep at °1824 - Universal Music Group & Professional Fangirl
The moment I heard the opening cords to an indie-rock cover of Ariana Grande’s “Into You” in the first episode of Off Campus, I was GAGGED. My immediate thought was: where can I stream this masterpiece?!
Off Campus, Prime Video’s new steamy hockey romance series follows music student Hannah Wells (Ella Bright) as she strikes a deal with team captain Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) that turns into something much more. The show has quickly become the internet’s (and my) latest obsession. Yet beyond the romance, one thing instantly stood out to me: the soundtrack.
The show blends timeless classics and modern indie-pop songs, with a sprinkle of originals and flipped covers, that make the entire world of Briar University feel so immersive.
And trust me, “Into You” was perhaps the last song I expected to hear covered by After Hours—the show’s fictional indie-rock band—fronted by Hannah’s manic pixie dream boy crush, Justin Kohl (Josh Heuston), but that’s exactly why it worked. The choice felt deliberate: a song that instantly appeals to Off Campus’ college-aged fanbase, transformed into a version that feels aligned with the aesthetic of After Hours.
Watching this series, and later hearing music supervisor Amanda Thomas, music producer Alana Da Fonseca, and lead actress Ella Bright speak during °1824’s Off Campus press conference, made me understand just how much thought goes into building a great TV soundtrack. Throughout the conference, three words kept resurfacing: experimentation, alignment, and collaboration—and they capture exactly why the Off Campus soundtrack has stolen the hearts of so many fans.
Experimentation
The soundtrack succeeds because it takes risks instead of relying on obvious choices.
Since protagonist Hannah Wells is a music student, Alana and Amanda explained that they wanted the soundtrack to reflect her music taste, which Alana characterized as, “eclectic but on the pulse.” This meant combining classics like “Dancing with Myself” and “The Bitch is Back” with current indie-pop tracks like “Deeply Still In Love” and “Soup.”
They also leaned into flipped covers—a risky move considering how difficult it is to reinterpret beloved songs without alienating the original fans. But Off Campus handled them with care and creativity.
They didn’t simply reheat Billy Idol’s nachos with Remi Wolf’s cover of “Dancing with Myself.” They transformed the song into something distinctly hers while still maintaining the original’s charm. Putting the two versions side by side feels like comparing apples and oranges.
This willingness to experiment and inclusion of deeply curated, in-the-loop music picks made the show feel authentic. Because after all, what college student hasn’t listened to a sad-girl pop anthem while sulking on the couch and downing a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? (this may just be me).
Alignment
What made the soundtrack feel especially effective was that every song placement revealed something about the characters, their relationships, or the emotional tone of the scene.
When discussing the process of defining the characters sonically, Alana shared that she created a playlist for each character to better understand them through music. She even joked that she made playlists for side characters:
We have hundreds of playlists in our library. I’ve started Tucker playlists, for no reason!
Each character has their own sonic identity. Garrett leans toward classic rock, reflecting a quirkiness beneath his hockey-bro exterior, Dean’s hip-hop choices match his confident persona, and Hannah’s blend of retro and current pop feels in tune with her eclectic, emotionally layered personality. These choices help communicate nuances in the character’s personalities that dialogue doesn’t explicitly state.
But it’s not only about the characters’ individual identities, Off Campus also uses music to communicate emotional dynamics between them.
Before Hannah and Garrett even properly interact, they unknowingly bond over “Dancing with Myself” in the pilot episode. Then, by ending the episode with Remi Wolf’s cover of the same song, the show subtly reminds the audience of that romantic spark.
Alignment is partially about matching a song to a character or a relationship, but it’s also about finding the right place for that track within the scene itself. During the conference, Alana explained that she constantly asked herself questions like:
Is this a moment for a throwback? Is this a moment for a current song? If it’s a throwback, why is a throwback right for this moment?
That level of intentionality matters because a song can fit a character perfectly and still not fit the pacing, editing, or emotional rhythm of a scene.
And that’s where the final piece comes in: collaboration.
Collaboration
Ultimately, the key to creating a great soundtrack lies in the collaboration between the music supervision team, editors, and cast.
Before selecting and creating music for the series, Alana and Amanda asked the cast what songs inspired them. Ella Bright explained that they all decided to create playlists for their characters:
The first thing I did when creating Hannah was make a playlist. That really helped me get into her headspace. We all had playlists which was really fun to hear everybody else’s take on what these characters might be listening to in their day to day lives.
Every layer of the soundtrack process is collaborative. Music supervisors create a show’s sonic identity, music producers bring original songs and covers to life, actors help define their characters’ personalities, and editors determine where songs fit within the pacing of the show.
Even the fans become part of that collaboration. Because Off Campus’ is an adaptation, it has to balance the expectations of longtime readers with newer audiences discovering the story for the first time.
While there’s no exact formula to creating the perfect TV soundtrack, Off Campus’ proves that taking risks, making intentional choices, and open communication can create something truly magical. Now if you need me, you can find me streaming the “Off Campus Official Playlist” on repeat (with my bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, of course).
I was so happy to see the Remi Wolf cameo! I feel like it matched the shows vibes so well :)
Love it!! Such good insights and songs!