"Off Campus” Interviews: LOUISA LEVY

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]You're stunning. You're glowing.

[00:00:01]>> Thank you. Hello. You look amazing. How are you feeling?

[00:00:04]>> I have a whole team making that happen.

[00:00:06]I'm feeling great.

[00:00:07]>> Movie magic. We love it. [laughter] Of course, we need to start off with talking about hockey romance. It seems to be all the rage right now. Why do you think there's been a sudden resurgence and obsession with hockey culture? It's so funny because obviously hockey romance in novels have been around for a long time, but I think TV is just discovering it. And I couldn't tell you why it's happening now, but I do think it's about time. I think sports narratives on TV just make sense. And I think at least in the US, football has always dominated that. But I think more and more people are getting into hockey, even in the US. Uh because since working on this and I mean couple years ago when I first started working on this project well before he did rivalry I was hearing people who got ex who love hockey and are seeing hockey show hockey um seeing actual hockey games and wanting hockey shows to exist and now they do and I think it's so cool and uh we should have more.

[00:01:05]>> Of course. Well, I was loving your anecdotes about never watching a hockey game before, and I know you came from the ballet and theater world.

[00:01:13]>> Do those worlds have any crossover? How did you find it to resonate?

[00:01:17]>> Yeah, I mean, I definitely learned a lot about hockey from my boyfriend and his dad actually played college hockey, so I got a little inside knowledge, but I had not been to a hockey game before the show. And I do think you're right, like there is something about um sports that does line up with theater and dance in a weird way. I mean, there is it is still that spectacle and you're showing up to experience this live thing that happens, but there's nothing that can replace a sporting event because with theater, with with dance, you kind of know where it's going to go. You don't you don't know what's going to happen when you show up at a game. You could win, you could lose, there could be a fight.

[00:01:55]What's going to happen? And there's something really exciting >> on the edge of your seat. I love that.

[00:01:59]Now, I know you talk about having a cult following. Of course, the book series was so wellknown and well-loved. What is something that whether current day or past, you were obsessed with? Like, what did you have that obsession over?

[00:02:11]>> Oh, man. I feel like I listen, I love romance novels. I also love fantasy. I'm a big Acatar fan, so I'm really excited about that. I'm really excited about Fourth Wing. Um, so I'm a big a big uh romance fan, but a big fantasy romance fan. So, it was really exciting to get these hockey romances in uh in my hands when I first discovered it because I think it's so right up my alley. And I also love a sports narrative. Like I talked about like football, but there's something extraordinary about following a team and that kind of um arc from the underdogs to to the winners. And I think there's something special about that.

[00:02:53]>> Oh, for sure. There's magic in it. Now, I heard you talk about the magic of like the college experience, referencing your own experience. What do you think actually makes up that sparkle and what can we see in the show?

[00:03:04]>> Yeah. So, I think there's something really unique about this time in our lives and we are figuring out who who we want to be and who we want to be with um and who our friends are. I think when you're in high school, when you're in middle school, these like formative years are so important, but you do kind of inherit a community. And in college, for the first time, you're creating your own community. And I think there's something so powerful about that agency, but you still are in this protective magical bubble because you're not yet in the adulting world where you have to pay bills and have to get a job and you're, you know, just making rent and making day-to-day life happen. and you have this kind of protective bubble around it. But at the same time, the friends you make could be lifelong friends. The partners that you get involved with romantically could be your lifelong partners. There's something really exciting about that.

[00:04:00]>> For sure. It's like it feels not real, but it's so real at the same time. It's you're you're teetering in the middle.

[00:04:05]Um, of course, I love a romance trope and I've got to see a couple um episodes, which is very exciting. So, congratulations. What romance tropes and of course being a romance book lover do you actually love to see?

[00:04:17]>> I love when the tropes are just executed well. I love the there's a comfort in especially with ours this the fake dating uh trope of it. There's a comfort in that because there's certain things we expect to play out. But what I always loved about El Kennedy's books is she sets up these expected tropes and then she doesn't play them out the way you expect. She deepens it by having Hannah have this backstory where there's a little bit more going on with her.

[00:04:47]Garrett has his own backstory with his dad. So, the two of them have their respective traumas, but the story is not about their trauma. It's not heavy. It's not dark, but it's still real and emotional and grounded. And I love that she kind of upended that in that way.

[00:05:01]And I that's what I wanted to do in the show as well.

[00:05:03]>> Oh, well, you did an incredible job and I'm so excited for the fans to see it.

[00:05:07]Thank you so much. It was so wonderful talking with you.

[00:05:09]>> So wonderful meeting you. Thank you so much.

[00:05:18]>> [music]