‘Off Campus’ Showrunner Breaks Silence on Salary Reports – Those Numbers are Completely Wrong
The conversation around actor salaries on Prime Video’s hit series ‘Off Campus’ has taken a new turn after showrunner Louisa Levy publicly responded to reports claiming there was a major pay gap between the show’s leading stars.
The discussion started after the Australian podcast ‘In the Vault’ shared a video on June 14 claiming to reveal the season 1 salaries of several cast members. According to the podcast’s reported figures, Belmont Cameli, who plays Garrett Graham, was allegedly the highest-paid actor, earning around $30,000 per episode, while Josh Heuston, who plays Justin, was said to have earned about $25,000 per episode.
The same report claimed that Ella Bright, who stars as Hannah Wells, earned around $20,000 per episode, creating what the podcast described as an $80,000 difference between the two main leads.
Those numbers quickly gained attention online, especially because fans began discussing whether a gender pay gap existed between the show’s male and female stars. However, Levy stepped in to challenge the accuracy of the claims.
Commenting directly on the video, the ‘Off Campus’ showrunner wrote, “Check your sources. These numbers are far from correct.” Levy also addressed the larger conversation around equal pay in Hollywood, making clear that while pay inequality remains a serious issue in the entertainment industry, she believes her own production has worked to avoid those problems.
“While this is absolutely an issue in the industry, as a female showrunner I fight for gender pay parity in my cast,” Levy added. The response came as ‘Off Campus’ continues to grow into one of Prime Video’s biggest recent successes. The series, based on Elle Kennedy’s popular book series, premiered in May and quickly developed a strong fanbase. The show was renewed for season 2 before the first season even finished making its impact.
The upcoming season will move into the story of ‘The Score’, the third book in Kennedy’s series, with Mika Abdalla and Stephen Kalyn taking center stage as Allie and Dean.
Levy previously explained to PEOPLE that the original plan was to give Allie and Dean their own full storyline later, but changes in episode count forced the team to adjust their approach. The first season was reduced from a planned 10 episodes to eight, meaning their romance had to be introduced earlier.
The showrunner said bringing their relationship into season 1 felt natural because of how connected the characters already were.
“Because their love story starts out as a secret [in the book], I thought it would be really fun to keep it a secret from the audience and surprise the audience,” Levy told PEOPLE.
Although viewers have already seen the beginning of Allie and Dean’s relationship, Levy promised there is still plenty of material left to explore when their story becomes the main focus.
Season 2 will also introduce another romance from the books, following Logan, played by Antonio Cipriano, and his relationship with Grace, who will be portrayed by India Fowler.
Do you believe the reported ‘Off Campus’ salary numbers were accurate?
Cipriano told PEOPLE that he liked the decision to wait before showing Logan in love, explaining that audiences first needed to understand his character and struggles.
‘Off Campus’ season 1 is currently available to stream on Prime Video, while fans are waiting for more details about the second season.
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