Prime Video took a bold step into uncharted territory with its inaugural Obsessed Fest over the weekend. This showcase was a platform for unveiling thrilling current and future projects like Off Campus Season 2, The Love Hypothesis, and Every Year After. Within a single day, stars from beloved TV shows and films graced the stage to discuss the influence of fandom and preview their exciting lineup for the coming months.
Fans eagerly anticipated the announcement of a release date for Off Campus Season 2, featuring Allie (Mika Abdalla) and Dean (Stephen Kalyn), which is presently being filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. However, the eagerly awaited announcement did not materialize. Although Abdalla, Kalyn, and the rest of the cast were present, along with a surprise appearance by J-Lo, the details regarding Season 2 were kept under wraps.
Despite this, Prime Video did not disappoint, revealing a whirlwind of updates and releases. The event featured the premiere trailer for The Love Hypothesis, starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman, and confirmed a second season for Every Year After. Additionally, fans of Overcompensating were thrilled to learn about Zedd’s upcoming role at Yates University in the show’s second season. All in all, the day was brimming with exciting highlights.
Here are the key highlights from the very first Obsessed Fest in Los Angeles…
Prime Video Has Finally Found Its Niche and It’s YA Adaptations
If there’s one definitive insight gained from Obsessed Fest, it’s that Prime Video has mastered the art of catering to their audience’s desires: adaptations of beloved books. Rapidly becoming a leading hub for BookTok adaptations, Prime Video has positioned itself as the go-to destination for authors to transform their popular young adult or enticing teen/adult novels into television series or films. With productions like Off Campus, Every Year After, Maxton Hall Season 3, and 56 Days debuting this year, it’s clear that Prime Video is tapped into their audience’s pulse. And with upcoming releases like Elle, We Were Liars Season 2, and many others, there’s plenty more in store.
Prime Video Is Going Global
With the arrival of Your Fault: London and the upcoming Maxton Hall Season 3, it’s been clear for quite some time that Prime Video wants to whisk fans away on international trips and globetrot through storytelling. We can also point to The Summer I Turned Pretty series finale, which took Belly (Lola Tung) and Conrad (Christopher Briney) to Paris, France, although that was more of a one-off… but still! Even more important in this conversation is the inclusion of projects like Drawn Together and The Last Sunrise, which branch out into foreign language and overseas adventures.
Prime Video has long been looking for a way to bring international audiences into the fold and to expand interest in shows and movies set in different countries — even desperately attempting to launch Citadel into spinoffs set across the world — but it feels like this could be the first sign that they now know how they want to do it. Get the teens and tweens involved and you’ve got a winner.
Off Campus Is King (And Queen)
In the same way that HBO and HBO Max have gone all in on Game of Thrones and its subsequent spinoffs, Prime Video is putting all of its eggs in the Off Campus basket. The series scored 36 million views in the first 12 days of streaming, according to the streamer, and the number just keeps growing. In fact, nearly two months after the show dropped all eight episodes of the adaptation of The Deal, the series is still sitting in the No. 2 spot on the Prime Video charts.
Throughout Obsessed Fest, Prime Video positioned the series as the most anticipated panel of the day, closing out the festivities with a Q&A featuring the cast and showrunner, Louisa Levy. While that certainly would have been enough for the eager fans who flew in from around the world and packed the room like sardines, Prime doubled down on their commitment to the show as their top priority by bringing out Jennifer Lopez to open the presentation. Yes, that’s right, J-Lo came out to sing “On The Floor,” the song used in the Halloween episode of Off Campus. That is how much of a phenomenon the series is.
Given the show’s massive popularity in its first seasons alone, it should come as a surprise how much stock Prime Video is putting into the series. Much like The Summer I Turned Pretty, fans should expect to see crossover opportunities and merchandising with major brands, especially as we get closer to the holiday season and Season 2. Get ready to see a lot more of the Off Campus crew moving forward.
Much to Look Four-ward To
Two projects that were not discussed much but have all the buzz behind them? The Summer I Turned Pretty The Movie and Prime’s upcoming Fourth Wing adaptation, which have both been announced but have been mostly hush-hush since then. We know for a fact that the former of the two is already filming, while the latter has yet to make any major casting decisions, as producer Michael B. Jordan has stated they are focused on getting it right.
Mentions of either project were few and far between at Obsessed Fest, but they were certainly top of mind for fans in attendance. The short and sweet here is that both Fourth Wing and The Summer I Turned Pretty The Movie, even without being mentioned outright by organizers, are high priority with ubiquitous presences. I.E., you don’t need to mention these movies for Prime Video fans to be amped up for them.
Off Campus, Every Year After, The Summer I Turned Pretty, 56 Days, Maxton Hall, and Your Fault: London are all streaming now on Prime Video. The Love Hypothesis premieres on September 23.