Antonio Cipriano Says He’s “Ready” To Lead Off Campus Season 3

Antonio Cipriano can already feel the difference on the Off Campus set after the hockey romance’s first season became a viral obsession. As I chat with the 26-year-old actor on Zoom, he’s just wrapped the upcoming second season and is still reeling from how the intense fandom has affected production. “There’s a bunch of people always watching while you’re trying to film, and that was just so not the situation last season,” Cipriano says. “It adds this pressure of making sure this is as good as, if not better than, the first one. But it’s also very exciting to have people so into it.”

In his role as the supportive and brooding hockey star John Logan, Cipriano is still technically on the sidelines this season as the show reorders Elle Kennedy’s books to center Dean and Allie’s complex arc next. With his leading-man moment on the horizon for a bit longer, Cipriano is testing the raunchy romance waters by promoting Fireball Whisky’s new Vanilla Smut Stash, a limited-edition collectible that includes two Fireball Torch’d Vanilla bottles inside a spicy romantasy book. The stash will be available for $10 on Fireball’s website in two drops: Oct. 21 and Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. EST.

“It felt like the perfect collab. I love Fireball so much, and it’s really cool how this weaves its way into the BookTok world,” Cipriano says. Though he was never a romantasy reader before, Cipriano has recently become more invested in the genre. “I’m into it now,” he says. “I’m excited to start reading more of these stories.”

“I feel like I’m now officially ready to take that leading role.”

The campaign is just a quick shot of the buzz Cipriano will experience when it’s finally his turn to lead Logan’s Off Campus season. The series has not yet been renewed for a third installment, and it’s not a total guarantee that a potential Season 3 would adapt Logan and Grace Ivers’ book The Mistake. But it feels like a very safe bet that Logan could be the next hockey heartthrob in the spotlight. Cipriano is happy to wait his turn — he confirms he knew from the very start about the show reordering the books.

“We knew at the audition this was how the format was going to go, because of Dean and Allie’s moment in Episode 6,” Cipriano says, referring to Season 1’s episode dedicated to Dean and Allie’s clandestine hookups. “And it just makes sense, because Allie is Hannah’s close friend, so you already care about her. I don’t think you could’ve done that with Grace and Logan since it’s a different setup.”

Cipriano actually sees it as a positive that he got another season on the bench before skating into the center of the rink himself. “It’s a good thing, I think,” he says. “Getting to watch Belmont [Cameli] and Ella [Bright] really start this momentum and then Stephen [Kalyn] and Mika [Abdalla] stepping up in Season 2, they’re so brilliant at what they’re doing and it inspired me a lot. I feel like I’m now officially ready to take that leading role. It took two seasons for me to get here and feel this way, but now I’m ready to lock in.”

He can’t reveal too much about how Logan and Grace’s love story will take form on the show, other than instantly realizing India Fowler was exactly right for the role. “It was pretty evident right away that she was perfect for this part,” Cipriano says. “The other two gals at the chemistry reads were amazing as well, but when India came in it was like, ‘Whoa, Grace Ivers just walked into the room!’”

The Mistake isn’t just about Logan’s romantic relationships, though. The book heavily features Logan’s fractured family, and the show’s addition of Logan’s younger sibling Jules (who isn’t in the books) will undoubtedly alter that story. Cipriano can already see how Jules may become an added stressor for Logan when the hockey star has to confront his disjointed family.

“I think it really changes things that Logan is now a middle child. I relate to that, as a middle child myself. There’s an element of having to be the peacekeeper, or feeling like you have to be the glue to hold the family together,” Cipriano says. “That adds such a weight to this situation where he’s already so conflicted about if he should play in the NHL or stay at home to step up for his family.”

As Cipriano muses about bringing his own middle-child energy to his Off Campus role, I feel compelled to ask about another big part of his life that has yet to be featured on the show. After all, Cipriano is an established Broadway star with his own music career, and Season 1 featured a ton of musical performances... but none of them involved Cipriano.

He admits he has “no idea” if he’ll ever get to show off his pipes on the show, but he’s hopeful it could happen. “Would I love to? Absolutely,” Cipriano says. “I know that Logan has a guitar in his room, so maybe that says something. I don’t know; we’ll see.”