Exclusive Interview
‘Campus Drivers’ Star Carmen Kassovitz Teases Season 1 Just Gets ‘Hotter & Hotter’
Campus Drivers is about to fill that steamy college romance-shaped hole in your heart. The French-language TV show, which hits Prime Video on November 6, delivers forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, and more beloved romance tropes courtesy of Lois (Carmen Kassovitz) and Lane (Baptiste Masseline), who are based on the characters from C.S. Quill’s book series of the same name.
“I think what intrigued me the most is the dynamic between them is really conflictual in the beginning, and then it just gets better and hotter and hotter,” Kassovitz told Swooon. Campus Drivers Season 1 picks up with Lois in love with her longtime boyfriend, Max (Enzo Lorente), so much so that she follows him to the prestigious Belrose University. They move into an off-campus apartment together, only for Max to break up with Lois at the start of the semester.
Enter Lane, Max’s neighbor, campus ladies’ man, and co-creator of a popular rideshare app for students. Lane offers Lois his couch, and eventually, they become reluctant roommates. “It was really interesting for me to read that because I’m older than Lois in real life, and when I was putting myself in her shoes, I was trying to imagine if I was 18 right now, and I was finding myself kind of forced to stay at a good-looking man’s house,” Kassovitz explained. “I would be terrified, but that would be also a fantasy of mine when I was 18.”
The actress, who’s the 24-year-old daughter of director Mathieu Kassovitz, added, “It was really exciting to read that because it was like, ‘I’m gonna be able to live that in a way.'”
Lane and Lois are far from perfect roommates, of course, and what ensues isn’t exactly a fairytale for either of them. But Lane, who is hiding past trauma, and Lois, who’s nursing a broken heart and hopes that she may get back together with Max, manage to become each other’s friend and support system before it turns into something more.
That friend dynamic wasn’t difficult to portray for Kassovitz and Masseline, who shared friends before filming began but only met for the first time during the casting process. They spent four hours together playing out key scenes between Lois and Lane. It was “intense,” but a fun experience for the actress.
“When I met him for the casting, I remember he was already there, and I arrived, and I stumbled on camera wires, and I fell,” she recalled. “So that was the first impression he had of me, and I think it was a real good icebreaker… I had a great time, and from the moment I saw him, I knew that it was not gonna be a problem, the alchemy between us, because Baptiste is such a great guy.”
Prime Video
Like the book it’s based on, the TV series is a slow burn, but it doesn’t hold back on the spice. Kassovitz explained that she felt comfortable acting those out alongside her 26-year-old costar, who’s best known for Prime Video’s Voltaire High.
“I feel really safe around him with all the intimacy [and] sex scenes that we had to do,” Kassovitz said. “I was, of course, a little bit concerned about who I was gonna do that with because I need to feel comfortable, I need to feel safe with the person, but Baptiste was amazing. He now is a very, very good friend of mine, and so funny. I could speak to him about everything, all my concerns.”
Though a good portion of the show plays out inside Lane’s apartment, both Lois and Lane’s friends have supporting roles in their story: Donovan (Love Me Love Me‘s Madior Fall), Lewis (Esteban Vial), and Adam (Félix Nebel). Lois grows close with them and makes friends outside their group as well, including Becca (Louna Balavoine) and Carrie (Eloïse Rey). Off-screen, Kassovitz formed real friendships with them.
“It was so easy. We didn’t have to build anything [chemistry-wise]. I think the moment we met each other, like I’m not only talking about the four guys, but also the girls… It was just obvious. We went partying, and we were in the same hotel, and we just spent three months and a half together all the time.”
Prime Video
Life imitated the show in that way. Belrose is quite the party school, with many get-togethers thrown by the Campus Drivers themselves. Some of Lois and Lane’s pivotal moments take place during party scenes. “Sometimes I was on set with them, and I was just looking at them, and I was like, ‘Am I really working now? I’m the luckiest girl in the world,'” Kassovitz recalled.
“You’re with your friends, and you’re doing something you love, which is a big privilege in this world,” she continued. “It was just a beautiful experience from A to Z. Nothing too bad to say… I hope it shows.”
Campus Drivers, Season 1, November 6, Prime Video
