Entertainment
HBO and A24’s Wild New 4-Part American Docuseries Is Unlike Any Other Weekend Binge
A24 has been responsible for some of the most exciting projects to hit our screens in recent years. They’ve had a hand in television projects as wide-ranging as Ramy and Euphoria to Beef and Hazbin Hotel. Now the production company has teamed up with Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, and Eli Bush to bring you a docuseries that is surely unlike anything you’ve seen before. While Safdie and Bronstein are still currently on a high after bringing us Marty Supreme, this new project of theirs is just as compelling.
What Is ‘Neighbors’ About?
Neighbors first premiered on February 13 and is already becoming one of the most original series on the HBO Max platform. The dramatic docuseries follows real-life disputes between neighbors, and each episode allows you to get to know two separate cases that are ongoing. The first episode features neighbors in Montana who are feuding over the use of a gate between their properties. Their fight has even gone to the courts because they can’t talk to each other without spewing threats. But these aren’t your average neighbors; one man is an odd, gun-toting conspiracy theorist, and the other has gone viral for his woodworking videos and cosplay involving a samurai sword. Yes, it’s as wild as it sounds.
The other case in Episode 1 involves an area of Florida shoreline where a wealthy resident demands that his section of the beach be completely devoid of locals. The heated debate between beachgoers and this clueless rich guy only escalates when a First Amendment Rights activist also decides to get involved — and all of that just happens in the first 30-minute episode. By diving into two cases in each installment, Neighbors provides an in-depth look at what can happen when a person feels like their entitlements are getting threatened.
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HBO and A24’s ‘Neighbors’ Is a Bizarre and Kooky Ride
Neighbors is definitely one of those shows where truth is certainly stranger than fiction. There are a lot of big personalities present, and most of the people profiled are genuinely eccentric. Several of the producers got the idea for the series after becoming obsessed with viral videos of neighbors feuding, which got increasingly heated during the COVID-19 pandemic. While frustrating to these homeowners, it has gifted us with footage that is both wildly weird and endlessly captivating. Neighbors is also unintentionally hysterical most of the time. Although it’s likely these people aren’t being funny on purpose, their circumstances are inherently absurd, and they often don’t seem to notice how ridiculous they sound when discussing their beefs.
You shouldn’t go into Neighbors expecting a ton of closure. Some of the cases being presented are ongoing, but this only adds to the realism of the series. Many of these neighbor disputes will go on forever (typically until someone moves), so some of the stories are open-ended, but that doesn’t prevent each episode from being a must-watch. Plus, if you think of yourself as quirky, Neighbors also has the ability to make you feel like the most normal person ever. At least you’re not fighting with your neighbor because you own dozens of cats or are raising livestock in the front yard of your suburban home. All of these disputes show the fireworks that can happen when people feel like their inalienable rights or their homes are being invaded, making Neighbors a fascinating watch from start to finish.
Each episode starts out with a visual in space, and then hones in on an exact place in the United States. This is a fantastic reminder of how insignificant many of these fights can seem when you look at them with a broader perspective. All of these arguments in the scheme of things are not that important, but they cause so much anguish for the people involved, and this heightened sense of drama is what makes Neighbors so fun to watch.
Neighbors is available to stream on HBO Max in the U.S. New episodes drop every Friday.
