Neighbors is a show about people who live next door to each other in the same way Stevie Wonder is someone who plays piano. While the new hit HBO docuseries explores the often contentious dynamics of living in close proximity through real neighbor pairings across the U.S.—from Simi Valley, California to Bloomfield, New Jersey—the show’s true focus is on collective neuroses as they spiral out of control.
Produced by A24 and Central Pictures, the series introduces directors Harrison Fishman and Dylan Redford to their broadest audience yet. The duo, along with casting director Harleigh Shaw and Sam Fishman, began their journey in the late 2010s through a film fellowship in Miami. What started as found-footage compilations of neighborly disputes eventually evolved into a sophisticated exploration of public life and private property.
“Sam had this whole interest in neighbor dispute stuff,” Redford explained. The directors noted that the pandemic served as a catalyst, inflaming existing tensions as people were confined to their homes. “It felt like a prophecy that became true,” Fishman added. “More people were starting to hold each other accountable in this way we could’ve never imagined.”
The Art of the Dispute
The series captures a strange intimacy, where neighbors are simultaneously obsessed with and repulsed by one another. For the directors, the visual language of these disputes—often captured on lo-fi, mid-2000s digital cameras—is essential. “There’s something about neighbor disputes that feel very urgent,” Redford noted. “When people use a point-and-shoot or a camera to film, it feels more official. It feels more serious if it’s not filmed on an iPhone.”
Directors Harrison Fishman and Dylan Redford.Casting for the show was a massive undertaking. Harleigh Shaw revealed that the team utilized everything from local news articles and small claims court records to Craigslist and TikTok. “We had put together a whole list that we were searching everyday,” Shaw said. “Interns would search different variations of ‘neighbor dispute,’ ‘neighbor war,’ ‘neighbor from hell.’”
It makes sense why people are willing to fight with their neighbors. Your neighbor is a stranger. —Harrison Fishman
Ultimately, the show highlights the precarity of home ownership and the financial toll of these feuds. As the directors observe, when two people dig into a conflict, it becomes difficult to retreat. “It’s okay to have a friendly relationship with your neighbor,” Redford concluded, “but I don’t think any of us would suggest being best friends with your neighbor.”
Neighbors is currently streaming on HBO.
