HBO’s new docuseries Neighbors arrives with a darkly comedic premise, but what unfolds over six episodes is far from lighthearted entertainment.
Created by Harrison Fishman and Dylan Redford, the A24 production chronicles Americans locked in bitter territorial disputes that reveal something profoundly broken about how we live together.
What starts as seemingly absurd neighborly squabbles quickly transforms into a disturbing portrait of isolation, mistrust, and the complete breakdown of community.
These aren’t just entertaining feuds—they’re symptoms of a society that’s forgotten how to share space with other human beings.
The Montana Fence That Divided a Town
The series’ first episode introduces Josh, a self-proclaimed homesteader who relocated to Shawmut, Montana, seeking solitude. His solution? Surrounding his newly acquired land with a fence and locked gate that blocks what was formerly a public road.
His neighbor Seth, who moved there in 2016 to escape what he called a coming “plague,” immediately clashed with Josh over land access. The fence prevents neighbors’ horses from grazing where they’ve roamed for years.
Escaping all the crazy that was going on in Portland was a bonus.
The dispute escalates to shouting matches and threats. Even a court-appointed mediator throws up his hands in frustration.
With their combined families representing a significant percentage of Shawmut’s tiny population, there’s virtually no neutral party to mediate. Moving to the middle of nowhere sounds appealing until you realize there’s no one to watch your back.
Florida’s Beach Wars: Too Many Witnesses
In Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, the problem isn’t too few observers—it’s too many. Oceanfront property owners clash with other residents over who has the right to use pristine white sand beaches.
The conflict attracts tourists, troublemakers, and even a self-proclaimed “First Amendment auditor” who sticks his iPhone in people’s faces and pepper-sprays anyone who objects.
Sara, who claims legal access to any beach portion below the high-water line, taunts security guards. Meanwhile, Eric, whose expansive porch overlooks disputed sand, declares his exhaustion with what he calls hysterical liberals.
I’m exhausted with screaming tirades by hysterical liberals.
Both sides perform for cameras, hoping to capture footage that proves their righteousness. Facts and productive debate become casualties when everyone believes they already possess absolute truth.
COVID-19: The Invisible Accelerant
While rarely mentioned explicitly, the pandemic clearly amplified existing tensions among Neighbors‘ subjects. COVID-19 intensified what the series identifies as a radically anti-communal ideology spreading across America.
Isolation during lockdowns seems to have severed whatever remaining social bonds kept neighbors civil. People who once coexisted peacefully suddenly view accommodation as weakness.
The collective portrait reveals Americans who’ve completely rejected the obligation to share space with others. Looking out for anyone beyond yourself has become viewed as delusion rather than basic decency.
Social Media: Jury of Millions
Social media emerges as both culprit and amplifier throughout the series. Josh’s 2 million TikTok followers enabled his metalworking business relocation to Montana’s remote wilderness.
Another subject openly yearns for viral video fame, believing mass online outcry represents his only path to victory in a lawn dispute.
Making cases to invisible online juries fundamentally changes the dynamic. These people aren’t seeking compromise or peace—they want total submission from their adversaries.
Performance for unseen audiences replaces genuine attempts at resolution. Every interaction becomes content, every confrontation potentially viral gold.
From Friendship to Firearms
Some of Neighbors‘ most disturbing segments feature longtime friends whose relationships have turned viciously hostile.
Consider the white divorcé who describes his elderly neighbor as his “Black mama” before a misjudged joke led both to accuse the other of racism.
Or two West Palm Beach women whose children once played together, now threatening to shoot each other over a narrow strip of lawn between driveways.
The series shows subjects more likely to brandish firearms than threaten lawsuits. When conflicts escalate, guns appear as conversational props and implied solutions.
What caused these relationships to deteriorate so catastrophically? The show either can’t explain or isn’t interested in exploring root causes. It’s more invested in conflict than origins.
The Vanishing Center
In Kokomo, Indiana, Darrell holds up a local newspaper featuring his feud with neighbor Trever, who operates a makeshift farm in his grandmother’s yard. Directly below that headline reads another: “Divide in American Politics.”
The juxtaposition isn’t accidental. These neighborly battles reflect larger fractures in American society—a dangerous void where common agreement once existed.
While Neighbors rarely makes political leanings explicit, the overall picture reveals people who’ve abandoned any sense of collective responsibility. Individual rights trump community welfare every single time.
When Entertainment Becomes Alarming
Neighbors frames its territorial battles as sideshow entertainment—one dispute even ends up before Judge Judy. Executive producers include Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, known for films celebrating eccentrics and outsiders.
The series features multiple psychic healers, former strippers, and a nudist college student pursuing music careers. It lingers right on the edge of gawking at unconventional subjects.
But as episodes progress, the comedy fades. When feuding neighbors start brushing up on marksmanship and quoting Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, the joke stops being funny.
Two lifelong friends threatening each other over inches of lawn makes juicy television. But when those threats involve lethal force, viewers are left wondering: what happens after cameras leave?
Sobering Reflections
Neighbors debuting new episodes Friday nights on HBO reveals uncomfortable truths about contemporary America. These aren’t isolated incidents or regional quirks—they’re symptoms of profound social breakdown.
The series documents what happens when:
- Isolation replaces community: Moving away doesn’t solve interpersonal problems
- Social media replaces dialogue: Invisible audiences matter more than actual neighbors
- Individual rights eclipse collective responsibility: Compromise becomes viewed as surrender
- Performance replaces resolution: Winning online battles supersedes peaceful coexistence
What emerges from six episodes isn’t comedy but cautionary tale. Americans have forgotten—or actively rejected—how to live alongside other human beings.
The vacuum in public life, that common agreement that suddenly vanished, has left something dangerous in its place. Neighbors captures that void with uncomfortable clarity, showing us a reflection many would prefer not to see.