Imagining a Different Kind of Neighborhood Television Show

 

In a previous column I argued that the new HBO series Neighbors (premiered Feb. 13, 2026) reveals something real about modern life — but also risks reinforcing a distorted narrative. The show centers on conflict because conflict is compelling.

And to be fair, the creators themselves are honest about that.

The directors say in a story from HBO that they didn’t set out to mock people. They wanted to understand them.

The directors explain that neighbors occupy a strange category: not family, not friends, and not chosen — “a cosmic random destiny” that places two people side-by-side.

They were fascinated by viral videos of people fighting because those clips only show one perspective. They wanted to see what happens after the video ends and understand both sides.

That instinct is actually important.

Because buried inside a show about conflict is an accidental truth: Most neighbor problems are not really about fences, dogs, noise, or parking. They’re about interpretation.

We live physically close but relationally distant. So we fill gaps with assumptions. And assumptions harden into stories. And stories become disputes. The show recognizes this — it notes that neither neighbor is usually “evil,” just reacting to context and emotion.

That insight points toward a fascinating question: What if someone filmed the other half of neighborhood life? Not the feud, but the repair.

The Missing Genre: Neighboring

Modern television has dozens of formats: cooking competitions, home renovation, dating experiments, survival challenges, and crime investigations.

But there is almost no genre devoted to everyday civic life — the slow building of trust between ordinary people who did not choose each other but learn to care anyway.

Yet in real communities this happens constantly. Neighbors help after storms. They check on the elderly. They share tools. They organize block gatherings. They become emergency responders long before professionals arrive.

These stories are not rare — they are invisible.

Conflict is dramatic because it spikes emotion quickly. Neighboring is dramatic because it changes people slowly. That’s harder to film, but far more transformative to watch.

If a production team wanted to create a series that complements Neighbors instead of competing with it, here are some formats that could work.

1. “The First Conversation”

Premise: Each episode begins where most conflicts could have been prevented — the first meaningful interaction.

Two households who have lived near each other for months or years sit down with a facilitator. They learn each other’s stories: work schedules, fears, family struggles, past experiences that shaped reactions.

The tension: Viewers already know what assumptions each person carried.

The payoff: Watching those assumptions dissolve in real time. This show would go one step further — not just understanding, but relationship formation. Instead of “Who is right?” the question becomes: “What becomes possible once we know each other?”

2. “Block Project”

Premise: A small group of neighbors chooses one shared project: a garden, shared childcare rotation, front-yard gathering space, storm preparedness network, or weekly meal. The cameras follow the process. Not perfectly — awkwardly. Schedules conflict. Expectations clash. Someone doesn’t show up. Someone takes over. Someone withdraws. In other words: real life.

The tension: By the end, the physical project matters less than the social infrastructure created. Viewers watch strangers slowly become a team.

The payoff: Reality television usually eliminates participants until one winner remains. Neighboring works the opposite way — everyone wins or everyone loses together.

3. “The Help Chain”

Premise: One person in a neighborhood experiences a crisis — illness, job loss, new baby, aging parent, disability, or disaster recovery. Instead of focusing on the hardship alone, the show tracks how care spreads outward. One act of help triggers another. And another. A meal becomes childcare. Childcare becomes friendship. Friendship becomes belonging.

The tension:  The directors of Neighbors observed that small conflicts feel huge because they affect the little control people have over their home life.

The payoff: This series would show the opposite truth: Small kindness feels huge for the same reason.

4. “Unknown to Known”

Premise: A host walks a single street and asks residents a simple question: “Who here would notice if you disappeared for a week?” Then the show spends a month helping neighbors change that answer. No forced friendships. Just introductions, shared meals, and low-pressure contact.

The tension: The dramatic tension is subtle but powerful: viewers recognize themselves in the quiet isolation — and the quiet relief when it shifts.

Why Any of This Would Matter

The creators of Neighbors describe their show as capturing a “core sample” of how Americans feel right now. 

They’re probably right. But a core sample only reveals conditions — not possibilities.

We currently consume a steady stream of stories showing coexistence breaking down. Yet in real communities across the country, coexistence is being rebuilt daily without cameras.

Entertainment doesn’t just reflect culture. It teaches emotional expectations.

If the only narrative we watch is conflict, we begin to anticipate conflict. If we regularly see repair, we begin to attempt repair.

The goal isn’t to replace shows about disputes. Those stories reveal genuine tensions in modern life. The goal is balance.

Right now, television shows us what happens when neighbors interpret each other at a distance. It rarely shows what happens when they learn each other up close.

The Bigger Idea

A neighbor is the last unavoidable relationship in modern society. We can change jobs. Change friends. Change online communities. But the person across the fence remains.

That makes the neighborhood one of the last places where citizenship still lives — not politics, but shared life.

A series about engaged neighboring wouldn’t be sentimental. It would be human. Messy. Slow. Occasionally uncomfortable. Sometimes funny. And, ironically, probably just as compelling as conflict.

Because people don’t actually watch stories to see who wins. They watch to see whether connection is still possible. And on most streets — far more often than television suggests — it is.

WRITTEN BY

David L. Burton

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.com.