Cooper Raiff’s Hal & Harper is a TV present that serves as an emotional excavation of household, trauma, and the complexities of rising up too quick. At first look, it’s a sibling drama about two youngsters and their single father, however its conceit — casting adults because the seven- and nine-year-old protagonists — instantly indicators that that is one thing else completely. A John Cassavetes TV sequence for Gen Z, Hal & Harper performs with type and tone, balancing absurd humor, deep emotional wounds, and an aching exploration of how grief and accountability form the way in which we love.
Throughout eight episodes, the present takes full benefit of the medium, weaving via time with reminiscences that propel the story ahead moderately than merely filling in backstory. Every episode builds on the final, not simply in plot however within the emotional weight of its characters’ experiences, making it the sort of sequence that calls for to be binge-watched for full influence. What emerges is not only a narrative about two siblings navigating life, however a meditation on the messy, contradictory methods through which we try to develop up and heal.
A Dysfunctional Love Story Between a Brother and Sister
Hal & Harper
4.5
/5
- Launch Date
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January 26, 2025
- Runtime
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110 minutes
- Director
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Cooper Raiff
- Producers
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Thomas Hartmann
- The present?s use of reminiscence, montage, and non-linear storytelling makes for an emotionally layered expertise that couldn?t exist in another format.
- Cooper Raiff and Lili Reinhart have an electrical, dysfunctional chemistry, whereas Mark Ruffalo delivers one in all his most deeply felt roles.
- The best way sound is used to specific trauma, distance, and intimacy is a masterclass in sensory storytelling.
- The sequence often leans too exhausting into making each second profound, which might dilute its influence.
At its core, Hal & Harper is about love — not romantic love, however the sort of familial love that shapes our whole emotional basis. Hal (Cooper Raiff) and Harper (Lili Reinhart) aren’t simply siblings; their relationship capabilities as a sort of dysfunctional, borderline marriage. The emotional push-and-pull, the intimacy, and the resentment are all there, however with a depth that feels uniquely lived-in. They’re bonded not simply by blood however by shared trauma, the burden of accountability, and the unstated expectations positioned on them by a father (Mark Ruffalo) who’s making an attempt to be higher however is commonly misplaced in his personal feelings.
Raiff is fearless in his portrayal of Hal, not afraid to be unlikable, immature, or deeply flawed in the way in which that many main males keep away from. Harper, alternatively, is a revelation, a personality who’s deeply intuitive but additionally carrying the burden of being the caretaker in a household the place males are allowed to disintegrate whereas ladies are anticipated to carry every little thing collectively. Reinhart delivers one in all her most nuanced performances, capturing each Harper’s quiet power and her deeply rooted exhaustion.
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The Sound of Trauma, the Sound of Love
What units Hal & Harper aside is its method to sound design, which doesn’t simply complement the storytelling however defines it. The present invitations us into the characters’ sensory experiences, permitting us to listen to what they hear. When trauma strips them of feeling, the sound cuts out. When grief chokes them, the world turns into muffled. When reminiscences floor, the sound shifts into tones that hit simply the correct frequency within the chest. These selections make Hal & Harper not only a present to be watched however a present to be felt.
Raiff’s path additionally embraces visible storytelling in a method that many up to date TV dramas neglect. As an alternative of counting on expository dialogue, he lets montage sequences carry emotional beats, utilizing enhancing to juxtapose previous and current, trigger and impact. The narrative language of sitcom gags, like saying one thing and having it instantly occur within the subsequent reduce, provides levity to a present that in any other case explores some deeply painful themes.
Grief, Trauma, and the Unstated Tasks of Ladies
One among Hal & Harper’s sharpest insights is its understanding of how ladies are conditioned to hold emotional burdens, particularly in households the place fathers are distant, absent, or emotionally immature. Harper and the stepmother determine (a fantastically nuanced Betty Gilpin) are those selecting up the items, providing care and forgiveness even after they themselves want help. There’s a selected sort of trauma-bonding that occurs between ladies who’ve been formed by the identical emotional neglect, and Hal & Harper is among the first exhibits to depict this dynamic in a wholesome, non-exploitative method. Feminine characters on tv are sometimes written as both caretakers or survivors, however hardly ever will we see them supporting one another with out competitors, resentment, or martyrdom.
But, the present doesn’t let its male characters off the hook both. It subtly critiques the methods through which males are sometimes allowed to stay emotionally stunted, unable to course of their grief till it turns into an inconvenience for others. This dynamic performs out in deeply revealing moments — two males speaking about trauma solely when it interrupts their each day lives, or an emotionally distant father trying to reconnect along with his youngsters solely when his personal ache turns into unavoidable.
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A Present That Might By no means Be a Movie
It’s uncommon to see a TV present that’s absolutely conscious of the medium it’s working inside. Too usually, status TV looks like a protracted film, however Hal & Harper embraces the episodic type, utilizing every installment to deepen our connection to its characters. This story couldn’t work at a characteristic movie size. It wants eight episodes, wants the passage of time, wants the power to linger in moments of pleasure, heartbreak, and quiet introspection. What makes it work, past the writing and performances, is the way it understands that therapeutic isn’t linear. The present doesn’t present straightforward resolutions. Issues don’t get neatly solved, characters don’t “overcome” their trauma. As an alternative, it’s about how folks study to reside with it, to maneuver ahead whereas nonetheless carrying the previous.
A New Form of Cinematic Tv
Raiff has crafted one thing particular right here. Hal & Harper is a present that looks like cinema, not simply in its aesthetic however in its storytelling method. Raiff’s connection to Jay Duplass indicators one thing much more thrilling — Hal & Harper is not only redefining cinematic tv, however defining indie cinematic tv. With Duplass’ Penelope premiering at Sundance final 12 months and Raiff’s Hal & Harper arriving this 12 months, it looks like a brand new wave is forming, one pushed by deeply private, emotionally clever storytelling that doesn’t simply subvert conventional TV construction however rebuilds it.
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We’re lastly in an period of tv that now not adheres to the emotional rhythms dictated by promoting breaks, however one designed for a brand new sort of viewer: those that have outgrown the binge-watching growth however nonetheless search emotionally resonant storytelling that unfolds on the excellent tempo. That is tv that breathes, that meets audiences the place they’re, delivering depth in potent, completely timed doses. It’s intimate, emotionally wealthy, and unafraid to sit down in discomfort. It’s each deeply private and universally resonant, the sort of present that lingers lengthy after the ultimate episode.
I’m aghast that no person has secured distribution for this sequence but. Hal & Harper deserves a house the place it may be revisited again and again — the place audiences can return to it not only for leisure, however for emotional regulation, for consolation, for catharsis. Some tales demand to be rewatched, not as a result of they’re straightforward, however as a result of they meet us the place we’re, repeatedly, as we develop alongside them. That is that sort of present. Somebody, please, purchase it already.
It’s, fairly merely, one of the crucial emotionally full items of tv in latest reminiscence. Hal & Harper screened on the 2025 Sundance Movie Pageant. You will discover extra data right here.