Published: October 27, 2025
Hal & Harper is an eight-episode series centered on two codependent siblings, Hal and Harper, stuck between childhood and adulthood after their mother’s death and their father’s emotional distance. Created by Cooper Raiff, the series utilizes a unique creative structure that shows the adult siblings as both their present selves and as versions of their childhood selves to examine how trauma and grief shape them. At its heart, the show explores the siblings’ intense bond and the shifting family dynamics that emerge when their father announces he will have another child.
I first stumbled upon writer/director Cooper Raiff a few years back through his film Shithouse (2020). I quickly fell in love with his writing and style of storytelling, instantly making me a fan. That led me to watch his second outing, Cha Cha Real Smooth, which I also adore. Hal & Harper, however, is his first series. It’s very exciting to see the elements I love about his filmmaking now being translated into a longer format project.
Two of Raiff’s biggest strengths are character and relatability. That’s something I’ve loved about his prior projects, and something I love about Hal & Harper. And while I myself am an only child, and can’t necessarily relate to the sibling relationship, Raiff and Reinhart’s chemistry is off the charts and you feel like you already know their dynamic after just their first scene together in which Hal stumbles in through his sister Harper’s (Lili Reinhart) bedroom window at 3 a.m. so that they can go to McDonald’s. It’s clearly not your average sibling relationship, but I love after seeing so often in film and TV where siblings are just fighting and reluctantly love each other, that Hal & Harper truly have this wonderful bond. They have almost no boundaries and are so involved in each other’s lives. Sure, that’s probably unhealthy to an extent, and yes, they are both incredibly depressed, but from an outside perspective, their relationship is very endearing.
Story continues below advertisement
As for the cast, they’re all perfect. Raiff writes very natural dialogue giving our actors very organic ways to sink into the characters and the way they interact with one another. So, Cooper Raiff, of course, is great in the role he wrote for himself, but it’s also nice to see Lili Reinhart breaking away from Riverdale and giving an excellent performance in this series. Just 2 episodes in and I’m already intrigued by Hal’s potential love story with Abbey, as well as Harper’s balance between her affair and relationship with her longtime girlfriend. The two actors also playing their younger selves as first graders, surrounded by real first graders, is certainly a very unique creative twist. I do also love that there’s a bit of a grainy effect to the camera when we are spending time in these flashbacks. With just a taste of it in the second episode, I’m very excited to see how it blends in among the rest of our story, particularly with how it paints Hal & Harper’s father.
Their father, of course, is played by Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo. And Ruffalo I feel is perfectly suited for portraying the character as he brings a sincere charm to the character that’s also clearly haunted by a large amount of guilt. As we’re seeing in the flashbacks, he’s sort of drowning in his own emotions after his wife’s death, and that doesn’t allow much time for him to be a proper father to his children. He forgot to pick them up from school, was late dropping them off, and was asleep most of the time they were home. So now, as he’s faced with another shot at being a father, he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes. The pressure is heightened even further when he and his girlfriend discover that their child may have Down syndrome.
Hal & Harper excels as a dramedy that combines humor, awkwardness, sadness, and realism. I highly recommend it for its authentic portrayal of relationships and emotional complexity. The show’s tone even evokes personal nostalgia, like a craving for chocolate ice cream after seeing Mark Ruffalo enjoy some in episode two. Now, this probably won’t make sense to most people, but I’d say chocolate ice cream actually describes the vibes of this show quite nicely, and I may have to get some for next week’s episode.
With this being a MUBI exclusive, it’s nice to see the service finally starting to become more prevalent. Previously, I’d only subscribed to check out their acquired films, but recently, they’ve developed some great original projects such as Grand Theft Hamlet and How To Have Sex. Hal & Harper is a great addition to that lineup, and its first two episodes are now streaming on MUBI with new episodes released weekly through the end of November.
