By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
Really New Reality Series; Like Chocolate, Again; Romance Songs
“Neighbors” premieres on HBO on Friday, Feb. 13 at 9 p.m. The first season consists of six episodes. “Neighbors” is a new type of show in the vast landscape of reality TV. Here’s the “official” description for it: “The explosive series explores the chaotic and complicated disputes of neighbors and the extreme lengths they’ll go to defend theirs.”
“Neighbors” was produced by a company owned by JOSH SAFDIE and RONALD BRONSTEIN. You probably know Safdie as the director and co-writer of “Marty Supreme.” Bronstein was his co-writer.
Dylan Redford and Harrison Fishman created the series, and they share directing duties for the show. Currently, there is very little personal information about these guys. Yes, Fishman sounds like a Jewish name, but not always. Still, my gut is that he’s Jewish. His brother’s name is Sam. That sounds Jewish, too. I’ll keep checking.
“Deadline,” a free and credible review site, and “Esquire” magazine (online and free), pre-reviewed the series, and they highly praised “Neighbors.”
Redford and Fishman gave a pretty long interview (to Warner Bros.) about filming these neighbor disputes. Here’s an excerpt: “A few years ago, Harrison’s brother, Sam, started sharing neighbor-to-neighbor fight videos from around the country with us. They were fascinating, gripping, unfiltered, and honest. The conflict, no matter how small, always felt so big.”
Pretty much, Redford and Fishman are doing what Sam did. So far as I know, physical violence is not in the series.
The first season of “Like Water for Chocolate,” an HBO series, (2024) was a surprise big hit with Hispanic audiences and with “Anglo” American viewers, too. It is filmed in Mexico. A second (six-episode) season will debut on Feb. 15 (Sunday).
ARI BRICKMAN, 40, has a big supporting role in both seasons of “Like Water for Chocolate.” He plays Don Felipe Múzquiz. Here’s what I wrote in 2024 about the series ‘Jewish connection’: “I glanced at the cast credits and one name stood out: Ari Brickman. I lucked-out and found a profile in a Mexican Jewish community on-line paper and translated it. Yes, he’s Jewish and he’s pretty big in Mexico: many good acting roles (stage, TV, films) — and he’s a quite popular musician and composer.”
The plot twists in the first series make it impossible for me to summarize it here. Romantic problems are just one theme. I suggest binge watching and/or online research.
Valentine’s Day is Feb. 14. I thought I’d write about ALAN BERGMAN, a songwriter who co-wrote many famous romantic songs. He died in July 2025, two months away from his 100th birthday.
He was born in a Brooklyn Jewish hospital. MARILYN KATZ BERGMAN (1928–2022), his wife and his invaluable songwriting collaborator, was born in the same Jewish hospital. However, the couple didn’t meet until they moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. Both had helpful friends who recognized their songwriting talent and urged them to move to Los Angeles. They met and married in 1958 and, in 1960, they had a daughter, JULIE BERGMAN SENDER. She’s been a successful TV and film producer.
In 1960, they began collaborating with veteran composer LEW SPENCE. They wrote his songs’ lyrics — mostly for songs for Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. In the late ‘60s, they began a career of writing song lyrics for a procession of famous music composers.
First, there was French composer Michel Legrand. They wrote the lyrics for the “The Windmills of Your Mind,” a film song. They shared an Oscar (1969) for best song with Legrand. In 1983, they worked with Legrand. He wrote the score for “Yentel,” a film about an early, 20th Jewish woman (BARBRA STREISAND) dressed like a man to study Talmud. Alan and Marilyn wrote the song lyrics, including two songs that were Oscar-nominated. One is the romantic “The Way He Makes Me Feel.”
In 1973, they began writing lyrics for composer MARVIN HAMLISCH. They wrote the lyrics for the song “The Way We Were,” a romantic song. The song had the same name as “The Way We Were” film. Streisand sang the song and starred in the movie. The song won an Oscar and the score (by Hamlisch) won an Oscar, too. It was a critical and sales “super-hit.”
Another huge romantic hit is “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” The song music was composed by NEIL DIAMOND. The Bergmans wrote the lyrics. Diamond recorded the song on an album of his own (1977) and, the next year, Streisand recorded the song on her album. A radio program director “merged” both versions and it became a huge hit.
One thing more: During WWII, Bergman was drafted into the army. He was wounded (1943), and he returned to a North Carolina base where he helped put on shows for other soldiers.
