Last night at 92NY, Cooper Raiff and Lili Reinhart took the stage for an intimate discussion about Hal & Harper, their new series that debuted this week on MUBI. The conversation offered a close look at the project’s emotional core, exploring two siblings bound by love, responsibility, and the quiet ache of growing up together.

Raiff, who wrote, directed, and stars in the series, spoke about shifting from his earlier romantic work to a story centered on family. He described the series as a study in the kind of love that is inherited rather than chosen, capturing the tension between dependence and individuality. Reinhart reflected on what drew her to playing Harper, the older sister whose caretaking instincts often blur her sense of self. She noted how the role required a balance between control and vulnerability, something she found both challenging and freeing.

The pair reflected on the show’s dreamlike structure, which moves fluidly through time and memory. Both actors revisited moments from filming that revealed unexpected emotional depth, scenes where silence carried more weight than dialogue. They described how portraying the siblings at different ages blurred the lines between childhood and adulthood, showing how much of our younger selves remain with us even as we change.

As with most independent productions, Hal & Harper came with constraints. Raiff and Reinhart discussed the realities of working with a small crew and limited resources but agreed that those conditions created a sense of closeness and creative freedom. Without the expectations of a major studio, they were able to focus on the subtleties that make the show distinct: its unhurried pacing, its natural humor, and its emotional honesty.

Throughout the evening, both emphasized that the heart of Hal & Harper lies in its intimacy. It is a story about family as both comfort and confinement, about the bonds that shape us and the ways we learn to outgrow them. The conversation left the audience with the sense that Hal & Harper is not just an indie experiment. It is a quietly ambitious exploration of what it means to love, to let go, and to finally see someone you have known all your life with fresh eyes.