Is The Neighbors Based On A Book And Who Wrote It?

Question

Dylan · Answer

There are actually a few different things called 'Neighbors' or 'Neighbours,' and some of those are written works while others are screen projects — so it helps to be specific, but I’ll cover the common ones. A well-known literary example is the short story 'Neighbors' by Raymond Carver, which appears in his collection 'Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?' That one is definitely a written piece and worth reading if you like quiet, tense domestic fiction.

On the film and TV side, Norman McLaren’s 1952 short film 'Neighbours' (spelled the Commonwealth way) is a famous anti-war short made with pixilation and it’s an original film concept, not an adaptation. Likewise the long-running Australian soap 'Neighbours' was created for television and not taken from a novel. So yes, some works titled 'Neighbors' are literary (Carver’s story being the clearest example), but the big mainstream US comedy film 'Neighbors' and the ABC sitcom 'The Neighbors' were original screen creations. I find it cool how the same title can live in such different mediums and moods.

Valerie · Answer

Quick clarification: the 2014 comedy 'Neighbors' (released in some places as 'Bad Neighbours') is not based on a book. It was written as a screenplay by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien and directed by Nicholas Stoller, and the film was built from that original script rather than adapted from a novel or short story.

I saw it in theaters when it came out and the whole thing reads like a movie-born-in-a-room-of-comedians — jokes, set pieces, and improv-friendly moments that you can tell were made for the screen, not lifted from prose. The sequel 'Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising' follows the same pattern: original screenplay, same creative DNA. So if you were hoping to find a source novel to read, there isn’t one for these films; instead you get the writers’ brand of broad party-comedy that grew out of contemporary comedy filmmaking. Personally, I enjoy films like that for what they are—loud, silly, and oddly nostalgic for college nights gone wrong.

Ulysses · Answer

Another thing to keep in mind is the ABC sitcom 'The Neighbors' (2012–2014) — that one is also not based on a book. Created by Dan Fogelman, the show has a kooky premise about a suburban family who moves into a community populated by people (spoiler: aliens) from another planet. It reads like an original TV concept rather than an adaptation, and the episodes are credited to TV writers and showrunners rather than to an author of a novel.

I watched a chunk of it on a lazy weekend and loved the sitcom rhythms; it felt like something that grew out of a TV writer’s joke file and high-concept pitch, not a book. If you're trying to track down whether a screen project is adapted, look for the "based on" credit in the opening or closing titles — that’s where adaptations always show their source. In the case of 'The Neighbors' TV series, the source line points to the showrunner’s original idea, not a novelist. It’s fun, light, and very much a product of TV writers’ imagination rather than literary adaptation.

Chloe · Answer

If you're asking about the 2014 raunchy comedy 'Neighbors' (released in some places as 'Bad Neighbours'), the simple truth is: it isn't based on a book. I loved how chaotic that movie is — Seth Rogen and Zac Efron go toe-to-toe in a frat-house-versus-new-parents brawl — and the script was an original screenplay written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. Nicholas Stoller directed it, but the story comes straight from the writers and production team, not from a preexisting novel.

I get why people wonder if it's adapted from a book — the premise feels like it could come from a satirical novella — but the credits are clear: the film is credited as an original screenplay. There are plenty of comedies that start as original ideas, and this one follows that tradition. If you dive into the Blu-ray or the IMDb page, you'll see the writers listed prominently and no "based on the novel by" line.

Personally, I think that originality is part of the movie's charm. It’s got that very modern comedy voice and timing that reads like a film-first project. If you enjoyed it, check out other scripts by Cohen and O’Brien; their punchy, joke-forward style shows up across a few comedies I keep rewatching.

Yasmine · Answer

Titles can be confusing because multiple works can share the same or similar names, so when you ask about 'The Neighbors' it helps to pin down which medium you mean. For many movies and shows with that title, the quick rule I use is: check the on-screen credits or reliable databases like IMDb or the film’s official page. If a film or show is adapted from a book, the credits will say something like "based on the novel by" and then list the author. If that line is missing and you only see "screenplay by" or "created by," it's usually an original screenplay or concept.

I often find people mixing up the 2014 movie 'Neighbors' (original screenplay by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien) with the TV sitcom 'The Neighbors' (created by Dan Fogelman), both of which are original works rather than direct adaptations. There are also novels with similar titles out there, so if someone mentions a specific author's name tied to a novel called 'The Neighbors,' it's worth checking the publication year and whether any adaptation rights were sold. For my part, I usually enjoy tracing credits because it's a neat way to see how ideas move between books, scripts, and shows — and sometimes you find a surprising connection that makes rewatching or rereading even sweeter.

Dominic · Answer

Bottom line: if you’re asking about the Seth Rogen/Zac Efron movie 'Neighbors', it’s an original screenplay (Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien) and not based on a book. If you meant the ABC sitcom 'The Neighbors', that was also an original TV concept by Dan Fogelman, not an adaptation. That said, there are literary pieces with the same or similar titles — like Raymond Carver’s short story 'Neighbors' — so there’s reading material under the name, just not the source for those screen projects. I kind of like that one title can point to both a loud comedy and a quiet short story depending on where you look.

Ophelia · Answer

If you meant the TV sitcom 'The Neighbors' that aired on ABC starting in 2012, that too wasn’t adapted from a book. It was a sitcom created by Dan Fogelman with an original premise: a human family moves into a community populated by aliens who dress and act like suburban neighbors. The show leans into fish-out-of-water comedy and social satire rather than being an adaptation of any existing novel or short story.

I caught a few episodes on streaming and what felt most original about it was how it mixed family sitcom beats with absurd sci-fi touches. So whether you’re thinking of the film or the TV series, both were conceived for the screen. I liked the TV version’s goofy heart even when some episodes leaned hard into sitcom tropes.

Is The Neighbors Based On A Book And Who Wrote It?

7 Answers

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