How I Met Your Mother

created by Carter Bays & Craig Thomas, 2005-2014

Hey there! As some of you may know, for about two years now, I have been keeping track of all of the TV series I watch on an Instagram page (formerly @emilyontelevision). I talk about each show’s quality, whether I personally enjoyed watching it, and whether I think others would, too! However, Instagram’s format doesn’t bode well for lengthy reviews, and there have been a few times that I have to cut a review short just to fit it on a post. Plus, as much as I love making the graphics for each show, Instagram places more of an emphasis on the visual than I would like. I prefer the focus to be more on what I have to say. So, hopefully, I have found a more suitable home here at And You’re Watching!

I’m excited for How I Met Your Mother to be the first series I discuss on this site! It’s a series I have loved for a long time, and with the new sequel series (How I Met Your Father) at the top of my watchlist, I’m looking back at how much I love it.

How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM for short) ran for nine seasons (2005-2014) and is one of my favorite sitcoms. It follows Ted Mosby, a hopeless romantic, on his journey to find The One, which he embarks on with his best friends: Marshall, Lily, Barney, and Robin. It is unique in that it’s told from the future, in which Ted presents his two teenage children with the story of how he meets their mother. It is marketed as a “love story in reverse,” which is very clever! I love this premise, and found it to be an endearing way to include narration in the story. HIMYM also centers heavily on love and the different ways that we find it in each other, which is great to see played out in a sitcom.

The characters in this series feel like old friends. Especially after nine seasons, it genuinely feels as if you experience life alongside them. As with many good sitcoms, I recall episodes the way I do my own memories. A lot of the love in the series is demonstrated through friendship, and because they love each other so much, the audience feels as if they are “one of the gang.” Ted adores his friends, so at times when he loses faith in romantic love, he still receives love from those around him. This is a much more comforting angle for the audience than seeing a man constantly down on his luck in love. The dialogue can be slightly cheesy from time to time (as is the nature of narrated shows), but there are also wise and poetic moments, with some lines that stick with me after I’m done watching. Nothing feels unnatural and the dialogue remains consistently funny for nine seasons.

The series takes place in New York, but it doesn’t feel as “big city” as other New York shows do. HIMYM actually feels quite homey (in a similar way to New Girl or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) because they are constantly in the same bar or one of the character’s apartments. This series is relatively wholesome and more endearing than many sitcoms. While it is laugh-out-loud funny, it comes in quick wisecracks, rather than big spectacle jokes. It is, at the end of the day, a laugh-track sitcom, so the tone and humor stick quite close to that norm.

This series offers a lot of consistency. I don’t have a favorite or least favorite season. While a couple episodes can be rather heavy, I find almost all of them enjoyable, and the overall plot is unique and fun to follow. While it is not the greatest show ever written, the series does earn a lot of points from me in what I like to call “rewatchability.” It’s a series that I can pick up and rewatch at any time, and will love as much as before. HIMYM is quite typical compared to shows like it, but its consistency and solidity make it stand out a little more.

The ending to this series is one of the most controversial in my lifetime. I still remember how upset people were when the finale aired. I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say it made a lot of people angry. Honestly, if endings are crucial to you, I suggest avoiding this series altogether. However, it deserves to be said that the ending, although unsatisfying, does have some great elements. I cry through the entire last episode, every single time. Some of the characters don’t have the ending they deserved, but the others have beautiful character arcs towards the end that make it all worth it. In the grand scheme of things, the ending of the series doesn’t destroy my opinion of it.

Who would enjoy this series? Well for starters, I would not recommend HIMYM to those that rely heavily on a great ending. Anyone also annoyed easily by sitcoms and laugh tracks should steer clear of this series. However, if you’re a big fan of sitcoms, you will certainly love HIMYM as your next watch (if you haven’t seen it already). I would look to this series for some laughs and a strong connection to its characters. I really enjoyed this series, and I look forward to (hopefully) extending that love to How I Met Your Father!