Sure it’s been a handful of years since How I Met Your Mother went off the air. And yes, this is the second time that a How I Met Your Father spinoff was attempted. But, we think this time Hulu might actually have found the right combination of actors and pacing of the show. The result – a fun and binge-worthy series that fans of the original series will like but doesn’t take away from the original show.
If you are a fan of How I Met Your Mother, you know the series followed Ted as he told his children about his 20’s and 30’s in New York City and how he met their mother – the woman with the yellow umbrella. I’m not sure how a story took over nine years to tell, but the series mostly focuses on his relationships with his core group of friends and every failed relationship on the way to their mother. The ending of How I Met Your Mother is divisive. Fans either loved it or hated it, but that story has been told and now we’ve got a new set of stories to enjoy and pick apart to see if we can figure out how Sophie meets her future husband.
Don’t worry, it’s not retelling the same story from the mother’s perspective. Instead, it’s a new story completely and taking place in 2022 New York City with the Mother telling the story in 2050. With only a couple of screeners available ahead of time, we’re not sure if the stories address or even cover the pandemic or if it’s really just a complete alternative version of New York City where that reality doesn’t happen.
But Sophie’s story is one of a late 20, early 30 something girl finding herself and a core group of friends in New York. In the same way that Ted did in the 2005 show. With a slightly unpredictable best friend, random new friendships being made, and of course a home base in a bar (that looks a lot like the set of Cheers) – the show is setting up the basics for a lot of fun and goofy antics of the group of six new friends.
Something that How I Met Your Father does is it has updated the format to fit current times. With a more diverse cast and showing what it’s like to be a single girl in one of the largest cities in the world. Sure, Sophie and Valentina’s apartment is the same one used in Two Broke Girls – but it fits perfectly for their stage at life even if that apartment would still cost a small fortune without rent control.
Recognizable sets aside, there is something else we need to address with How I Met Your Father – the Mother. Yes, we know it’s twenty-eight years in her future, but we were taken a little aback that it was Kim Cattrall taking on the role of the mother in 2050. Although we can see the similarities between the two actresses, it’s hard to reconcile that Lizzy McGuire grows up to be Samantha Jones.
The first couple of episodes that we could watch ahead of time were simply put – fun. We’re not expecting Shakespeare from a series like these, but it does bring back the nostalgia for the original series and will have you laughing. It’s the same basic format, same city, and same type of locations – but How I Met Your Father brings a fun show for a new audience. It’s quirky, it’s fun and you’ll have a hard not watching all of the episodes back to back.
The 10-episode first season of the series premieres exclusively on Hulu Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
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About How I Met Your Father
In the near future, Sophie (Hilary Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.
The series stars Hilary Duff, Christopher Lowell, Francia Raisa, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran, Suraj Sharma as well as recurring stars, Kim Cattrall, Daniel Augustin, Ashley Reyes and Josh Peck
‘How I Met Your Father’ is written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. Executive producers for “How I Met Your Father” include Aptaker, Berger, Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Pam Fryman, and Adam Londy. Duff will serve as a producer. “How I Met Your Father” is a production of 20th Television.