Everyone was sitting on the edge of their living room couch in suspense last spring, when the last episode of season 8 of “How I Met Your Mother” aired on CBS. This episode introduced “the mother” to an audience that has awaited 8 seasons in anticipation. But the best is yet to come. A story that lasted almost a decade (9 seasons will have gone by), the show will end with Ted Mosby finally meeting the mother.
As a devoted viewer I’m doing my best to put off the thought that this season is the last time I will have something to look forward to every Monday night at 8pm. Every episode brings something new, another piece to the puzzle that the viewer puts together to essentially understand how each member of the gang meets the mother, and finally, how Ted meets his wife, the mother. The sitcom just shot its 200th episode, which is exciting for both the actors and the producers, and is a reminder of how far the show has come. Its high ratings and reviews of appraisal prove that the sitcom is a huge hit, and the creators of the show, Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, know the numbers all too well. So it may not come as a huge surprise that there will not be a complete end to the show after this season.
According to the New York Times article, “’How I Met Your Mother’ To Get a CBS Spinoff”, a pilot that is being considered for this spring is a sequel to the show with different characters but in the same setting called, “How I Met Your Dad”.
Because HIMYM is so witty and well done, the bar is set high. Will the expectations be met? Many are skeptical and believe that something as good as HIMYM should be left alone. On the other hand, it gives many people hope that because the pilot is written by the same creators as HIMYM, the humor that the show is praised for will remain in tact and keep a large audience laughing across the nation.
Twitter is the medium the creators of HIMYM and now, HIMYD, are using to update fans about the development of the show. Twitter has always been the go to for promotions for the show. Spoilers are revealed through the social network and updates on the show’s actors are always being posted, so it is clear that producers are thinking ahead when anticipating the best way to reach fans.
HIMYD was originally titled “How I Met Your Father”, so the new title suggests the creators are trying to differentiate the two shows and give it an entirely new spin. There is even a new creator coming on board for this new project, Emily Spivey, who has a promising background and will add a unique input to the series.
Not much is known about the spinoff yet, but we can expect a female’s perspective this time around. It’ll be interesting to see how the creators play around with this idea and completely flip the narration to be one of a woman, something viewers are going to have to get used to. They will have to learn to detach themselves from Ted Mosby and the voice inside his head that we are all too familiar with and has become an icon associated with the show. Perhaps this is where the female creator comes in. Spivey is known for producing “Up All Night”, but she has been on the staff of SNL for a little less than a decade as well. She has certainly made a name for herself and adding onto her professional experience she recently took on the job for ABC’s “Modern Family” as a writer for the show, proving that she has had sufficient experience with writing for a humor sitcom. Spivey has a large enough credibility to give the audience some hope for a successful spinoff for the new show.
In trying to imagine what this new show will be like, one must take several factors into account. This includes the protagonist, the rest of the characters, the setting. Ted Mosby is a distinct narrator and it is clear that he is intent on finding “The One” and believes she is out there. What if the female character doesn’t search for her soul mate the same way Ted does? What would be even more interesting is if they made her an “anti love” figure. That way, maybe it’s the father that changes her mentality and makes her fall in love with him. That’s a plot twist I think the writers could do a lot with.
HIMYM has a perfect gang of five and getting used to a new group of people may be rough, and they would have to be really likeable to break through to die hard fans. Neil Patrick Harris makes the show for many, and his promiscuous personality and distinct “legen-wait for it-dary” vocabulary will be hard to replace. Hopefully, there will be a different dynamic that may stray away from the couple that has always been there (Lily and Marshall), the unexpected couple (Robin and Barney), and of course Ted, the protagonist. There may not be a couple within the new gang at all, or maybe there will be 3 girls and 2 guys, instead of 3 guys and 2 girls. These are just some of the details that can make or break the new series.
And to go on to the most important anticipated changes: the plot. There are many ways for the writers to approach this. They may show the “kids” in the beginning so as to introduce the story of how the mother met their dad, which was the approach HIMYM took. Or maybe we won’t even meet the children until much later. Both can be effective as long as the execution is clever. HIMYM is also a big user of flashbacks, and it will be interesting to see if HIMYD will use this strategy as well in unveiling the journey of the mother. Follow Craig Thomas and Carter Bays on Twitter for future leaks on the new sitcom, How I Met Your Dad!
Works Cited:
Kepler, Adam W. “‘How I Met Your Mother’ to Get a CBS Spinoff.” New York Times. The New York Times Company, 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
“That HIMYM Spin-off How I Met Your Dad Is Actually happening.” Metro News. Associated Newspapers Limited, 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Remling, Amanda. “‘How I Met Your Dad’ Rumors: ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Spinoff Pilot Ordered; Creators Tweet Clues About New ‘Father’ Show.” International Business Times. IBT Media Inc., 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
