#ThrowbackThursday: How I Met Your Mother Review

How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS. The premise of the show is a father telling his children the story of how he met their mother, narrating stories of love and friendship throughout his years, heavily focusing on his core friend group that includes Josh Radnor (himself), Jason Segel (as Marshall), Alyson Hannigan (as Lily), Neil Patrick Harris (as Barney), and Cobie Smulders (as Robin). The show is narrated by Bob Saget and takes place in New York City, which is pretty central to the show.

I remember the large cult following that surrounded this show as it aired between Sept 2005 and March 2014 (starting 14 years ago and finishing 5 years ago now) and the years following. So it's not surprising that this show has won 19 awards, including the People’s Choice for Favorite Network TV Comedy in 2012. HIMYM started with high likings from fans and critics alike, but the series finale was largely disliked and hotly contested. Still, the show today boasts an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Overall, HIMYM is a comfortable show that can make you laugh and really appreciate friendships that last throughout the years. It’s easy to watch, easy to relate to, and makes you feel a variety of emotions. The core friend group of the show has a fun dynamic and everyone has their place. It's fun to watch them go through their lives, juggling things we all can relate to like getting a new job, moving to a new city, falling in love, being there for your friends, etc.

The characters are all quirky and likeable in their own ways, even though they are mostly very average and very white. There is a large lack of diversity and critics have called out racial and gender stereotypes portrayed by the show. I also personally really dislike the main character, Ted Mosby. He just really wants to fall in love and get married, but his “woe-is-me” attitude is very annoying and he always does things that make situations awkward and make me cringe. All of the main characters are pretty flawed actually, which in turn does make them more realistic.

The structure of the show is interesting, for the most part being a linear storyline retelling of the past, but there a lot of flashbacks thrown throughout--which was at times a bit confusing, maybe on purpose. There is a lot of funny banter between characters as well as comical situations. Fans have lots of theories about this show, particularly stemming from the fact that it is indeed a story told by Ted Mosby, completely biased by Ted’s point of view.

Overall, HIMYM is an enjoyable and entertaining show to watch. You can stream it on Hulu nowadays, perfect for binging for loyal fans and newcomers alike.