Why I’m Giving How I Met Your Father a Chance
Image Courtesy: CNN
The year is 2022, and it feels like we’ve exhausted every genre, trope, or original concept for media out there. We live in an age of glorified reboots, most of which are always missing the actor that we want to see back on the screen and whose plotlines have been rewritten for younger audiences as opposed to those who grew up with the show. With that said, I have been faithfully tuning in to How I Met Your Father (HIMYF), a spin-off of the beloved sitcom How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM), which aired for nine seasons from 2005 to 2014. My middle school self enjoyed every bit of protagonist Ted Mosby’s retellings to his kids how he and the elusive mother came to be—finishing homework and falling asleep to Hey Beautiful (the show’s theme song) was a sacred ritual. Who then is more qualified to judge the 2022 Hilary Duff version of one of the best sitcoms of the 2000s?
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
The first thing this reboot had going for it was its cast. I have been and always will be a huge Hilary Duff fan, as every project she is part of feels nostalgic somehow. How I Met Your Father is no exception. Duff is wonderful in the lead role of a 20-something hopeless romantic in New York, and you find yourself rooting for her even if you can predict precisely how it will turn out (which you can, because it's a sitcom). The adorable Christopher Lowell joins her in what is shaping out to be the equivalent of the Ted and Robin dynamic from the original show. What I will say for each of the cast and characters of HIMYF is that while they are reminiscent of old ones fans know and love, there are no repeats or embarrassing attempts to recreate what already exists. Viewers get to appreciate different quirks and nuances from each of the main cast.
Image Courtesy: NBC News
Dating in 2005 was simply not the same as dating today. The pilot episode of HIMYF opens with Duff’s Sophie catching an Uber on the way to a Tinder date. There are many relevant plot devices even within the first fifteen minutes that will make any viewer cringe or shake their head at the accuracy of the absolute and utter struggle it is to find a genuine connection in 2022. But 88 failed first dates won’t keep Sophie down. She’s on the search for a soulmate, a lot like the rest of us.
Image Courtesy: NPR
Credit is given where credit is due. The little details of HIMYM that made it so wildly popular, such as the retelling of a love story from the future, the iconic apartment and bar, and the most gorgeous cover of Hey Beautiful that has ever graced my ears playing at the start of each episode are still present in this alternate universe where Hilary Duff is Ted Mosby.
Image Courtesy: Strike FSU
I liken original shows and movies to lightning in a bottle— what’s been done can never be recreated, but I don’t see any harm in reminiscing, and paying homage to some truly great work. It also helps that once you finish the latest episode of HIMYF, Hulu queues HIMYM next, and before you know it, you’re drifting asleep to the bridge of Hey Beautiful.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
Strike Out,
Writer: Addy Crosby
Editor: Karina McCarthy
Graphic Designer: Andrea Wolfe
Tallahassee