credit: How I Met Your Father, from left to right: Jesse, Sophie, Valentina, Charlie, Sid, and Ellen
Hear me out before you shake your head in disbelief wondering if the original was any good and how the spin-off could possibly be any worse.
Despite one of the most hated series finales in TV history, How I Met Your Mother ran for almost a decade and left us with running gags, defining pop culture moments (Robin’s “Let’s Go to the Mall”), and characters who were flawed but had depth. We also learned a life lesson or two. Through ups and downs, we supported Lily’s and Marshall’s long-term relationship, Robin’s career ambitions to become a news broadcaster, and Ted’s never-ending search for love.
We even moved to the edges of our sofas when Barney started having real relationships instead of constant hookups, so he could work on his commitment issues. (Even though some of his jokes are unbearable from a 2022 perspective due to the blatant misogyny, his wild single life provided many laughs).
To cut to the chase: What’s my problem with the spin-off?
5. Only a Copy?
Much like its predecessor, this series follows hopeless romantic Sophie (Hilary Duff) and her friends through New York in search of her soulmate (or the father of her son). (They even kept Lily’s and Marshall’s flat to keep the nostalgia going!).
Using an old concept that might’ve been better left in the 2010s, the producers seem to have tried to microwave the previous success story by switching the genders and creating a diverse clique around the main character in hopes of making a quick buck.
Although the spin-off presents an ethnically diverse group of friends (unlike HIMYM), some plot lines feel forced and rely heavily on stereotypes rather than ignore them.
4. Characters
Apart from being walking clichés, the characters are poorly written, show little to no development, and make the most boring jokes.
Everything seems a little artificial and the show lacks the running gags that HIMYM was able to host so successfully (such as Slapsgiving).
Sophie comes across as bland, unimaginative, and lacks a backbone (e.g. when she changes her entire 30th birthday theme to appeal to a rebound).
Sophie’s best friend Valentina (Francia Raisa) is portrayed as promiscuous and the constant references to her being Mexican pigeonhole her. After returning from London, she brings Charlie (Tom Ainsley), a dull-witted British aristocrat, home.
Jesse (Chris Lowell) is a cynical and struggling musician who lives with optimistic Sid (Suraj Sharma), who grew up in India and wanted to become a doctor because of his parents. Grossed out by the sight of blood, he became a bartender, providing the new group of friends with drinks.
Ellen (Tien Tran), Jesse’s adopted sister from Vietnam, constantly emphasizes her status as a lesbian, divorced ex-farmer from the countryside and is repeatedly shown hitting on women. Generally, the series succeeds in making Ellen’s homosexuality her entire personality.
Consequently, the intended inclusivity of the series is marred by stereotypes and clichés.
credit: How I Met Your Father, pictured: Sophie and Jesse
3. Friendship
The friendship dynamic is non-existent. When the season starts, the friends have just met in pairs, and the audience gets to know the characters as they’re introduced to each other. Since they have almost no memories together, their interactions are awkward and slow, guided by stale topics.
The only flashback in the show is Jesse’s failed marriage proposal, presented as this traumatizing (“hilarious” for viewers) incident that he must overcome.
Robin was the only newbie to enter the OG, and old college stories were often recounted.
How I Met Your Father lacks those connections and displays poor dialogue, while the chemistry between the cast falls so extremely short that one wonders if they ever hung out together after work.
credit: How I Met Your Father, pictured: Sid and Ellen
2. Forced laughter?
This show’s reliance on laugh track is frankly ancient and gives it an early 2000s vibe, which would be fine if it wasn’t trying to represent 2022. Furthermore, since this is a sitcom, I find it concerning that it isn’t funny at all; I haven’t even chuckled. I told you the jokes were lame. Don’t believe me? Give it a try!
1. Zeitgeist?
Positively, the show highlights Millenial struggles with online dating via Tinder and the financial issues we typically face in the 2020s. However, that is not enough to make it a good show, as it fails to accurately depict life in 2022.
In one episode they go to a club and I kept wondering: where are the masks? The COVID panic? The allusions to the pandemic? If this series is supposed to be nostalgic for the 2020s, they should have included all the bad stuff, because surprise surprise: our decade was and still is marked by COVID-19.
Maybe that’s why the disco scenes without mentioning the pandemic left me so baffled. Additionally, I believe they could have made good jokes based on what we were experiencing at that time: think toilet paper mania.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the series is a watered-down variation of the beloved original, which although introducing modern challenges of finding love and a diverse cast, drastically fails in entertainment and relatability factors. (Kim Catrall’s wine-drinking Future Sophie is the only reason I’d watch the second season).
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