Hands up who watches How I Met Your Mother? That looks like
pretty much most of you. I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that we’re in the 9th
and final season. The drawn out build up to Robin and Barney’s wedding is in
full force, interspersed with brief appearances by the woman we now know is the
mother. Eventually Ted will meet her, they’ll fall in love, live happily ever
after, the series will end, and we’ll all have to find something else to watch.
Fortunately, the good folks over at CBS are talking to the
HIMYM producers to get that fixed up for us. What’s their concept? How I Met
Your Father. This new (yet strangely familiar feeling) show would follow the
journey of one young girl in NYC hanging out with her tight group of buddies
(probably four or five of them) in a bar as she embarks on a quest to find love
and the future father of her children.
Even better; the concept aims to set the new gang in Maclaren’s;
the bar frequented by Ted and co. Better still? This setting means that the new
gang may at times interact with the old gang, which means two things. One; we’ll
still get to see the antics of Barney, Marshall, etc. and Two; they’ll have to make
the new gang different, rather than gender-swapped carbon copies of the old
gang, which gives room for exciting new possibilities.
Let’s not get too carried away here though, it is still only
in the talking phase; there’s no guarantee it will actually happen, it’s just
an idea. Is it even a good idea?
Some would say yes; HIMYM is a great show, but putting it
from a woman’s perspective will make it more accessible to women looking for
love, whilst giving insight into that for the guys. Creating a spinoff will
keep the show in our lives, which is great, as we like the show. A new gang
gives us the possibility of seeing a group of friends who aren’t the same basic
characters as in assorted other shows about 20-something friends (for example
FRIENDS, which has many a parallel to HIMYM).
It could be great, and of all the
ways to spinoff from the show, this does seem like a good one.
But then there are the nopes. Some reckon the show is
starting to drag, it’s getting weaker as it leads to an end. If that’s true,
can the spinoff rejuvenate, or will it, like most spinoffs, be a less good
shadow that will inevitably be forgotten? It’ll be hard to truly make the show
keep its same voice and momentum. And can they get a new gang as fun and
accessible as the current gang? Is it simply time for a new kind of show to
step in to replace the void that HIMYM will leave?
Personally, I’m all for How I Met Your Father. It might be a
total flop as many spinoffs are, but what if it isn’t? It’s got to be worth a
try, right?
Words by Ari Carrington
