‘How I Met Your Father’ Fails to Capture the Magic of Its Predecessor

Sandra Miska

It’s been under eight years since the finale of “How I Met Your Mother,” and now the recent but classic sitcom is being reinvented with a gender-swapped remake, the aptly-titled Hulu series “How I Met Your Father.” Former teen idol Hilary Duff takes over from Josh Radnor as the lovelorn NYC single at the center of this show, Sophie, a photographer determined to find her true love, even if it means going on 88 Tinder dates in a single year.

If the concept for this sequel sounds familiar, that’s because there were originally plans for a series called “How I Met Your Dad,” from “How I Met Your Mother” creators, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, around the time of the original show ending, but the pilot starring Greta Gerwig wasn’t picked up. But it is doubtful that this is something that the actress and filmmaker, who has gone on to be nominated for multiple Academy Awards, laments over today. This new project, from creators Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, comes from a fresh script, although certain aspects of it, such as repeated references to Tinder and lame viral videos, the hottest dating app in 2014, feel dated.

Kim Catrall is cast as older Sophie, the narrator whom we see telling her son the tale of how she met and fell in love with “The One.” While Bob Saget, the narrator from “How I Met Your Mother,” was never on screen, it’s the opposite here. Older Sophie is shown in 2050 chatting with her off-screen son via FaceTime, and there is good reason for this. Sophie has a more diverse group of suitors than Ted Mosby did, so to show what her future son looks like might give away the climax of the series. 

The pilot begins with Sophie meeting two potential fathers in an Uber pool. Jesse (Christopher Lowell), the driver, is on his way to take his best friend, Sid (Suraj Sharma), to the bar that Sid owns so he can propose to his girlfriend, Hannah (Ashley Reyes). Sophie is on the way to meet marine biologist Ian (Daniel Augustin), Tinder date number 88. Despite all the past duds, she is optimistic about Ian, even going as far to say he’s the man she wants to spend her life with, as they have been able to bond over text while he works in Australia. The date goes well, but he drops the bomb that he is moving Down Under permentantly for work. Not only that, but his plane leaves that night. Sophie is crushed, but she decides afterwards to chase him down at the airport. Only problem is, she accidentally switched phones with Sid in the Uber. She goes to his bar, crashing what turns into Sid’s engagement party with her roommate-best friend Valentina (Francia Raisa) and Valentina’s new boyfriend, Brit Charlie (Tom Ainsley).

In a more cynical show, one would expect to see Sophie discover that Ian’s Australia story was a ruse to avoid commitment, but he is indeed at the airport, where he tells her that he doesn’t think a long-distance relationship will work, especially so early on in their knowing each other. Heartbroken, Sophie at least has her new friends, and she reveals to her son that one of the men she met that night is his father. This seemingly narrows the candidates down to four, but in a later episode it is revealed that she also bumped into Drew (Josh Peck), the handsome and charming vice-principal at the school Jesse teaches music part time, at Sid’s engagement party.

An advantage “How I Met Your Father” has with being on a streaming service instead of a broadcast network is that the writers can get away with more risque humor, throwing around phrases like “crushing dick” and having gags revolve around vibrating sex toys. This show hits its stride by episode three, and in the early episodes, Ainsley gets the biggest laughs as Charlie, who gave up generational wealth to follow Valentina to New York and is a fish out of water amongst “the poors.”

The show runs into a problem when it comes to keeping all of the characters occupied throughout each episode. While “How I Met Your Mother” had five main characters throughout its run, “How I Met Your Father” has six, plus Reyes in a recurring role (Sid and Hannah are in a long-distance relationship). The sixth character is Ellen (Tien Tran), Jesse’s adoptive sister who has recently moved to NYC after divorcing the only other lesbian in her small hometown. Like Charlie, she is adjusting to Big Apple life, and while Tran can be funny and endearing, she’s often the one left out in the cold playing second fiddle. The writers seem to have shoehorned her in for the sake of diversity instead of treating her as a fully fleshed out character.

It’s difficult to take a show that became a hit in 2005 and recapture its magic. Even if “How I Met Your Mother” was to debut today, it is unlikely that it would have the same impact, as most shows are more sophisticated than they were in the days when network television was still huge. Barney’s Bro Code, the memorable set of rules put forth by Neil Patrick Harris’ character, wouldn’t exactly be considered cutting-edge humor now in 2022, and “How I Met Your Father” doesn’t even have anything close to that. 

One of the biggest strengths of “How I Met Your Mother” was its cast, and the cast of “How I Met Your Father” isn’t at their level. Lowell is the only one with an impressive resume, having had supporting roles in “GLOW” and “Promising Young Woman,” but his character is mostly a sad sack here, still nursing his wounds over his failed marriage proposal to ex-girlfriend Meredith (Leighton Meester) that went viral in an embarrassing video. The writers will have us believe that such a video would make a man internet famous in 2022 to the point where he can’t go to the bar without being heckled.

While it’s extremely unlikely “How I Met Your Father” will live to see nine seasons like its predecessor, the endgame is never far from the viewer’s mind. Jesse is certainly set up to be the counterpart to Cobie Smulders’ Robin in the original series, with whom Ted ended up with in a roundabout way. Sophie and Jesse mostly lean on each other for support in the first four episodes. While he is certainly the safe bet for the eventual father, it will be interesting to see if “How I Met Your Father” can stick the landing.

“How I Met Your Father” episodes one and two begins streaming Jan. 18 on Hulu, with new episodes premiering every Tuesday.