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How I Met Your Mother

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How I Met Your Mother
File:Howimetyourmother.jpg
GenreSitcom
Comedy-drama
Created byCarter Bays
Craig Thomas
Starring
Narrated byBob Saget
Opening theme"Hey, Beautiful" by The Solids
Country of originTemplate:TVUS
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes186 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesBays & Thomas Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 19, 2005 (2005-09-19) –
present (present)

How I Met Your Mother (Often abbreviated to HIMYM) is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. The 2013–14 season will be the show's ninth and final season.[1] The series follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his group of friends in Manhattan. As a framing device, Ted, in the year 2030, recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting their mother.

The show was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, who also serve as the show's executive producers and frequent writers. The series was loosely inspired by their friendship when they both lived in New York City.[2] There have currently only been four directors among the show's 184 episodes: Pamela Fryman (172 episodes), Rob Greenberg (7 episodes), Michael Shea (4 episodes), and Neil Patrick Harris (1 episode).

Known for its unique structure and eccentric humor, How I Met Your Mother has received positive reviews throughout most of its run and has gained a cult following over the years. The show has been nominated for 24 Emmy Awards, winning seven. In 2010, Alyson Hannigan won the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress. In 2012, seven years after its premiere, the series won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Network TV Comedy, and Neil Patrick Harris won the award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor.

The ninth and final season started on September 23, 2013.[3]

Production

How I Met Your Mother was inspired by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas' idea to "write about our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York," where they previously worked as writers for Late Show with David Letterman, among others.[4] The two drew from their friendship in creating the characters. Ted is based loosely on Bays, and Marshall and Lily are based loosely on Thomas and his wife.[5][6] Thomas' wife Rebecca was initially reluctant to have a character based on her, but agreed if they could get Alyson Hannigan to play her. Hannigan was looking to do more comedy work, and was available.[5] Josh Radnor and Jason Segel, who were cast as Ted and Marshall, respectively, were unknowns, though Segel had been a cast member on the short-lived Freaks and Geeks. The role of Barney was initially envisioned as a "John Belushi-type character"[7] before Neil Patrick Harris won the role after being invited to an audition by the show's casting director Megan Branman.[8] Pamela Fryman invited Bob Saget to be the voiceover narrator, Future Ted, explaining to him that the show would be like The Wonder Years but "kind of into the future".[9]

After what Bays and Thomas described as "a pretty famous actress" turned down the role of Robin, they cast Cobie Smulders, also an unknown. Bays and Thomas later said, "Thank God we did for a million reasons... when Ted’s seeing her for the first time, America’s seeing her for the first time — the intriguingness of that propelled the show going forward and kept the show alive".[10] Although Ted is initially smitten by Robin in the pilot, it is quickly established at the end of the episode that she is not the mother, which according to Thomas was done so that the show would be different from the "will they or won't they" Ross and Rachel storyline on Friends.[11]

According to an Entertainment Weekly article, the writers adopted quirks of each main actor and incorporated them into their characters. This includes Neil Patrick Harris's skills with magic, Alyson Hannigan's absent-mindedness while pregnant, and Josh Radnor's intellectualism.[12]

MacLaren's, a bar in the middle of New York, in which some of the show is set, is loosely based on four favorite bars of Bays, Thomas and others from the Late Show staff. They include: McGee's, a Midtown tavern near the Ed Sullivan Theatre; McHale's, a legendary Hell's Kitchen bar which closed in 2006; Chumley's, a since-closed historic Greenwich Village pub; and Fez, another closed bar on the Upper West Side.[13] McGee's had a mural that Bays and Thomas both liked and wanted to incorporate into the show.[14] The name for the bar is from Carter Bays' assistant, Carl MacLaren; the bartender in the show is also named Carl.[15]

Each episode is usually shot over three days in the Los Angeles-based Soundstage Studio 22[16] and features upwards of 50 scenes with quick transitions and flashbacks. However, the "Pilot" episode was filmed at CBS Radford.[17] The laugh track is later created by recording an audience being shown the final edited episode. Thomas claims that shooting before a live audience would be impossible because of the structure of the show and the numerous flashforwards in each episode and because doing so "would blur the line between 'audience' and 'hostage situation'."[18] Later seasons started filming in front of an audience on occasion when smaller sets are used.

The theme song is a portion of "Hey Beautiful" by The Solids, of which Bays and Thomas are members. Episodes from Season 1 generally started with the opening credits. A cold opening has been used since Season 2. Viewers then occasionally see Ted's children on a couch and hear him talking to them, telling the story of how he met their mother. Alternatively, scenes from previous episodes or shots of New York City with Ted narrating over the top are shown. Thomas has explicitly said Future Ted is an unreliable narrator since he is trying to tell a story that happened over 20 years earlier;[19] this has been a plot point in several episodes such as "The Goat", "Oh Honey", "How I Met Everyone Else" and "The Mermaid Theory". Nevertheless, Thomas has also emphasized maintaining a coherent and consistent universe, and trying to avoid continuity errors, based on his experiences of being a fan of other shows.[20]

A scene directly relating to the identity of the mother, involving Ted's future children, was filmed near the beginning of Season 2 for the show's eventual series finale.[21] This was primarily done because the teenage actors portraying them will be adults by the time the final season is shot.[22]

During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, How I Met Your Mother shut down production; but, when the strike ended, the show returned on March 17, 2008, with nine new episodes.[23] A change in timeslot was also announced, to 8:30 pm ET/7:30 pm CT, flip-flopping from the summer schedule with The Big Bang Theory.[24] CBS renewed the show for a fourth season on May 14, 2008,[25] which premiered on September 22, 2008.[26]

In September 2008, it was announced that Lifetime Television had purchased the right to rerun How I Met Your Mother at a rate of about $725,000 per episode.[27] The four-year syndication contract stipulated that the studio deliver at least 110 half-hour episodes by the year 2010, and allowed for up to eight seasons of the show. At the end of the fourth season only 88 episodes had been produced, and a further 22 episodes were required, ensuring that there would be a fifth season.[28] On May 19, 2009, the fifth-season renewal was announced.[29] On May 20, 2009, CBS announced that How I Met Your Mother would again be aired at 8 pm, leading into the new comedy Accidentally on Purpose. On January 12, 2010, the show hit the milestone of its 100th episode. It was also announced that the series would return for a sixth season on CBS.[30] In response to being syndicated, Thomas said, "We're thrilled that it will live on in other forms," and they were proud of the show and it was great to see the strong demand.[31]

On September 13, 2010, reruns of the series began airing on local U.S. broadcast television stations and on Chicago-based cable superstation WGN America. Featured in these airings are vanity cards previously unseen in the CBS and Lifetime airings due to marginalized credit sequences used by the two networks. Shown in between the closing credits and the production company credits, these vanity cards show portions of "The Bro Code", a list of rules frequently referenced by Harris' character, Barney Stinson, on how men should interact with each other, with an emphasis on activities involving pursuing members of the opposite sex. The opening theme song for the syndicated reruns is also slightly edited, running shorter and not using all the pictures seen in the opening montage that runs on DVD and the original CBS broadcasts. The episodes are also slightly edited, leaving out a few details.

One of the series' ongoing traditions involves giving guest roles to actors from various Joss Whedon productions, many of whom co-starred with Hannigan on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Bays attributes this to their being "huge fans" and to those casts representing "a big talent pool".[32]

Another tradition involves the use of euphemisms for culturally sensitive issues. These include "eating a sandwich" for smoking marijuana, "thumbs up" for giving the middle finger, as well as "playing the bagpipes" for loud, raucous sex acts. These euphemisms, among others, have been used extensively throughout the show and have even been used as central plot themes, such as the episode "Benefits" in Season 4.

On March 4, 2011, CBS announced that the show had been renewed for two more seasons,[33] with the seventh season premiering with back-to-back episodes on September 19, 2011.[3]

On July 27, 2011, it was announced that the FX channel had picked up the show for syndication. FX began airing the show on September 5, 2011.[34]

Although cast members had previously stated that the show would not run longer than eight seasons,[35] a ninth season was secured in December 2012 amidst tense negotiations with the studios and the actors – especially Jason Segel, who had wanted to move on to other ventures after the eighth season.[36][37] During these negotiations, Bays and Thomas originally approached the eighth season as if it was the show's last year, but also had a "Plan B" if the show was renewed.[38] After a ninth and final season was secured, plans went ahead to secretly cast the titular future mother, with Cristin Milioti eventually winning the role, beating out at least two other contenders.[10] Milioti first appeared in the last scene in the season eight finale "Something New", and will be a regular cast member in the show's final season.[39]

Cast

The main cast at a celebration of the 100th episode of the series. From left: Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan and Josh Radnor.
  • Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby, an architecture teacher and the central character of the series. Ted moved to New York City with his friends Marshall and Lily after graduating from Wesleyan University. In New York he met Barney (who he met at the urinal of MacLaren's) and Robin, who became part of the group. Ted is on a quest for happiness and "The One", the woman he will marry. Ted is the more mature of the group, preferring more elegant and high class interests than the ones his friends possess. He goes to great lengths to profess his love to the women in his life, but they all falter after awhile. Despite these qualities, Ted often acts immature, such as partaking in wild activities with Barney. He is a big Star Wars fan and is often heard quoting the films, and frequently mentions his favorite poet, the Chilean Pablo Neruda.[40] Ted is from Shaker Heights, Ohio, but considers himself a true New-Yorker, showing a massive hatred for the neighbouring New Jersey. He does eventually meet the love of his life who is first seen in the season finale of season 8.
  • Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen, Ted's best (often disputed by Barney) friend. Marshall is married to Lily, with whom he has been in love since his freshman year of college, and they serve as an inspiration for Ted to find his true love. Marshall, like Ted, was born outside of New York (St. Cloud, Minnesota), but considers the city his home. His dream to be an environmental lawyer was halted when he did not have enough cash to pay for his wedding to Lily, so he worked with Barney at GNB, and regretted every moment of it.
  • Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky, a news anchor and Ted's ex-girlfriend. Robin emigrated from Canada to take a job in a news station and met Ted at MacLaren's, setting him on his journey to find "The One". Though her relationship with Ted did not work out, they continue to remain close friends. Her Canadian background is a source of many jokes from her friends, particularly from Barney. She smokes cigars and drinks scotch, causing Barney to fall for her. They later embark on a relationship that eventually sees them marry. In season two it is revealed that, as a teenager, she was a pop star under the stage name Robin Sparkles and had a hit song named "Let's Go to the Mall". Later she went grunge under the name Robin Daggers. Her full name, Robin Charles Sherbatsky, Jr. is revealed in the season four episode "Happily Ever After", explained by the fact that her father was disappointed that he did not have a son.
  • Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, the holder of an unknown position at Goliath National Bank (which is a constant theme throughout the show) and Ted's "bro". Due to his father leaving him as a young child, Barney has abandonment issues and clings to his friends. He is a serial playboy, using his wealth to seduce women for sex with no intentions of engaging in a relationship. Barney is one of two of the group who was actually from New York (Lily being the second). He falls for Robin and the pair are engaged and despite the story getting up to about 56 hours before the wedding, it has already been confirmed by the writers that the two will indeed tie the knot sometime in Season 9.
  • Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin, a kindergarten teacher and Marshall's wife. Lily is the group's moderator, always there to resolve a conflict or to offer a shoulder to cry on. Barney goes to her as a confidante, though she is terrible at keeping secrets. She has also been revealed to be very manipulative, often coaxing her friends behind the scenes to get her desired results. She met Marshall in college and they have been together ever since, breaking up only once. Though coming off as sweet and cute, Lily is quite fierce and sexually ravenous, and has desires similar to those of Barney. During Season 7, she becomes pregnant and has Marshall's and her first child, Marvin Waitforit Eriksen. Like Barney, she is a true New Yorker.
  • Cristin Milioti as The Girl With The Yellow Umbrella / The Mother (season 9),[39] the future wife of Ted Mosby, The Mother.
  • Bob Saget (voice only) as Future Ted Mosby (uncredited), Ted's future self telling his children the story in the year 2030 of how he met their mother.

Season synopsis

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In the year 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) sits his daughter and son down to tell them the story of how he met their mother.

The series begins in 2005 with Ted (Josh Radnor) as a single, 27-year-old architect living with his two best friends from his college years; Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), a law student, and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten teacher and aspiring artist. Lily and Marshall have been dating for almost nine years when Marshall finally proposes. Their engagement causes Ted to think about marriage and finding his soul mate, much to the disgust of his self-appointed best friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), whom he met in the restroom at a bar four years earlier. Barney is a serial womanizer who concocts elaborate con games, usually involving costumes and fake identities, designed to bed women, only to lose interest in them immediately afterward.

Ted begins his search for his perfect soul mate and meets an ambitious young reporter from Canada, Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), with whom he quickly falls in love. Robin, however, does not want to rush into a relationship and the two decide to be friends. Future Ted reveals that Robin is not the mother after referring to her as "Aunt Robin".

Ted begins dating a baker, Victoria (Ashley Williams), whom he meets at a friend's wedding, causing Robin to become jealous, and realize she does have feelings for Ted. Victoria, having been offered a fellowship in pastry-making, moves to Germany and she and Ted try a long-distance relationship. Once Ted learns Robin has feelings for him, he tells her he broke up with Victoria, even though he has not. They almost have sex when Victoria calls and Robin answers, mistaking Ted's phone for her own. Ted and Victoria then break up and an angry Robin distances herself from Ted, but they eventually make up and decide to date.

Meanwhile, Lily begins to wonder if she's missed any opportunities because of her relationship with Marshall, and decides to pursue an art fellowship in San Francisco, breaking up with Marshall in the process. The season ends with Ted coming back to the apartment, the morning after spending the night with Robin for the first time, to find Marshall sitting in the rain with Lily's engagement ring, devastated by their sudden break up.

Season 2

Ted and Robin are now a couple; meanwhile, a heartbroken Marshall tries to continue his life without Lily. After enduring numerous emotional breakdowns, Marshall's friends step in, and Barney, using sly catch phrases and pick up lines, tries to get Marshall back in the dating game. Later, Lily, after finally realizing she is not meant to be an artist, returns to New York. She is reunited with Marshall, and their engagement is reinstated. When Robin refuses to go to the mall or explain why, Marshall suspects she is married, and Barney suspects she has performed in adult films. They bet on it, appointing Lily as "Slap Bet Commissioner." Lily oversees the search for the truth, as they discover that Robin was a teenage pop star named "Robin Sparkles", and Marshall eventually earns the right to slap Barney five times whenever he wants to. It is revealed that Barney has a gay half-brother named James (Wayne Brady) and, unaware that his mother lied to him, believes that Bob Barker is his father. As a result of this he takes a trip to California to be a contestant on The Price is Right to meet his "father". While on the show, Barney wins all of the prizes and gives them to Lily and Marshall as a 'happy early wedding' present.

In the season finale, Ted reveals to Barney that he and Robin have been broken up for some time due to their conflicting views on marriage and children. They did not tell anyone, in order to avoid taking attention away from Lily and Marshall's wedding. The season ends with Barney being excited at the prospect of he and Ted being single guys on the town again. Barney's final words are "this is going to be legen- wait for it...".

Season 3

Barney begins the season with the word, "-dary!" Robin returns from a trip to Argentina with her new boyfriend, Gael (Enrique Iglesias), and Ted must adjust to life as just her friend, while watching Robin and Gael fawning over each other. Marshall and Lily decide to move out on their own, falling in love with a place they cannot afford. Robin learns of Lily's bad credit rating due to her compulsive shopping for designer brands, and forces Lily to tell Marshall. Despite this, they are able to finally secure their dream apartment, only to discover it's in a bad location and more poorly constructed than they thought (the floor is tilted). Barney is slapped for the third time on Thanksgiving, which Marshall dubs "Slapsgiving."

Ted tells his children he met their mother through a story concerning her yellow umbrella. He finds the umbrella at a club and takes it home after attending a St. Patrick's Day party where his future wife was, although they did not meet. Ted attempts to woo Stella (Sarah Chalke), a dermatologist he sees to remove an embarrassing butterfly tattoo. This culminates in a memorable "two-minute date," which incorporates small talk, dinner, a movie, coffee, two cab rides, and a goodnight kiss, all within two minutes. Robin sleeps with Barney after he comforts her following a break-up with a past Canadian love; Ted is infuriated, and decides to stop being friends with Barney. Meanwhile, an unknown woman begins to sabotage Barney's attempts to hook up. His saboteur is revealed to be Abby (Britney Spears), Stella's receptionist, with a vendetta against him for not calling her after they had sex.

In the season finale, Ted gets into a car accident and ends up in hospital, Subsequently Barney gets hit by a bus on the way to visit him and ends up receiving treatment in the same hospital. Ted realizes Barney really cares about him and they renew their friendship. It is revealed Barney has true feelings for Robin, while Ted proposes to Stella in an arcade.

Season 4

Stella says yes to Ted's proposal. Robin takes a new job in Japan, but quickly resigns and returns to New York to attend Ted's wedding, after realizing how much she misses her friends. Stella leaves Ted at the altar to get back together with Tony (Jason Jones), the father of her daughter. Barney struggles with his feelings for Robin as his company shifts him to the management team of a new acquisition, Goliath National Bank (GNB), where Marshall has accepted a position.

Marshall and Lily move to their new apartment and debate over whether or not they're ready to have children. Robin becomes roommates with Ted and gets a job as an anchor for a 4 AM news show after Barney sends out her video resume. Ted and Robin decide to sleep together constantly so they will not fight over each other's bad co-living habits. Barney attempts to make them stop fighting to prevent this, revealing to Ted his love for Robin.

Ted finds out Lily has sabotaged all of his relationships with anyone she does not approve of and indirectly may have inspired his breakup with Robin. Robin and Ted end up talking about it, causing their friendship to begin moving toward a positive note. After Barney finally sleeps with his 200th woman (and rubs it in the face of the childhood bully who taunted him into pursuing it), he begins to question the purpose of the remainder of his life, leaving him more certain of his feelings for Robin.

Ted, while carrying the yellow umbrella, bumps into Stella and Tony. Tony later decides to visit him, sympathizing with Ted over his loss of Stella. Tony offers him a job as a professor of architecture, which Ted initially turns down.

In the season finale Robin finds out that Barney loves her, and initially refuses to commit to anything but a sex-only relationship; they seemingly end up together anyway. Ted decides that being an architect is leading nowhere, and finally decides instead to become a college professor. The finale ends with Ted preparing to teach his first class and Future Ted revealing to his children that one of the women in the class is their mother.

Season 5

Ted begins his job as a professor of architecture, standing in the middle of a classroom – although the mother was present, it turns out to be an economics class as he's in the wrong lecture hall. Barney and Robin have had a sexual relationship throughout the summer and Lily locks them in a room, forcing them to come to terms with their relationship. After a rough patch they decide to break up. Robin describes it instead as "two friends getting back together." Barney immediately goes back to his old ways, using the playbook to score with women. Throughout the season Barney and Robin show feelings of regret over their break-up.

Ted dates a graduate student named Cindy (Rachel Bilson) and it is revealed her roommate is his future wife. Robin meets Don Frank (Benjamin Koldyke), her new co-anchor on her 4 AM TV show. Though she initially dislikes him, the two start dating and eventually she moves in with him. At the end of the season they break up when Don takes a job in Chicago — a job which Robin had previously turned down to stay in New York with Don. Marshall uses his fourth slap on Barney, once again at Thanksgiving. Ted buys a house, which needs to be fixed up badly, but is later revealed to be the future home for Ted and his children.

Lily and Marshall are still unsure about having children. After watching four doppelgangers of their group (Lesbian Robin, Moustache Marshall, Stripper Lily and Mexican Wrestler Ted) they decide to leave the big decision to the universe's "infinite wisdom" and start trying when they have seen Barney's Doppelganger. In the season finale, Barney disguises himself to have sex with a girl from every country in the world, and Lily and Marshall mistake him for the final doppelganger. When Marshall finds out, he decides not to tell Lily, fearing she will want to wait even longer to have children. Lily eventually finds out and decides to wait. In the season finale, Lily thinks she sees Barney's doppelganger as a hot dog vendor, which causes the group to realize she is seeing what she wants to see, and play along. Eventually Barney agrees having babies is not a stupid idea and Lily and Marshall should go forth. The season ends with Lily asking Marshall to "put a baby in my belly".

Season 6

In the season opening, Ted sees Cindy again with a girl who he thinks to be her roommate, but she turns out to be Cindy's girlfriend whom she later marries. After prodding by Barney, Ted is eventually hired by GNB once more as the architect of the bank's new headquarters, which was originally scrapped in Season 4. However, he encounters opposition when he meets Zoey Pierson (Jennifer Morrison), a woman who is protesting against GNB for selecting a decrepit hotel, the Arcadian, to be torn down for the headquarters. Over the season, Ted's encounters with Zoey eventually blossom into a relationship after she divorces her rich husband, The Captain, but they break up as he puts his career and friends over love, leading to the Arcadian's demolition. Ted also resolves not to get back with Zoey.

Having agreed to conceive a baby at the end of the previous season, Lily and Marshall keep having sex, hoping she will get pregnant. Around Christmas, they have a false alarm and later seek fertility testing. The fertility specialist, Dr. Stangel, turns out to be Barney's doppelgänger, fulfilling their promise with the universe in regard to their decision to have a child. However, tragedy strikes when Marshall's father passes away, leaving him devastated and the gang comforting him. Marshall tries to get over his father's death and live again. Despite a pledge to Lily to work harder for their future, Marshall resigns from GNB and follows his dream of being an environmental lawyer. Zoey also hires him as her lawyer in what became a futile battle to save the Arcadian. At the end of the season, Lily reveals that she is pregnant.

Barney finally admits to the gang that Bob Barker is not his real father, especially when his mother decides to sell the house he grew up in and his brother, James, meets his own father. Loretta offers the identity of Barney's father on a sheet of paper, but Barney tears this up after realizing her efforts as a single mother. At the funeral of Marshall's father, Barney tells Loretta that he wants to see his father at last. The man, Jerry Whittaker (John Lithgow), is eventually revealed to be someone whom Barney thought was his uncle. Barney, who remembers Jerry as a fun-loving man, is disappointed after learning how Jerry has grown out of his free-wheeling ways. Although he tries to bring back Jerry's old behaviors, Barney admits that he wants to settle down someday. He is also introduced to Nora (Nazanin Boniadi), a co-worker of Robin, for whom he develops feelings. After an initial falling out, the two reconcile at the end of the season after Barney asks her for coffee.

Robin continues to work at her talk show, Come On, Get Up, New York!, but the presence of a new hyperactive co-host forces her to leave. She is accepted as a researcher in another network, World Wide News. The gang also discovers more of her past as the Canadian pop star Robin Sparkles. Robin also encounters a man (Michael Trucco) she has had a secret crush on since first seeing him when she and Ted were dating, and Future Ted hints that they will see more of him later.

Short scenes during the season premiere and finale feature a wedding set sometime in the future, where Ted will meet his future wife. In the final scene of the season, the groom is revealed to be Barney.

Season 7

Season seven opens with another flash forward, in which Ted is helping Barney get ready for his wedding to a still unknown bride. In the present, Marshall gets a job in environmental law while Lily progresses with her pregnancy. Barney proves to Nora that he can be a good boyfriend to her, while Robin is revealed to still have feelings for Barney. Robin takes court-mandated therapy, until her therapist Kevin (Kal Penn) becomes attracted to her, and is tempted to break his ethical code. He quits being her therapist and they start to date. Meanwhile, after a period of unemployment since leaving GNB, Marshall finally manages to land his dream job at a top environmental law firm.

After losing a bet with Marshall and Lily, Barney is forced to wear a tie with a duck pattern on it (nicknamed the 'Ducky Tie') which he hates for an entire year. After some weeks, he begs Marshall to allow him to take him off when he is due to meet Nora's parents and Marshall agrees on the condition that Barney has three slaps added to the one still remaining from the Slap Bet. Barney agrees, and Marshall uses two slaps immediately, leaving him with two remaining.

While reminiscing about Hurricane Irene, it is revealed that Lily and Marshall had conceived their baby in Barney's apartment, and Barney and Robin end up sleeping together. Barney and Robin both realize what they've done and decide to break up with their partners. However, Robin reneges on the deal, returning to Kevin and leaving Barney alone and heartbroken. Marshall and Lily decide they want to move to Long Island, after Lily's paternal grandparents offer them their house there. Eventually, they move back to the old apartment in New York City after realizing suburban life is not for them.

Robin gets a pregnancy scare at Thanksgiving and tells Barney the child is his, since she and Kevin had not slept with each other at that point. However, Robin's doctor informs her she cannot have children, which devastates her however she slowly comes to terms with the news. Kevin proposes to Robin; while she loves him and is ready for the commitment, she reveals she cannot have children and that she does not want children at all, so they break up. Soon after, Robin tells Ted everything that happened, only for him to profess his love for her, revealed to be the final time he declares his love for someone other than his future wife. Robin soon admits that she does not love Ted, and Marshall asks her to move out of Ted's apartment so Ted can finally move on with his love life. Ted gives his apartment to Lily and Marshall because he believes he cannot move on from Robin while living there, while he and Robin become estranged and do not speak for several weeks.

Barney starts dating Quinn, a stripper who performs under the name "Karma". When the gang finds out through Ted, who broke a "broath" from Barney to not tell anyone about her profession, they begin to meddle in their relationship. This is revealed to be a set-up, with Quinn acting like a crazy girlfriend and Barney being spineless toward her. Quinn ends up moving in with Barney, and Ted buys Quinn's old apartment. Robin is eventually offered the news anchor job she wanted (allowing her to move into another apartment) and subsequently achieves recognition after preventing a helicopter she is flying in from crashing.

Lily, worried that Marshall is too stressed with the birth close at hand, arranges for Barney to "kidnap" Marshall to a casino, where Marshall proceeds to get very drunk. Meanwhile, Ted decides to patch up his differences with Robin. Lily goes into labor and frantically calls Barney and Marshall. Marshall is still in the casino, drunk and has turned off his phone. When Barney learns Lily is in labor, he promises to help Marshall get to the hospital provided that Barney can choose the baby's middle name. After many attempts to escape the casino, Marshall arrives in time for Lily's delivery. Because of his promise to Barney, Marshall and Lily name their son Marvin Waitforit Eriksen. Ted and Robin's friendship also recovers as a result of Marvin's birth.

Marshall and Lily begin their new family with their baby. Barney proposes to Quinn through an airport fiasco after she tells him that she quit her job, and she accepts. Ted, after his conversation with Robin about his love life, calls Victoria to see if he still has a chance with her, even though she is getting married. She leaves her fiancé for Ted and wants to go off into the sunset with him. After some thinking, Ted eventually decides to go with her.

The season concludes with a flash forward to Barney's wedding that the season opened with, where Robin is revealed as Barney's bride.

Season 8

Season 8 opens with Ted visiting Robin on the day of her wedding to Barney, causing him to remember how he and Victoria ran away from her wedding to be together. The summer is spent with everyone enjoying their relationships (Ted and Victoria, Barney and Quinn, Lily and Marshall, Robin and Nick) however this leads into what is dubbed by Future Ted as "The Autumn of Break-Ups" as he and Victoria split up over his friendship with Robin, Barney and Quinn break up due to their inability to trust each other and Robin breaks up with Nick when she realizes how stupid he truly is.

Marshall and Lily attempt to get used to being parents, and this causes a brief estrangement from the gang as Baby Marvin takes up the majority of their time. However when Lily's father Mickey becomes Marvin's nanny, this frees the two up and they start spending more time with everyone. The Captain (the ex-husband of Ted's old girlfriend Zoey) contacts Ted, and although he worries about seeing him again it's revealed he actually wanted to offer Lily a job as an art consultant due to her pointing out a painting to him that made a huge profit for him. Lily accepts, happy to finally achieve her dream of having a job in the art industry while Marshall decides to apply to become a judge.

After their break-ups, Barney and Robin kiss during a visit to a strip club but she regrets it and later turns him down when he declares his feelings for her. She soon realizes Barney is the one for her, only for him to start dating her hated co-worker Patrice. Robin is upset when she learns Barney plans to ask Patrice to marry him – then finds out the "relationship" with Patrice was concocted by Barney to get Robin to realize her true feelings. Barney proposes and Robin says yes.

Marshall gets the case of a lifetime, defending the polluted Frog Lake. His ex-friend and opponent, Brad, pretends to be down and out so Marshall will offer him an interview at his firm. Brad, while in the firm's building, gets a look at all their strategies for the case. Brad was only pretending to be a bum and is actually on the opposing side to Marshall. Marshall ends up winning the case, and it is revealed that sometime in the future, Marshall applies to be a judge. However, despite winning the case, the bad publicity causes Marshall's firm to lose all their business and Marshall is reduced to sitting around the office doing nothing.

Meanwhile, Lily is becoming rapidly dissatisfied with the course of her life. She becomes exhausted with the continuous care of children between her son and her Kindergarten class. When The Captain calls, asking for Lily, she thinks he's calling for a crystal ashtray she had stolen from The Captain a year and a half prior because of an insult he had given her. However, he has called her to show her he had bought a painting she had recommended him, a painting he was now selling for a significant profit. Impressed by her ability to select appreciable art, he offers her a job as his art consultant, which she gladly accepts. When the Captain decides to move to Rome, he offers Lily the chance to come with him for a year. After some hesitation, she accepts with Marshall's blessing. Marshall and Lily plan for their move to Rome. However, just before Barney and Robin's wedding, Marshall is informed that his application to become a judge has been granted. He does not tell Lily because he is on vacation at the time, and believes that telling Lily about his judgeship is "face to face" news.

Ted (despite misgivings) briefly dates Jeannette, a girl who stalked him after he appeared on the cover of New York Magazine due to his design of GNB headquarters. He quickly realizes he's made a mistake and breaks up with her. Ted's feelings of loneliness grow, especially as he is now the only single member of the group, and he decides he is truly ready to settle down.

During the wedding preparations, Ted and Lily argue over if they should hire a DJ (Ted's choice) or a band (Lily's choice). In the end, Ted relents, and this turns out be a decision that changes his life, as Ted runs into Cindy (the former roommate of Ted's future wife) and she recommends her former roommate's band for Robin and Barney's wedding reception, after the original band Robin chose cancelled. It is revealed that "the mother" will play bass guitar in the band and Ted will encounter her again later that night at Farhampton train station.

As the wedding approaches, Robin feels doubts about marrying Barney leading her to share an emotional moment with Ted. This makes him realize he can't be around Barney and Robin after they're married (especially with Marshall and Lily leaving anyway) and decides to move to Chicago the day after the wedding.

The season concludes with everyone heading to Barney and Robin's wedding, while the mother of Ted's children (portrayed by Cristin Milioti) is revealed when she buys a ticket to Farhampton (where she will eventually meet Ted) while holding her yellow umbrella.

Season 9

The show was officially renewed for a ninth and final season in January 2013. [41] In May, producers confirmed that Cristin Milioti will be a series regular throughout the final season. As first reported by TV Line, Milioti's ascension marks the first time that the show has expanded its core roster.[39][42] Bays also stated to Entertainment Weekly that season nine "will feature some of the most non-linear episodes we've ever done".[43] The premiere episode is set to be aired on September 23, 2013.

Tie-ins

Books

Phone numbers

  • 1-877-987-6401 — During the Super Bowl XLIV telecast, a clip of Neil Patrick Harris was shown holding up a sign, ostensibly in the stadium's stands, with the words "Call Barney Stinson (CBS)" and this phone number.[49][50][51] In the episode "Rabbit or Duck", which aired the week after the Super Bowl, the same clip from the Super Bowl with Harris was shown with the number on the sign changed to a 555 number.[52] This occurrence became a plot point within the episode.[52] When the number is dialed, a message recorded by Harris in character as Barney is played. This number is no longer in service.[53]

Soundtrack

  • A soundtrack album entitled How I Met Your Music: Original Songs from the Hit Series was released digitally to iTunes on September 24, 2012.[54]

Nielsen ratings

Season Timeslot (ET) Season premiere Season finale TV season Rank Avg. viewers
(in millions)
1 Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 19, 2005 – May 15, 2006) September 19, 2005 May 15, 2006 2005–2006 #54[55] 9.47[55]
2 Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 18, 2006 – October 2, 2006)
Monday 8:00 P.M. (October 9, 2006 – May 14, 2007)
September 18, 2006 May 14, 2007 2006–2007 #61[56] 8.94[56]
3 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 24, 2007 – March 10, 2008)
Monday 8:30 P.M. (March 17, 2008 – May 19, 2008)
September 24, 2007 May 19, 2008 2007–2008 #70[57] 8.21[57]
4 Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 22, 2008 – May 18, 2009)
September 22, 2008 May 18, 2009 2008–2009 #49[58] 9.42[58]
5 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 21, 2009 – May 24, 2010) September 21, 2009 May 24, 2010 2009–2010 #42[59] 8.60[59]
6 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 20, 2010 – May 16, 2011) September 20, 2010 May 16, 2011 2010–2011 #48 8.79[60]
7 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 19, 2011 – May 14, 2012) September 19, 2011 May 14, 2012 2011–2012 #45[61] 9.67[61]
8 Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 24, 2012 – May 13, 2013) September 24, 2012 May 13, 2013 2012–2013 #42 9.02[62]
Viewership represented in a line graph

The highest viewed episode was the season 1 episode "The Pineapple Incident", watched by 12.3 million viewers. The lowest-viewed episode was the season 6 episode "Landmarks", watched by 6.4 million viewers, approximately 52% of the show's series high.

Season seven was the highest watched season overall and among the 18–49 adults, scoring a 4.1 rating in that sector[63] up from the 3.4 rating it had for season six.[64]

Awards and nominations

The show has been nominated for numerous awards, including an Emmy nod for Outstanding Comedy Series, beaten by 30 Rock. Stars Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris have each received acting accolades, with both receiving People's Choice Awards, and Harris receiving Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. The show's art direction, editing and cinematography have also been awarded.

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result
2006 Emmy Awards Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series How I Met Your Mother Won
Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series Won
People's Choice Awards Favorite New Television Comedy Nominated
ALMA Award Outstanding Script for a Television Drama or Comedy Gloria Calderon Kellett Nominated
Art Directors Guild Multi-Camera Television Series How I Met Your Mother Nominated
Casting Society of America, USA Best Comedy Pilot Casting Nominated
2007 Emmy Awards Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Won
Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actor: Comedy Nominated
Art Directors Guild Episode of a Multi-Camera Television Series How I Met Your Mother Nominated
GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Individual Episode Nominated
2008 Emmy Awards Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Won
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
People's Choice Awards Favorite Scene Stealing Star Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Show: Comedy How I Met Your Mother Nominated
Choice TV Actor: Comedy Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
ALMA Awards Outstanding Writing for a Television Series Gloria Calderon Kellett Won
Art Directors Guild Episode of a Multi-Camera Television Series How I Met Your Mother Nominated
2009 Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series How I Met Your Mother Won
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
People's Choice Awards Favorite Scene Stealing Guest Star Britney Spears Nominated
TCA Awards Outstanding Achievement in Comedy How I Met Your Mother Nominated
Individual Achievement in Comedy Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
Art Directors Guild Episode of a Multi-Camera Television Series How I Met Your Mother Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
2010 Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated
People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Comedy Actress Alyson Hannigan Won
Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit Nominated
Outstanding Art Direction For A Multi-Camera Series How I Met Your Mother Nominated
Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special Nominated
Art Directors Guild Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series Nominated
Prism Awards Performance in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Nominated
2011 People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Comedy Actress Alyson Hannigan Nominated
Favorite TV Comedy Actor Neil Patrick Harris Won
Favorite TV Comedy How I Met Your Mother Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Neil Patrick Harris Won
Emmy Awards Outstanding Picture Editing For A Comedy Series (Single Or Multi-Camera) How I Met Your Mother Won
Outstanding Art Direction For A Multi-Camera Series Nominated
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series Nominated
Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic) Nominated
Outstanding Cinematography For A Multi-camera Series Nominated
Art Directors Guild Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actor Ten and Under Riley Thomas Stewart Nominated
2012 People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Comedy How I Met Your Mother Won
Favorite TV Comedy Actor Neil Patrick Harris Won
Favorite TV Guest Star Katy Perry Won
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actor Comedy Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
People's Choice Award Favorite TV Comedy Actress Alyson Hannigan Won
Art Directors Guild Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series How I Met Your Mother Nominated
Emmy Awards Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series Won
Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) Nominated
Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series Nominated
Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Nominated
2013 People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Comedy Nominated
Favorite TV Comedy Actor Neil Patrick Harris Nominated
Ewwy Awards [65] Best Supporting Actress – Comedy Cobie Smulders Won
Emmy Awards Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series How I Met Your Mother Won
Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) Nominated
Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series Won
Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series Nominated

DVD releases

DVD season Region 1 Release date Region 2 Release date Region 4 Release date Episode # Additional information
Season 1 November 21, 2006 May 7, 2007 January 10, 2007 22 This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 1. Bonus features include commentaries on six episodes, Video Yearbook (20:29), two music videos: "First Round" (1:13) and "Last Call" (1:45), and Gag Reel (9:00). The episodes on the DVD have been cropped from the originally broadcast widescreen to a full frame 4:3 format. At present there is no widescreen version available.
Season 2 October 2, 2007 February 8, 2010 April 8, 2008 22 This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 2. Bonus features include commentaries on seven episodes, How We Make Your Mother (17:10), two music videos: Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go To The Mall" (3:17) and The Solids' "Hey Beautiful" (3:51), three "How It Really Happened" scenes (5:28), Gag Reel (7:10), and an Easter Egg.
Season 3 October 7, 2008 May 10, 2010 February 11, 2009 20 This three-disc box set includes all 20 episodes of Season 3. Bonus features include commentaries on seven episodes, Series Retrospective (2:42), Lily & Marshall's Honeymoon Videos (10:37), Cast Favorites (4:59), Behind the Scenes of "We're Not From Here" (5:43), six "How It Really Happened" scenes (8:33), two music videos: Marshall Eriksen's "You Just Got Slapped" (1:52) and Robin Sparkles' "Sandcastles in the Sand" (3:39), "Ted Mosby Is A Jerk" Audio Track for "The Bracket", and Gag Reel (11:12).
Season 4 September 29, 2009 July 19, 2010 October 27, 2009 24 This three-disc box set includes all 24 episodes of Season 4. Bonus features include commentaries on four episodes, A Night With Your Mother: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Panel Discussion, Season 3 Recap, Eriksen's Fight Club, music video for Barney Stinson's "That Guy's Awesome", and Gag Reel. Also available on Blu-Ray, and is the only season to have a subsequent Blu Ray release.
Season 5 September 21, 2010 November 8, 2010 October 27, 2010 24 This three-disc box set includes all 24 episodes of season 5. Bonus features include a blooper reel, the music videos Super Date, Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit, and Best Night Ever, two behind the scenes features; Making of Super Date and Behind the Scenes of the 100th Episode, an extended version of the Wedding Bride Trailer, and a musical Series Recap.
Season 6 September 27, 2011 October 3, 2011 October 5, 2011 24 This three-disc box set includes all 24 episodes of season 6. Bonus features include a blooper reel, two behind-the-scenes features; Making of Subway Wars and Behind the Scenes of Glitter, commentaries on three episodes, an extended performance of "Stand By Me" by Neil Patrick Harris and Wayne Brady, and a Season 5 Recap.[66]
Season 7 October 2, 2012 October 15, 2012 October 10, 2012 24 This box set includes all 24 episodes of season 7. Bonus features include a gag reel, two behind the scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, audio commentaries on three episodes and a feature on Neil Patrick Harris' Hollywood Walk of Fame star.[67]

As of May 27, 2013 seasons 1 through 7 are available to stream on Netflix in the USA and Canada and 1 through 6 in Mexico.

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