How I Met Your...Dad?

[The Brain]

You read that right and you’ve probably heard by now following the conclusion of the popular show How I Met Your Mother CBS will air a spinoff series called How I Met Your Dad. The new series will be from the point of view of Ted’s eventual wife as she tells the children the story of how she met their father.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Typically spinoffs don’t do very well but maybe CBS can strike gold like NBC did twenty years ago when they spun Frasier off of Cheers. Naturally the new show will be compared to HIMYM and it will be very difficult for it to establish its own identity. One big difference is we will already know how this story ends. For nine years we’ve followed along with Ted as he searched for his wife. While the story may be entertaining from her point of view we already know who the dad is and how they meet. That may not work well for the fans of the original.

I know we have a lot of HIMYM fans here. What are your thoughts on this spinoff? Even if you think it will fail I think we can all agree that we’re at least going to give it a chance just out of curiosity alone. Who knows, maybe nine years from now we’ll be talking about how awesome this show is.

 

[LSN80]

I can't help but immediately think of That 70's Show, and the spinoff that came with That 80's show. There was a good amount of buzz surrounding that as well, and the show was pretty awful and flopped quickly. The problem I see with shows like this is simple: First, you have an original concept, which HIMYM undeniably does. It's a fine show with an original concept, fine acting, and a surprising amount of heart for a comedy. But it also had an advantage when it began of having some veteran actors(and actresses)such as Alison Hannigan, Jason Segal, and Neal Patrick Harris. Even without an original premise, people were going to tune in to see the show for the proven commodities that were the leads.

So there-in lies the problem with the spinoff. The premise is no longer original, it's simple a rip-off of the original flipped on its head with a female lead. Oh, and good luck finding a cast with the chemistry and recognition both of the cast from HIMYM. They're going to have to put together a heck of a cast with recognizable faces and immediate chemistry for this to work.

Are people going to watch? Sure. There's going to be a huge hole in the hearts of die-hard HIMYM fans. But if the show can't live up to the concept, chemistry, and heart of the original, it's not going to work. It's a retread of the original, and the love people have for the original is actually going to work against it. If it doesn't live up to the high expectations people have developed from the original, they're going to tune out fast, lamenting it's failure in the wake of the original.

Ask That 80's Show about it.

 

[Kris Benwa]

You read that right and you’ve probably heard by now following the conclusion of the popular show How I Met Your Mother CBS will air a spinoff series called How I Met Your Dad. The new series will be from the point of view of Ted’s eventual wife as she tells the children the story of how she met their father.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Typically spinoffs don’t do very well but maybe CBS can strike gold like NBC did twenty years ago when they spun Frasier off of Cheers. Naturally the new show will be compared to HIMYM and it will be very difficult for it to establish its own identity. One big difference is we will already know how this story ends. For nine years we’ve followed along with Ted as he searched for his wife. While the story may be entertaining from her point of view we already know who the dad is and how they meet. That may not work well for the fans of the original.

I know we have a lot of HIMYM fans here. What are your thoughts on this spinoff? Even if you think it will fail I think we can all agree that we’re at least going to give it a chance just out of curiosity alone. Who knows, maybe nine years from now we’ll be talking about how awesome this show is.

Actually what I read was this was gonna be the story about a woman who has no relation to the cast of HIMYM. The only thing that's supposed to be the same from the two shows is the bar where they hang out at. So none of the main characters from HIMYM will be in it or anything.

As far as everything else I'm not particularly interested in this show because it was a great concept but I don't know if it would be good twice ya know? Also I don't think very many people would watch so I think when it's time for HIMYM to end it should just end and that should be it.

 

[The Brain]

Actually what I read was this was gonna be the story about a woman who has no relation to the cast of HIMYM. The only thing that's supposed to be the same from the two shows is the bar where they hang out at. So none of the main characters from HIMYM will be in it or anything.

I read just the opposite. I read the main character will be Ted's wife and the main setting will be a different bar. None of the HIMYM cast will be in the new show but they may make special guest appearances from time to time as their characters.

 

[Alastor]

I don't think a show based on Ted's wife telling the story of before she met Ted is feasible. The show would then be set 9 years or more ago and if it is successful run along that timeline. It will be like doing a the Noughties show with a HIMYM twist. Sounds like a disaster to me.

I think a show with a new story and new cast of characters is a better bet. Which just begs the question why risk it by giving it a name so similar to HIMYM. Why not just promote it as from the creators of HIMYM instead?

 

[Slash-LN]

http://www.thewrap.com/how-i-met-your-mother-himym-spinoff-carter-bays-craig-thomas-cbs

This article has direct quotes from the creators of the show saying they are going to be totally separate shows from each other.

Anyway as with any spinoff from a show that was this popular the odds are already stacked against them.

People are going to be expecting certain things from this show and if it doesn't deliver it's likely to face harsher criticism than a different show might.

From what I can gather from the article they have worked out a deal for a pilot episode so at least CBS isn't asking for or agreeing to a full season without seeing how the pilot goes over with people. That's a pretty smart idea on their part.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I read just the opposite. I read the main character will be Ted's wife and the main setting will be a different bar. None of the HIMYM cast will be in the new show but they may make special guest appearances from time to time as their characters.

I looked it up again to make sure and this was actually posted a few minutes ago: http://tv.yahoo.com/news/met-mother-creators-dad-spinoff-200th-episode-031433448.html
It's not super clear but check it out

If it would have been from her point of view that would have been sorta dumb because like you said in the OP we already know the story and how that will end. While it doesn't need a spinoff, if they could pull off the same concept with a totally story and set of characters that would be neat otherwise it'll suck.

Edit:^He beat me to it and if I'm not mistaken the articles we posted are the same so you don't have to read mine.

 

[LSN80]

From what I can gather from the article they have worked out a deal for a pilot episode so at least CBS isn't asking for or agreeing to a full season without seeing how the pilot goes over with people. That's a pretty smart idea on their part.

That's standard fare with any sitcom or show receiving consideration for being aired. If a network sees potential or is married to a franchise, the way CBS is to Thomas/Bays(the show's creators) and the HIMYM franchise, they'll pow-wow with the executives and give them the green-light to move forward under the idea that should they like the pilot and the characters, they'll order more episodes to be made and put the show into its official line-up. It saves the network from making a commitment to something that may or may not happen, or something that may outright suck.

As for the casting, Carter/Bays have come out and said Cristin Milioti, who plays the mother, will not be playing the lead here. Their reasoning is one that has been mentioned above, that being we already know how it plays out. Fresh characters, fresh story, fresh resolution.

If they make it, more power to them, but I don't see it working, as most spinoffs of the original with an entirely new cast do not. Mighty Morphing Power Rangers being the exception, of course.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

We know that the mother has seen Ted a couple of times: once in a nightclub, and once in her class. I would like to get those flashbacks from her but in the context of this show, not another series. Maybe they can use the new show to explain The Pineapple Incident. Maybe the mom was somehow behind The Pineapple Incident and Ted and the mom have never compared notes enough to know the answer.

I don't know. Another HIMY concept doesn't sound much different then the original just like HIMYM doesn't sound much different then Friends. NYC is a great backdrop for any show, especially one with young people. The big question is how does the concept work with a female lead. Nevermind, Ted was kind of a female lead as it was. If they're creative enough this will work. As a fan of the original I will just watch for the occassional stunt casting.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I would have thought that a direct spin-off to HIMYM would have been a more profitable venture and also much easier to sell. Like GSB said, we have heard of the Mother being somewhere close only once or twice before this season. It would have been nice to see how her life had been up to the point where she met Ted. That, despite the fact that you would know the ending, would have been something worth watching.

A new venture with the same concept, I don't know, sounds like a cheap gimmicky rip-off. I think that Bays and Thomas really want to play safe because the other series that they had been planning, Living on a Prayer, bombed sometime back. I guess I will reserve judgement till I have watched it, but it does not sound too promising.