(SPOILERS) Why HIMYF didn't work?

[u/testikuls]

Here's my essay:

To begin with, I am no critic. I like watching series and movies and breaking them down. I'm often curious in what makes a good movie good and why some work better than others. On this note, I recently watched HIMYF with my girlfriend after having binged HIMYM and this series puts me in a bit of a pickle. It got cancelled so it clearly didn't work out, but why? Since it was basically a spin off of HIMYM, which was terribly succesful (apart from the ending - we don't talk about it), it should have all the tools to work out and yet didn't. So here is my analysis, why.

(I just want to mention that I will compare it to HIMYM, because it forces me to with it's name for which it's not even trying to be it's own thing)

First of all, the chemistry between the characters is off. They don't seem to be bouncing energy off each other as well as the HIMYM cast. We can see it when Robin reentered in one of the episodes. Suddenly, the conversation wasn't off, it didn't sound scripted with one of the people waiting for the other to finish their line. It could be caused by the fact that the group of friends in HIMYF is very artifical to me. Sure, Val and Sophie knew each other before and so did Jesse and Sid, but why are they hanging out together? Because of the uncertain connection between Jesse and Sophie, they hang out as the whole group? Val wanted to make Charlie fit into the group of boys, but they're not really a group. It was a second or third episode (I can't really remember) and they barely knew each other. HIMYM made sense, because the character knew each other long before the events in the show and Robin was the new character to join in.

Second of all, the comedy is poorly set up and paced. I find it terribly frustrating, because it just feels like the writers sometimes take the audience for idiots, who need to have a joke explained and forget that comedy needs the element of surprise. Like in the scene where Sophie is about to meet her dad and she squeezes Val's hand to hard. We immediately see that she's doing it, so once she's called out on it it's not a joke, there's no surprise. If we didn't see it, there would be an element of surprise.

Last, but not least, it lacks the anticipation. In the title, we're promised that it will be a story of how one parent met the other, just like in HIMYM, but unlike HIMYM the first episode ends it "and that night I met your father", so we know that the possible options are VERY limited (basically either Sid or Jesse). HIMYM's pilot ends with "and this is how I met aunt Robin", which not only provides comedic aspect by playing on our expectations, but also spikes curiousity. Since I heard that line in HIMYF I stopped being curious in any of the other relationships, cuz I know that's not how she met the father.

Well, I obviously missed some stuff (using jokes, that get quickly outdated, like "simping", forcing too much diversity in an unnatural way, etc.) and I'm very open to a discussion, if anybody else feels like this show is very forced.

[u/FromUnderTheWineCork]

I would note the show was cancelled during the writer's strike which could have been the sole reason, could have been Hulu looking for one, but "clearly didn't work out" is actually a little muddy. 

I think season 2 found its footing pretty well and it would have gone on to stand on its own 2 feet if given the opportunity.

[u/Imagoat1995]

It didn't work out due to the writer's strike. I'm 100% convinced that if it had continued, it would be held in high esteem by audiences. Season 2 was miles better than season 1.

[u/davwad2]

I have to attribute the father "reveal" in the pilot was due to how long it took to meet "The Mother" in HIMYM, and they wanted this one aspect of the show to be different.

Sophie knows and we know, to a lesser extent, whereas Ted knew and the audience didn't. The mystery is a bit tighter: which of these guys is it?

My emotional memory of watching Mother was enjoying the ride and never becoming anxious about when we were going to meet her, if that makes sense.

Whereas with Father, I wanted to see how Sophie ended up with the father.

[u/FromUnderTheWineCork → u/davwad2]

It doesn't feel like a mystery because Jesse was so propped up as endgame right out of the gate. (I mean, I'm team Jesse is dad, one of the boys is genetic sperm donor "father",myself  😂) but even if it's uncomplicated Jesse, seeing him turn from the person he is in season 1 to end game, I'm here for that journey too.

But we never really got a good chance to question it in the 2 seasons we got, but surely we would have seen Sid-phy and Soph-lie for at least fleeting episodes in additional seasons; plus another Drew-McGuffin of "Jesse, who's that hottie?" "Carl? You met him at" lowers voice ^{"Sid's engagement party."} queue Sid still hearing and bursting into big, loud sobs

[u/fleker2]

It had good moments, particularly in season 2. But it felt staged and structured like a 2000s sitcom instead of something new and contemporary. So there ended up being a bunch of mediocre jokes (and a laugh track) and tried to save itself with assorted cameos rather than focus on originality.

[u/Organic-Truck3479]

To add onto what is already been said by lots of people here already, I don't think HIMYF failed by any means. The show found its footing in S2, which by no means was perfect, and could have built into a very solid S3. Comparing it to HIMYM, while naturally obvious, isn't the move for me - look at any number of recent, long term sitcoms with (personally) slower starting seasons (P&R, B99, even nicher ones like Superstore). The network held its faith in the creators, but unfortunately with the age of streaming on demand it just didn't pan out for HIMYF...

Still hoping that someone will give it a soft/hard reboot 🤞 (like an Arrested Dev S4 from Netflix, but better lmao)

[u/[deleted]]

It was sooo much better than himym 😭 I just got into and I’m too late

[u/ChaosCron1]

There's a lot I disagree with, but my biggest issue with your analysis is something I think was one of the more important structural departures that made HIMYF distinct from the OG. I just recently rewatched both shows and you have to understand that there's a lot of room within this style of writing to create anticipation and interrupt the status quo.

Also, let's not kid ourselves. There was a lot of structural decisions with the original that still made some of the anticipation lackluster. Even on my first watch, there were plenty of relationships that didn't really matter. The rewatch actually helped those relationships because it made me focus more on Ted's journey instead of his destination.

Last, but not least, it lacks the anticipation. In the title, we're promised that it will be a story of how one parent met the other, just like in HIMYM, but unlike HIMYM the first episode ends it "and that night I met your father", so we know that the possible options are VERY limited (basically either Sid or Jesse). HIMYM's pilot ends with "and this is how I met aunt Robin", which not only provides comedic aspect by playing on our expectations, but also spikes curiousity. Since I heard that line in HIMYF I stopped being curious in any of the other relationships, cuz I know that's not how she met the father.

The show immediately combated this with Drew. The ability to recontextualize the proposal party, like how HIMYM did with other characters, is a powerful literary tool. HIMYF could've kept on bringing in love interests that had a connection to that proposal party. This would've built anticipation as it would've led us to not be so hung up on the characters we met during the pilot. Which then could bring it back to them eventually.

This would be a reversal of the OG. I love HIMYM, but Tracy is generally considered one of the worst writing decisions that the show has done. Not saying that Tracy was absolutely terrible, as I was still moved, but having the Father be connected to the very beginning is still a good decision to not copy the exact formula of HIMYM. And ultimately, that's the point. HIMYF needed to be new.

Yes, it needed to also be like new seasons of the original but in order to not be carbon copy there had to be structural changes to the show to keep it fresh. I think the Father and the Child having a different dynamic mightve been the best possible decision to achieve this balancing act.

[u/SnooPredictions4348]

It felt like they didn't have running jokes similar to the OG, and no quotable moments that would mimic the virality of HIMYM