With its quirky humor and heartwarming moments, How I Met Your Mother is the third most popular sitcom on TV Time. The sitcom was released in 2005 and ended in 2014, serving nine seasons. After 7 years, its sequel was released in 2022 known as How I Met Your Father. Both shows have captured the hearts of audiences for their relatable characters and iconic storytelling.
Fans of HIMYM have waited so long for the sequel that now they can’t stop themselves from using its sequel to go on a trip down memory lane. The sequel has the same premise as the previous one and we can find a lot of similarities between the shows. If you also want to explore these similarities, join me as I delve into the world of HIMYM and HIMYF and explore the striking similarities that make these two sitcoms a testament to timeless storytelling.
Setting – New York
To create a similarity between the two shows, the setting is the same. Both shows are set in New York. New York is a popular setting for television shows as it provides a rich backdrop for storytelling. In HIMYM, New York was portrayed as a vibrant city where the characters work, socialize, and fall in love. The city is depicted as a place where anything is possible.
Similarly, the show, How I Met Your Father continues the tradition of depicting New York as a vibrant and exciting place where anything can happen. And the characters are often seen exploring different parts of the city and experiencing its unique culture.
The Apartment
Fans of How I Met Your Mother have an emotional attachment to Ted and Marshall’s apartment. Their apartment was the primary setting for much of the show and was a key element in the story. Many important scenes took place there.
Therefore, fans were ecstatic to find out that Sid and Jesse’s apartment in HIMYF is the same as that of HIMYM. The similarities between the two apartments are meant to be a nod to the original show and to create a sense of continuity between the two series.
Hopeless Romantic Protagonist
In HIMYM Ted was the protagonist. The story started with him, as he started telling his children about how he found their mother. Similarly, in HIMYF Sophie is the main protagonist and the series starts with her storytelling about her past.
Both are the main focus of the respective shows and play a significant role in the overarching story. Both characters have a lot of similarities, the major one is that they both are hopeless romantics. Ted and Sophie believe in true love and try hard to find their soulmates. But unfortunately, both are very unlucky in love and have to face terrible relationships and dates.
Will They/Won’t They Relationship
These sorts of relationships are always added in sitcoms to create suspense and keep the audience engaged. We all enjoy such relationships where the two characters are shown to have romantic tension, but they never get together. In HIMYM Ted and Robin was that couple.
They had a roller-coaster relationship that went through many ups and downs. Similarly, in How I Met Your Father Sophie and Jesse have a will they/won’t they kind of relationship. They both struggle to stay friends but the undeniable chemistry between them isn’t easy to ignore. Fans are constantly wondering whether or not they will end up together.
The Bar
Most sitcoms have an iconic place of gathering, where characters cheer up each other, relax and have fun. For example, the cafe ‘Central Perk’ in the sitcom Friends. In HIMYM that iconic place of gathering was the bar. “MacLaren’s Pub” was a central location for the characters and was often used as a backdrop for important scenes and conversations.
We also get to see a bar in the show HIMYF. Here, Sid owns the bar and the design of the bar has very few similarities to the bar in How I Met Your Mother. It has more of a modern touch. But still, the characters hanging out in the bar reminds us of all the famous bar scenes of HIMYM.
Long-Term Couple
Where HIMYF has similarities in setting, apartment, protagonist, and bar with HIMYM, it also has another similarity, a long-term couple. In HIMYM, Marshall and Lily have been together since their college days and have a deep and enduring love for each other. Throughout the series, they experience ups and downs in their relationship, but they always manage to work out.
In HIMYF, Sid and Hannah have the same sort of relationship. They both also know each other from school times and have been together ever since. The only fight we have witnessed between the couple is when Sid bought the bar without telling Hannah. It again reminds us of the fight Marshall and Lily had when Marshall decided to take a judgeship without consulting her.
Character With a Fear of Settling Down
Both sitcoms, HIMYM and its sequel HIMYF have one character with the fear of setting down. One of the central characters in How I Met Your Mother, Robin Scherbatsky, was portrayed as having a commitment phobia. This was depicted through her reluctance to get married and have children. And her tendency to end relationships when they become too serious.
In How I Met Your Fater we have also got a character with the same sort of fear. Jesse refuses to get involved in these kinds of things. While the reason behind Robin’s fear was her career, Jesse’s fear came from rejection. Both characters’ commitment phobias were often a source of conflict in the show and served as a major theme in several episodes.
A Playboy
Charlie and Barney, two characters from the television sitcoms HIMYM and HIMYF respectively, are similar in their approach to flirting and dating. Both characters are portrayed as players and womanizers, who enjoy the chase and the thrill of seduction.
They are both charismatic and confident and have a talent for making women feel special and desired. They both often use absurd pick-up lines and strategies to win over their conquests. The two characters from their respective shows serve as comic and exaggerated illustrations of the cliched television “player” trope.
Bottom Line
How I Met Your Father and How I Met Your Mother may have different casts and storylines, but they both share a lot of similarities. Through these intricate similar details which have great emotional significance, the show HIMYF constantly makes us nostalgic about HIMYM.
Both shows have their individual importance but if you are already a fan of HIMYM you won’t be able to watch HIMYF without constantly drawing parallels between the two. Don’t worry, we all do this. It is impossible for true fans of HIMYM to enjoy the story of Sophie without remembering their years-old favorite character, Ted Mosby.
