# How I Met Your Mother (2005)

> A father recounts to his children how he and his four best friends stumbled through New York dating and friendship before meeting their mother.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1033

## Facts

- Seasons: 9
- Episodes: 208
- Episode runtime: 22 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, romance
- Created by: Craig Thomas, Carter Bays
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders, Cristin Milioti, Abby Elliott, Becki Newton
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: witty, warm, nostalgic, breezy

## What critics say

Audiences broadly acclaim the show as a warm, sharply written sitcom whose ensemble chemistry and running gags carry it, though later seasons are seen as less sharp than the early run.

## Synopsis

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) is an American multi-camera sitcom created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. Architect Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) narrates to his children how he and his four closest friends navigated the romantic and professional uncertainties of their twenties in Manhattan. The engine of the show is Ted's search for a lasting love, played against the relentless schemes, bets and personal crises of his group. Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) and Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) each pull the story in different directions, and each episode is built from a sequence of flashbacks anchored in a present-day storytelling frame. The nine-season run unfolds as one continuing story with recurring running gags and a long-held central question. Set in 2000s New York, it is warm, witty and nostalgic, with a romantic idealism that is regularly undercut by comic cynicism. Fans of Friends, The Wonder Years and Scrubs will find the same mix of ensemble camaraderie, self-mythologizing narration and bittersweet affection for youth.

## Shows like How I Met Your Mother

- [Gilmore Girls (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/4365)
- [How I Met Your Father (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/102995)
- [Will & Grace (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/64617)
- [Abbott Elementary (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/104407)
- [This Is Us (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/59097)
- [Cheers (1982)](https://ember.film/tv/128)
- [Uncoupled (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/124740)
- [Friends (1994)](https://ember.film/tv/1568)
- [Friends from College (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/62726)
- [A to Z (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54635)

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