In the age of reboots and revivals, it takes a lot for one to be successful. Here’s how Hilary Duff and the cast of How I Met Your Father have nailed the science.
When How I Met Your Mother fans first heard that the beloved show was next in line for a reboot, the audience had mixed reviews. Sometimes you just have to leave a show as it was- a classic. With a fresh new cast, lead by Hilary Duff, and perhaps a fresh new take on the age-old story, fans were able to see the creators' vision for this standalone sequel. The creators of the show have been able to reach a whole new audience with this modern take on the beloved sitcom. And we all know reboots are a pretty difficult task.
The show airs weekly, and they manage to keep the ratings on the rise week after week. As the first season is coming to a close, many viewers were happy to hear that the show was renewed for a second season. If you haven’t watched it yet, the plot of How I Met Your Father is similar to the original. It introduces the main character of Sophie, who decides to call her son in the year 2050 and tell him the story of how she met his father.
Future Sophie tells her son, and the viewers, all the details about the night she met him, as well as the events leading up to their love story. Through this story we meet Sophie’s best friend Valentina and her new British boyfriend Charlie. In typical sitcom fashion, Sophie befriends her Uber driver Jesse and his gang consisting of his best friend Sid and his sister Ellen. One Uber ride, a Tinder date, phone mishap, and game of drunk Jenga later, this group bands together to take on New York as a fun bunch of twenty somethings figuring life out.
This version of navigating love and friendship in the big city is so relatable without it becoming corny. Dating is tough in the age of dating apps, and this show highlights the struggles of it. Who do you go to when dating and life gets hard? Your friends. The best part about this show is that we see the group learning about each other and all becoming friends. One of the most charming new relationships is between Sophie and Jesse.. So far they have closed the book on a romantic relationship, but you can see they care for each other. Both of them encourage the other to put themselves out there in the dating world. One of the best moments of their budding friendship is when Sophie helps Jesse take a picture for his Tinder profile. Let’s just say they made our hearts swoon!
The lives of these characters are beginning to unfold right in front of our eyes. We are watching Charlie and Ellen learn to navigate the city, Ellen and Jesse rebuilding their relationship, Charlie, Valentina, and Sid navigating relationships, and Jesse and Sophie looking for love in the city. Sometimes, reboots rely too heavily on nostalgia, and it just echoes every single plot-line that the original had. This can lead to the reboot to struggle to have its own story. However, this show has its own vibe. They paid homage to the original in a subtle way. Sid and Jesse- best friends since college- got their apartment from an old married couple, who left their sword right above the mantle. This couple was Lily and Marshall, and the swords were Ted and Marshall’s from when they lived together. This tribute to HIMYM is enough to capture the hearts of the OG fans, as well as reminding the current audience that there’s a story preceding this one.
For many of us, TV is an escape. Watching Sophie and her friends navigate modern problems in New York and still managing to create a good support system is something that we can all admire. This show holds all the same values of its predecessor, but with a new twist that is bound to capture your heart.
Don't miss a new episode of How I Met Your Father every Tuesday on Hulu.