Ever since beloved sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” ended in 2014 with a controversial two-part finale that disappointed most fans after a nine-season buildup, TV network CBS has been trying to come up with other ways of profiting from its fanbase, and now it appears they are still working on it with their second attempt at a father-based spinoff called “How I Met Your Father.”
This will be the second attempt at a ‘HIMYM’ spinoff
CBS previously produced a pilot for a very similar “How I Met Your Mother” spinoff called “How I Met Your Dad” to star Meg Ryan in the Bob Saget role of the lead protagonist’s older counterpart’s voiceover narration to their children recounting the titular story.
It was written by original “HIMYM” creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas alongside Emily Spivey, who created the short-lived parenthood sitcom “Up All Night,” and shot in 2014 while the original show was finishing up its final season. However, CBS decided from the pilot that they would not be going forward with a full series.
CBS have not ordered “How I Met Your Father,” and in fact do not have any part in it as of yet. 20th Century Fox Television, the production company behind “How I Met Your Mother” and therefore the holder of some of the rights to it, have hired Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger (executive producers on the show “This is Us”) to write the script on spec, meaning they’re writing it in the hopes that it will get made but with no guarantee that it will, and when it’s finished, they’ll see if CBS are interested - and it seems like they are.
CBS president is interested
While he stresses that he and his team “haven’t seen anything” and “haven’t been pitched anything” since the script is still in the development stages and not ready to be shopped around yet, Glenn Geller, the president of CBS Entertainment, has revealed that he is “excited to read it when it’s finished,” and said that “How I Met Your Father” “could potentially be a project for us.”
It seems CBS may have changed their minds as they are in the spinoff business now, since spinoffs are a way to make more money off successful shows.
Not only are they exploring all the possible avenues for a “How I Met Your Mother” spinoff, they’re also developing a “Big Bang Theory” spinoff focused on the younger iteration of Sheldon Cooper during his childhood in Texas.
Without CBS approval, it could find a home elsewhere
“How I Met Your Father” will not be an exact mirror of “How I Met Your Mother.” It’s not about how Cristin Milioti’s Tracy met Ted (and then died); like the ill-fated “How I Met Your Dad,” it will follow a completely new ensemble cast (who will have a tough job matching the “HIMYM” dynamic) as one of them, a female this time, searches for love and eventually finds it in a disappointing finale.
So, without featuring any characters or other copyrighted material from “How I Met Your Mother,” if CBS isn’t interested, 20th Century Fox TV could get the show made elsewhere, since they wouldn’t be breaking any laws besides the unwritten law of ripping off other people’s shows. Perhaps Netflix will pick it up - after what they did with the likes of “Arrested Development,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Mr. Show,” “The Killing,” and “Black Mirror,” it seems they’ll do anything to in some way continue a show people once loved. They must be hooked on member berries.
