REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episodes 1 and 2

After much anticipation, the first two episodes of How I Met Your Father premiered on Hulu. How I Met Your Father is a sequel series to the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother and follows a new friend group as they navigate through life in New York in 2022. How I Met Your Father introduces viewers to Sophie (Kim Cattrall and Hilary Duff), who tells her son the story of how she met his father. Her story begins in the present time and revolves around the experiences that she and her close-knit group of friends go through. These stories focus on trying to figure out who they are, what they want out of life, and how dating life was in an age of dating apps.

As a long-time fan of How I Met Your Father, I was hopeful that a sequel series would be able to live up to the hype. Fortunately, Sophie is established well from the first minutes of the pilot episode. There are similarities between her and Ted Mosbey, but there are several distinguishing factors. For example, she’s ready to find the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with. However, her character isn’t written as someone who’s completely desperate to find the love of her life. She’s a romantic who believes in love but isn’t completely devoted to making this her only purpose. The chemistry she has with the rest of the characters is incredible and never feels forced. I’m thoroughly interested in seeing Sophie as a photographer and what sort of experiences she’ll have with her friend group. Duff is able to deliver both a relatable and funny performance that’s enjoyable to watch. There’s no doubt that viewers will easily identify with her experiences as she tells her story to her son. 

Even though much of How I Met Your Father mainly focus on Sophie, the other characters are set up for interesting arcs. Jesse (Christopher Lowell) is being teased as Sophie’s future husband. While it seems like the more obvious choice, he’s quickly established as someone who’s much more than just the typical love interest. Sid (Suraj Sharma) is set up to be the heart and soul of the friend group, which fits well with how much he’s willing to do to help Jesse get over his heartbreak. Valentina (Francia Raisa) is a dedicated and supportive friend to Sophie while also not falling into the stereotypes of a Latina main character in a sitcom.

Charlie (Tom Ainsley) is more of a comedic relief character but has the potential to go through interesting moments while trying to get accustomed to a completely new country. Being able to see how Ellen (Tien Tran) gets through her divorce and fixing her relationship with her brother will surely bring some emotional moments. They all have great chemistry with one another and their comedic timing is fantastic. The entire club scene in Episode 2 or the Uber ride in Episode 1 is just prime examples of superb comedic timing from the other main characters. This is certainly a diverse cast and I am excited to see where their characters are taken from here.

The big mystery of both How I Met Your Mother and How I Met Your Father was trying to figure out who the main character’s future significant others would be. The original show didn’t make the big reveal until Season 8 but managed to sprinkle several facts about her. How I Met Your Father Episodes 1 and 2 quickly established that someone in Sophie’s friend group was her future husband and the father of her son. Making this revelation so early on in the series allows for pointless filler plot points to be taken out. It will also allow viewers to narrow their selection as to who the father could be. However, this does take away part of the effect that guessing who the significant other could be had on the original series. It also makes it obvious that any other romances that happen outside of the four male leads are meaningless in terms of the overall plot. 

One of the greatest strengths of How I Met Your Father was its ability to fit well within the time the show was set in without the need to force certain references. Unfortunately, HIMYF Episodes 1 and 2 lean too far into letting its audience know the time the show is set in. Whether it was using millennial slang such as “lit” or “bet” during conversations, I couldn’t help but cringe during these scenes. With apps like Tinder still having a major influence on dating life in 2022, it makes sense that it would be included on the show. But having millennial slang in casual conversations seems like pandering to a specific modern audience that uses words like this. If this is a way that the series is trying to make their characters hip, then it’s a wrong move that I hope will be rectified soon.

Ultimately, How I Met Your Father is able to make a solid debut with its first two episodes. Sophie and her friends make this show feel unique rather than just a mere copy of the original show. Yes, there are a few callbacks to How I Met Your Father but this new series does not need to rely on nostalgia to carry it forward. This isn’t to say that How I Met Your Father is without flaws, but there are 8 more episodes to flesh out its story and characters. I am thoroughly excited to see what comes next.

How I Met Your Father Episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now, exclusively on Hulu.