6. It's All About the Money!
Is nothing sacred anymore? Can we NOT make everything about bleeding as much money as possible from success please? Well, with How I Met Your Mother being one of CBS's highest rated shows, I suppose it was only a matter of time before Franchise Freddy got his claws into it. In a media climate where everything is a remake or a reboot or a retelling, HIMYM was a breath of fresh air as an original concept. Whilst similarities were drawn to Friends, with it being set in Manhattan and based on the lives of a group of young professionals, it had its own narrative twist and its own brand of humour. So yes, it was similar but it was also different enough for it not to feel like a betrayal to Friends fanatics who were hesitant at first. This is what eventually led to the show winning the ratings war every Monday night. But HIMYM's financial success does not necessarily give artistic merit to the idea of a spin-off and actually has the opposite effect. It's hard NOT to see it as a financial decision above anything else, something which taints both the memory of the original HIMYM and the proposed spin-off before it's even been aired. Why do they have to put profit before creative entertainment? Sorry CBS, the sign off on a How I Met Your Dad pilot feels like nothing more than shameless breeding of the cash cow that is its predecessor.