Neil Patrick Harris Thought ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Was a ‘Terrible’ Title
At first glance, you’ll be forgiven for thinking How I Met Your Mother has no significant story arc. After all, the series shows all its cards just with the title alone. However, within a few episodes, you’ll start to realize that there’s more to this sitcom than the title lets on. How I Met Your Mother helped many of its stars become household names, but Neil Patrick Harris initially thought the show had a terrible title.
Neil Patrick Harris thought ‘How I Met Your Mother’ was a ‘terrible title’
How I Met Your Mother ran from 2005 to 2014 for nine seasons. The series followed a friend group consisting of Ted, Robin, Barney, Lily, and Marshall. The sitcom was told through Ted’s eyes as he narrated to his kids how he met their mother. Ted is a single, young architect and a hopeless romantic navigating life and love.
He meets Robin in the first episode, but it is already established that she isn’t the mother and is often referred to as Aunt Robin. Harris played the womanizing Barney Stinson but recently shared that he wasn’t sure he would land the job.
Harris sat down with GQ to break down his most iconic characters. He told the outlet that after landing an audition for How I Met Your Mother, he thought it was a “terrible title.” He said, “You have Friends and Three’s Company, you know, something that looks good on a cap.”
After reading about the character, he wasn’t sure he fit the description and was skeptical about his chances. He nonetheless showed up to his audition, and as it turns out, he knocked it out of the park.
Still, Harris wasn’t sold on the show’s title. He said, “I thought it would just be a pilot, and it would never go because of the title.” Harris couldn’t understand how anyone would name a show, How I Met Your Mother, joking, “There’s not even any rhyming to it — it’s not a title.”
Neil Patrick Harris pushed for a Barney and Robin romance
How I Met Your Mother peddled a Robin and Ted romance throughout the show. The two even end up together in the series finale. But before that, Robin fell in love with Barney, and they got married. From the first season, Robin is described as a tomboy who loves whisky and smokes cigars.
She and Barney get closer when she suits up and meets him at a cigar bar. The episode may be the first time Barney takes notice of Robin, although their relationship isn’t explored until years later. In season 8, Barney proposes to Robin. However, the characters are later revealed to have divorced after three years of marriage.
Fans have Harris to thank for the legacy relationship as he pushed for him and Cobie Smulders to partner onscreen. The actor told GQ that after finding out in the first season that Robin wasn’t the mother, he took his chance and pushed for a pairing.
He told the outlet that he had a “talent crush” on Smulders, describing her as “talented and hot and funny and Canadian.” Harris revealed that he began flirting with Smulders in character, and as the writers saw the duo’s chemistry evolve, they decided to make them a thing.
‘How I Met Your Mother’ spinoff was renewed for another season
Seven years after the last episode of How I Met Your Mother aired. Hulu finally launched a much-discussed spinoff series. The first season of How I Met Your Father aired for ten episodes, and in February 2022, Hulu renewed it for a second season.
The show stars Hilary Duff, Kim Cattrall, Francia Raisa, and Chris Lowell. However, Smulders made a cameo in the season 1 finale. If fans have anything to say about it, Neil Patrick Harris could follow suit.
