How I Met Your Mother was a hilarious sitcom that was purportedly meant to tell the story of how one man, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), met the mysterious mother of his two now teenage children. As adult Ted, voiced by Bob Saget, tried to tell his children the tale, he would jump from story to story about everything but. All of his stories centered on he and his four friends, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), and Robin (Cobie Smulders) along with the steady stream of women he dated before meeting the mom and the hijinx they all got up to in their 20s and 30s.
The series, which aired for nine successful seasons, developed a cult following, even sparking some popular phrases like the “Bro Code.” And while it would be impossible to resurrect it now that the story has officially come to an end (and we know who mom was), there were some characters that could totally lead a great spin-off and some who just shouldn’t.
Barney Stinson: Yes
At the top of the spin-off list is the womanizing Barney Stinson, who characters loved to watch as he creepily tried to date (and bed) every hot woman he came across, always wore a suit and clearly made good bank though no one really understood what he did at his job, and doled out dating advice to Ted and anyone else who would listen.
A spin-off centred on Barney’s character as he navigated the dating world as a 40-something single father living in New York, trying to rectify his playboy lifestyle with having a daughter, could be an interesting coming-of-maturity story. Though it might be better to look at Barney’s life during the events of HIMYM, which would open the door for some great cameos.
Ted Mosby: No
Ironically, while the show was all about Ted, most viewers couldn’t stand him. His incessant whining, clinginess to girlfriends like Robin, and sole focus on finding love and “the one” as though that was the be all, end all of his life, got annoying pretty quickly.
HIMYM was already about Ted, so a spin-off simply wouldn’t make sense anyway, unless it was a story about the now grey-haired Ted, a widowed father of two teenagers, looking to rekindle his romance with Robin or re-join the dating pool. Actually, no thanks.
Marshall and Lily Eriksen: Yes
The #couplegoals couple, Marshall and Lily were so perfect together, it was almost sickening. And while the end of the series showed them living happily with multiple children, it might be interesting to see an older version of them still acting the same nutty way they did when they were younger.
Conversely, a tale of how the two met and fell in love in college could be a fun spin-off as well. A lot of that story was shown through flashbacks, but there could be potential to show more of the ‘90s college life.
Robin Scherbatsky: No
Robin was the on-again, off-again love interest of Ted’s, eventual wife (then ex-wife) of Barney, and the best female friend to Lily. She was a core member of the group, but there was nothing particularly compelling about her character that would warrant a spin-off.
Perhaps it could follow her life as a now divorced woman who is solely focused on her career, or who pursued a relationship (again) with Ted. But considering many viewers didn’t like that twist ending of the series, we’ll vote no for this one.
Ted’s Son and Daughter: Yes
Think about it: they are at the perfect age for a spin-off to follow the son and/or daughter of Ted at the same age as Ted and his friends were when the show took place (or when Ted, Marshall, and Lily first met in college). Except now, we’re in modern times (actually the future) and things, especially dating, have changed – a lot.
It would be a funny coming-of-age story that could tie-in flashbacks, see the kids re-living some of the same events that their father went through, and even having a cameo or two from Ted as he recalls when he was in a similar situation way back when.
Tracy (The Mom): No
We love the love story between Ted and Tracy, even if it ended on a very sad note. But it appeared that Ted always carried a torch for Robin anyway. And the character was only introduced in the final season, so we know little about how her relationship with Ted blossomed.
This sounds like the perfect reason in favor of a spin-off – why not tell the story now from Tracys perspective? Considering we know how it ends, it would be rather boring. We can’t help but get a sense of “been there, done that.” We’re pretty much over it now.
Ranjit: Yes
How hilarious would it be to watch an entire series centred around this limo chauffeur and former New York taxi driver who became good friends with the group? Always cheery, there must be so many stories he could tell about passengers he’s driven over the years.
There would be a great opportunity to see Ranjit pick up members of the gang from HIMYM to tie into past events from the series, famous celebrities, and other big personalities to match his equally big one; and even recall stories from when he drove these four young New Yorkers who ended up becoming friends. We’d totally watch this!
The Captain: No
Real name George Van Smoot, The Captain was a wealthy businessman who was married to Zoey until she fell for Ted and left him. At one point, he also offered Lily a job and to join him in Rome as his art consultant. The character never really added much to the story, and we could have done without him.
Sure, he was the origin of the pineapple incident, one of the biggest mysteries of the series (in a deleted scene, it is revealed that he always leaves a pineapple by his front porch as a symbol of hospitality, and that’s where Ted stole it from.) But other than that, he wasn’t a big enough character.
Victoria: Yes
Many believed baker Victoria was (and should have been) the mother. But she wasn’t. And it was all because of Robin.
Victoria provided one of the most insightful comments in the series when she told Ted that having Robin in his life was what is affecting his ability to have a successful relationship with anyone. It makes sense, since Ted ironically met his wife at Robin’s wedding to Barney when she was finally 100% unattainable to him. Wouldn’t it be great to see more of this character and how she fared on her own post-Ted?
Sandy Rivers: No
Trying to make a series centered around this comically narcissistic and stereotyped news anchor who worked with Robin would probably just end up looking like a poor man’s version of Anchorman.
Sandy was funny whenever he did appear on screen, but not enough to drive his own series. Maybe it could work, looking at the real Sandy behind the TV persona (it was revealed in one episode that he was actually bald and wore a toupee!) and the trouble he gets into thanks to his womanizing ways - especially with interns. But in this day and age, we think there are far better characters and stories to tell.