CBS Eyes "How I Met Your Mother" Spinoff from Carter Bays, Craig Thomas & Emily Spivey
by NELLIE ANDREEVA
October 30, 2013


As fans are preparing to say goodbye to one of TV’s most popular comedies, "How I Met Your Mother", CBS is looking to extend the franchise. I’ve learned that the network is in talks with HIMYM producer 20th Century Fox TV for a spinoff series, which takes a female spin on the original show.

Referred to as "How I Met Your Father", the spinoff hails from HIMYM creators/executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and "Up All Night" creator/exec producer Emily Spivey. It would feature a new group of New York friends and chronicle a female member of the group’s quest to meet her future husband.





I hear the new characters could be introduced in the HIMYM series finale, and Ted, Barney, Marshall, Lily and Robin’s favorite hangout, MacLaren’s Pub, may be featured on the new show, serving as a link between the two gangs.

The premise, which is not tied to any of the original HIMYM characters, gives Bays, Thomas and Spivey a clean slate to build new characters and relationships. The trio, who will co-write and executive produce the spinoff, share a background — they all started in late-night and worked on New York-based late-night shows (Late Show for Bays and Thomas, Saturday Night Live for Spivey) before transitioning to primetime comedy series.





CBS certainly could use more HIMYM — the veteran comedy is the key piece holding together the network’s Monday lineup, which has had a rough fall. HIMYM launched its final season with a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating and remains CBS’ highest-rated Monday series and the second-highest rated overall behind "The Big Bang Theory".

This is the second hit comedy series to be exploring a spinoff for next season, joining ABC’s "Modern Family", also from 20th TV, which is mulling an offshoot built around the character played by guest star Rob Riggle.

Spivey, who is under an overall deal at 20th, is repped by UTA, which also reps Bays and Thomas.

http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/cbs-how-i-met-your-mother-spinoff/

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/31/please-do-not-make-a-how-i-met-your-mother-spinoff

The "HIMYM" spinoff idea sounds unimaginative, says James Poniewozik. "When I say that HIMYF is a terrible idea, I say it out of love, not hate," he adds. "I wouldn't bother writing at all about the idea of spinning off a sitcom I didn’t care about. A spinoff is misguided not because of what’s bad about HIMYM but because of what is, or was, distinctively, lovably good about it."
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#YuEzVWyszMk3d3PO.99

they shouldn't try to basically do a remake of the original show, but if they just make the show about a group of friends in a familiar setting I don't see the problem.

It could work with the right cast.

CBS Orders "How I Met Your Mother" Spin-off "How I Met Your Dad"
Nov 15, 2013
by Natalie Abrams


"How I Met Your Mother" will live on! CBS has given a pilot commitment order to spin-off "How I Met Your Dad", TVGuide.com has learned.

From HIMYM creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, as well as "Up All Night" creator Emily Spivey, the comedy would tell a brand new story from a female's point of view.

Original reports said the new characters could be introduced in the upcoming series finale of HIMYM, but the pilot will be shot as a standalone.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/CBS-HIMYM-Spin-Off-How-Met-Dad-1073508.aspx

Hope they select a good, solid cast and plan guest appearances from the cast of the original series...

This is a shining example of how there is no attempt at any originality in television from Hollywood. This is nothing more than an attempt to secure additional checks for the writers, producers, directors, etc. I MIGHT watch the first episode, but I couldn't imagine there being a reason to ever watch a second. What's next? How we met YOU, kids. . . . .

General question: Are spinoffs a waste of scheduling? There are plenty of other pilots that are competing for a limited number of spots on a network's schedule for next season.

Some spinoffs can be quite good- it just depends. I suppose it would help if I really cared about the original show here- which I don't. But I do think it'd be nice to call the spinoff show "How I Met Your Father" in order to keep the same form as the original show. This spinoff sounds like it will be a spinoff in the same way "That '80s Show" was a spinoff of "That '70s Show" (though I do think there was a very tenuous connection, like the main character on the spinoff series being a cousin of Eric Forman or something.)
I suppose maybe "How I Met Your Mother" will introduce some other character with her own friends who will then proceed to tell her kids how she met their father on this new series. I guess it could be interesting to hear it from a woman's point of view in any case. I don't know if many shows like that have been done before.

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/31/please-do-not-make-a-how-i-met-your-mother-spinoff

The "HIMYM" spinoff idea sounds unimaginative, says James Poniewozik. "When I say that HIMYF is a terrible idea, I say it out of love, not hate," he adds. "I wouldn't bother writing at all about the idea of spinning off a sitcom I didn’t care about. A spinoff is misguided not because of what’s bad about HIMYM but because of what is, or was, distinctively, lovably good about it."
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#YuEzVWyszMk3d3PO.99

http://whatculture.com/tv/8-reasons-met-dad-terrible-idea.php

With hit TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother coming in to its ninth and final season, CBS have officially announced that they have signed off on a spin-off series called How I Met Your Dad. The creators from HIMYM, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, have both signed on to co-write it with Emily Spivey (Up All Night) and both seem pretty excited by the opportunity to prolong their HIMYM success. The idea is that it will trace the structure of the original series, but this time told from the perspective of a woman with a completely unrelated cast and story.

Throughout its run, How I Met Your Mother managed to capture that magical combination of a great ensemble cast and some really entertaining comedic writing. It has won the heart of many a Friends mourner, something which seemed impossible when it first appeared on our screens back in 2005 but has since become one of CBS’s major ratings contributors. So it’s easy to see why the idea of a spin-off has even been suggested. But how is HIMYM’s successor going to live up to the original?

Whilst the fact that the creators of HIMYM have jumped on board should provide some continuity in quality, it can’t be ignored that spin-off series are always met with a sense of trepidation and usually for some very good reasons.


Read more at http://whatculture.com/tv/8-reasons-met-dad-terrible-idea.php#Gjx3lqLG8At5dxJy.99

CBS has a new sitcom coming up titled Friends with Better Lives, to premiere after the How I Met your Mother grand finale. Personally, I can't imagine CBS having both FWBL and How I Met Your Father on their schedule next season (2014-15). The potential pickup of HIMYD to series should probably depend on whether or not FWBL becomes a success in the Nielsen ratings and critically, adhering to the always-really-high standards for CBS's comedies.