Don’t do it, Jason.
As many of you may already know, there’s been talk of How I Met Your Mother being renewed for a ninth season, even after the series showrunners (and the cast) insisted last year that this would be the final season, that Ted would meet the mother, and that we could all finally let the once great series go and move on with our lives. Unfortunately, thanks in large part to the new viewers that reruns of HIMYM have brought in over the past few years on syndication, the CBS series is a rare sitcom whose ratings have actually increased past its sixth year. Now, the greedy bastards on CBS want to bring it back for ANOTHER final season. Contract negotiations are currently underway between CBS and the showrunners, Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, as well as with the cast.
Who will put his foot down to prevent the travesty of a ninth season?
Hopefully, it will be Jason Segel, the one man with enough going on in his career to happily walk away. The contract situation on How I Met Your Mother is shaping up to be like the 10th and final season of NBC’s Friends. The hold-up on a 10th season of Friends was Jennifer Aniston, whose feature career had taken off and who had very much wanted to leave the sitcom. In the end, however, she agreed to a 10th season mostly because she was paid an obscene amount of money, and because she didn’t want to let the rest of the cast — her friends over the last nine years — down.
Jason Segel, on the other hand, needs to let the rest of his cast down. Sure, the other cast members could also put the kibosh on a lucrative deal, and they all will likely have a decent post-HIMYM careers. To wit: Alyson Hannigan will be fine; she’ll land another sitcom. Cobie Smulders still has The Avengers (and could even sign on to the S.H.I.E.L.D. show if HIMYM ends), Neil Patrick Harris could make a career of hosting every awards show on television for all time ever (and I’d be OK with that), and Josh Radnor, well, he makes movies (good movies, too, it’s just that no one sees them). They’d all be fine, but none of them will ever see the kind of money that CBS is about to throw at them. They’re going to say yes to another season because, financially and for the sake of their careers’, it would be dumb not to. The creative quality of HIMYM is probably not as high a priority to them as a milking the show for every last cent while they can. After all, CBS has profited mightily off of them , so why not?
Jason Segel, on the other hand, can continue to get that kind of money in feature films.
It’s up to him to prevent a ninth season.
So listen, Jason. I know there will be a lot of pressure to sign a deal. Much of that pressure may come from your own cast members, cast members who you probably consider family now. But you need to do it for them, too, because they may not be able to see that How I Met Your Mother is truly awful this season. The highlights of this season haven’t been episodes, the highlights have been scenes in episodes, and even those are few and far between. The only thing somewhat compelling about the show at this point is Barney and Robin’s romance, and WE KNOW HOW THAT ENDS ALREADY.
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ive someone managed to watch every episode minus this season….looks like it was a wise choice. i’ll check in for the finale to see the mother though…assuming they dont linger and drag it to season 9.
we all know Ted turns out to be the mother after his sex change
I have NEVER seen a single episode…..should I start watching…??
I’m with you. Not to sound like a jerk–but the laugh track is impossible to get by. I can’t take a show seriously that came out after 2000 with a laugh track.
I think that some of the older seasons, like 1-5 or 1-4, were pretty charming despite the laugh track, and worth a shot.
It was a truly great show, laugh track or not, but just pilfered out the last few years. There’s still golden moments here and there, and I will root for Ted until the end… but it feels more like a chore watching it now. It may just be that I watched the first 5 seasons all in a row so I forget that there were probably terrible episodes hidden in there too. I just wish I had waited until May and marathoned Season 8 instead.
I dislike this laugh track hate. I hear it from my friends a lot. Plenty of good shows have a laugh track. You can’t let the crappy ones ruin it all for you.
You don’t notice the laugh track because you laugh at the joke. But by season 7, you notice the laugh track and it’s annoying.
I wish someone would put their foot down and tell you to quit writing shitty articles.
………………………….YOU ARE A MORON. BAD DAY TO YOU SIR.
Yeah, ya know, I got kind of bored with it last year sometime and haven’t really watched it at all this fall. Whatever I saw, I quickly forgot. I remember mentioning once that CBS’s writers must have all moved to other sitcoms because the only thing left in the scripts is a very unfunny barrage of sexual innuendo. I’m no prude, but that does not make a funny or worthwhile sitcom… and every show on CBS monday now suffers from it. First noticed it on 2 Broke Girls, then the fat guy show and then when I finally caught HIMYM I realized it’s just the whole monday line-up. The writers suck.
I want to be able to watch 2 Broke Girls, because holy god Kat Dennings Cleavage, but I just can’t get past how terrible it is.
Two pages on this, eh?
Who is this “everyone” you speak of concerning love for the castmembers? Hannygan is terrible post Buffy, Radnor is obviously hated, Smulders sucks, but that might be the writing and a shitty character more than the actress. Obviously NPH and Segel are the standouts.
I stopped watching ages ago, aside from the occasional episode that sneaks on my tv when I’m surfing, but I would consider watching again if they began an actual storyline that leads to the end, hoping for some kind of creative boost with the introduction of the mother. It’s always been a pretty mediocre sitcom.
Anything to keep Bob Saget off my lawn.
Segel kind of sucks on this show, too. He’s awesome in everything else, but Marshall is a tired character.
Dear Jason Segel:
DRACULA MUSICAL!
thank you for your consideration,
earthwormjim
I’d be okay with this for one reason only; The Office. The Office finally got into their last season and the writing improved vastly knowing with an end date in mind. It’s still not up to season 2 or 3 par, but that’s to be expected.
If HIMYM doesn’t get renewed, the last half of this season could potentially suffer as they try to hastily wrap everything up. The writing will never be as good as the first few seasons, but at least they’ll have a chance to wrap everything up.
I’m guessing you’ve never read one of Dustin’s articles about The Office.
I’m pretty sure I’ve read most of them. It’s not amazing by any stretch, nor is HIMYM, but it’s definitely improved with an end date.
Alyson Hannigan can put on a show at my house anytime she wants to.
you think she’s pretty hot, do you? Must be the bandcamp stories.
the babies ruined her. she hasn’t been hot in a few years.
What are you people talking about? I just have a healthy respect for monologue-based theater
I’d watch another season for the cast alone, though I’ll admit the quality has fallen off. That being said, I can watch any Slap Bet or Robin Sparkles based episode forever.
I still haven’t seen any of last season. Is it even worth watching any more?
I need more cobie smulders in my life
Josh Radnor does nooot make good movies. happythankyoumoreplease was one of the more infuriating movies I’ve ever seen.
I had no idea he was even in movies until I read this article. After IMDBing him I can honestly say I’ve never seen or heard of any of them.
Me neither; it was just on cable one day and Kate Mara / bald Malin Akerman got me to stick around.
This line (from Wikipedia) captures it perfectly: Happythankyoumoreplease captures a generational moment – young people on the cusp of truly growing up, tiring of their reflexive cynicism, each in their own ways struggling to connect and define what it means to love and be loved.
BARF.
Or you could…um…not watch? There’s plenty of shows I really enjoyed that I stopped watching when they fell off a cliff (Dexter, Scrubs, etc.) but I don’t begrudge anyone involved actually making money off these things rather than trying to jump onto a pilot with a 1% of making series. You’re basically pleading with Jason Segal to screw over people who are his friends (and in a way that is probably more optimistic about his career than even he is).
This season has been absolutely dreadful. I think I’m allowed to be pissed off that they’re ruining my favorite show for more money. I’ve watched HIMYM from day one and had to worry every season because it was always on the precipice of being cancelled. Now it’s just dragging on and on and another season just doesnt make sense within the story. If it goes until 2014 then Ted’s great love story is just rushed and thrown together. They’ve already set up in the story that he has a baby by 2015 so they need to shut it down already.
One more point, I can’t believe it’s almost January and they are still wavering on an end point! If they can’t make a deal then they have a couple months to get the storyline in order and end the show right. I hate this whole situation.
I’ve liked this season much more than last. The storyline with Quinn was awful. Ted was pathetic with Robin, again.
OF COURSE Dustin likes Josh Radnor’s shitty 2nd rate Zach Braff twee fests. 2nd rate Zach Braff is the worst insult i’ve ever given someone, btw.
and no, the public will not turn on the cast if they do another season. that’s completely asinine and irrational. and no, not everyone is only sticking around to find out who the mother is. there are plenty of people out there who still enjoy the show. i may not be one of them, but i’m able to see things wider than my own narcissistic self.
You’re right about the audience. People in America are dumb and have terrible taste, so it’s silly to think that they wouldn’t like this show while 2 1/2 Men and NCIS are the top shows every week.
well i was going for a less cynical douchebag approach
I agree it’s fallen, but I’d kind of like to see Ted meet the mother this season and spend a year with her. See what she’s like. How she fits in with the group. We watched between season one, last year, and this year over half a season, we spent a year with Stella, we spent a year with Zoe all of whom aren’t the mother I would like to maybe learn a little more about the actual mother than her name and what she looks like.
I mean that between seasons 1, 7, and 8 cumulatively we spent over half a season with Victoria.
That would be a good reason to extend it one more year.
That’s the only way it won’t suck completely next year. If they decide to postpone meeting the mother, I just, no.
I agree that people, like the ones who fell in love with the show on day one, may be upset with another season, but I doubt people will be so angry at another season that they’ll turn on people. I at least hope not, I like the entire cast, and can’t wait to see them in new projects.
While I’m forced to agree with the quality of the show (even though I’m getting caught up with it on Netflix), I cannot, in good conscience, tell anybody involved not to do it. If somebody pulled a dump truck full of money in front of my house and said “Hey, do this thing you still kinda seem to like doing for another year”, I’m not going to lie, I’m taking the dump truck full of money.
you mean you wouldn’t turn down the money and time with people you enjoy so a jaded hack blogger can retain his respect for you?
Hey, I have basked in the respect of Dustin. It’s one of the best experiences. EVER.
“there are no viewers clamoring for another season. Yes, the ratings are still solid, but that’s only because we’re all sticking around to find out who the mother is, and we’re growing increasingly bitter by the week.”
Yeah, the show has been so shitty this season, I had to stop watching it altogether (I stopped after the second or third episode of this season). I just don’t care anymore. Last season was bad enough. I just can’t bring myself to watch this garbage anymore, which makes me sad and pissed that it has gotten to this point.
I don’t remember anything about this article other than “Alison Brie standing naked under that yellow umbrella.”
I agree with most of this article. I still watch the show out of loyalty/curiosity, but another season would be painful. The first two seasons were amazing, but it’s gotten worse and worse with each season since. I know I’m in the minority, but I hate Barney and Robin together. In the last few seasons, it’s become The Barney Show or even worse, The Barney/Robin Show. Time to pull the plug.
On another note, I’ve never really understood all the hate for Ted/Josh Radnor. Sure, he’s not the best actor in the world, but he’s not the worst. Part of the problem is that they haven’t given him anything interesting in a long time. It’s all been focused on, again, Barney/Robin and Lily/Marshall. At this point, Ted is just kind of there. Time to get back to the premise and have him grow up, so he’s ready to meet the mother.
Yeah, I read the synopsis for Radnor’s new movie and it just sounded like the most trite indie-film nonsense. And, most likely made as an excuse to make out with a pretty, young actress.
NPH and Radnor have also publicly talked about moving on from the show, so it’s not just Segal who could shut things down amongst the cast members.
HIMYM has been coasting for a while now and yet the quality seems to be inverse to its popularity. It was a genuinely great show in its first two seasons when nobody was watching and it was always on the brink of being canceled; S3 and S4 were pretty good as they started to gain viewers; S5 and S6 were generally pretty weak and last season was pretty good as they finally seemed to be building towards the conclusion. And this season has been the absolute pits. I shudder to think what a S9 could bring.
Stop bullying Josh Radnor. He’s the least like-able because he’s the most normal. I wouldn’t wait for anybody’s soul mate in the show other than Ted’s.