Netflix Just Offered the Best Alternative to ‘Friends’ — and You Have 9 Seasons to Watch Now

Let’s not mince words: “How I Met Your Mother” is a pretty shameless riff on the giant ’90s sitcom “Friends.” Both are set in New York and follow a close-knit group of friends as they navigate their relationships and growing older (but not necessarily growing up) through a variety of humorous situations. The similarities are clear.

“Friends” celebrates the 20th anniversary of its final episode this year and, even decades later, remains a favorite of binge viewers. However, the number of times you can watch Rachel and Ross is limited. almost get together, Chandler makes a sarcastic quip or Joey declares that he “doesn’t share food” before being able to quote practically every episode by heart and yearn for something else.

So if you need a slight change of pace, “How I Met Your Mother” is a great substitute, and it just returned to Netflix US after being removed from the streaming service in 2017.

All nine seasons, consisting of 208 episodes, are available now, and here’s why this series is worth watching, even if it doesn’t quite live up to its clear inspiration.

What is “How I Met Your Mother” about?

“How I Met Your Mother” follows an affable bachelor named Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) as he attempts to find his soul mates in the bustling New York dating scene. Also accompanying him are his best friend Marshall (Jason Segel), his fiancée Lily (Alyson Hannigan), and his other close friend, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), a serial womanizer with commitment issues.

The series opens on the day Ted meets Robin (Cobie Smulders), a glamorous journalist who has just emigrated from Canada to the United States. Ted is instantly smitten with Robin and thinks she might be the one, but his journey to find the mother of his children ends up being quite long. And this long road has many obstacles.

What really sets “How I Met Your Mother” apart from its sitcom contemporaries is that the entire series is presented as a series of flashbacks as an older Ted tells his two teenage children the story of how he met their mother. The more senior Ted does not appear on screen and is voiced by Bob Saget, with his narration used for great comedic and narrative impact.

I can’t help but love “How I Met Your Mother”

I was a huge fan of “How I Met Your Mother” when it first aired on CBS between 2005 and 2014, and during the first two seasons, I would schedule my weekly schedule around each new episode by watching. making sure I didn’t miss a single one.

I’m definitely not as much of a fan now, but the series still holds a special place in my heart. Its greatest strength lies in its lovable characters, and the entire cast does a great job of making you aware of their plight. However, the character of Barney was questionable during the original series and has aged quite poorly.

My favorite thing about “How I Met Your Mother” is how the writers creatively use the narrative framework of an older Ted telling his children his life story. His narration is used to drip feed clues to the mother’s identity (which I won’t spoil here), and some episodes also show Ted to be an unreliable narrator when it comes to creating amusing plotlines. “How I Met Your Mother” is a compelling, easy-to-watch sitcom that also contains an enjoyable central mystery, which sets it apart from its very apparent inspiration.

The show’s humor can be a bit silly, and the quality has dropped considerably over the past two seasons (and the finale is “Game of Thrones”-level bad), but “How I Met Your Mother” is still a charming little sitcom that makes for great viewing while you’re doing housework or menial office tasks. And with nine seasons galore, it’ll keep you entertained for weeks to come.

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