How I Met Your Father has only been on the air for two seasons, so why did Hulu decide to cancel the How I Met Your Mother spin-off so early in its run? Much like the original series, How I Met Your Father is framed by the main protagonist recounting the story of how they fell in love to their future offspring. In the year 2050, Sophie, played by Hilary Duff (and played by Kim Cattrall in the future), tells her off-screen son about her exploits in Manhattan in the 2020s.
Hulu made the decision to cancel How I Met Your Father just two months after it aired its season 2 finale. That season finale – season 2, episode 20, “Okay Fine, It’s a Hurricane” – has retroactively become the series finale as Hulu has elected not to renew the show for another season. The decision to cancel How I Met Your Father is undoubtedly disappointing for fans of the show who wanted to see where the characters’ storylines would go. It’s also a confusing decision, given how popular its franchise is.
How I Met Your Father Season 2 Failed To Fix Season 1’s Poor Reviews
From the offset, How I Met Your Father’s biggest problem was its negative reviews. Season 1 received an approval rating of just 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. Season 2 was met with similarly negative reviews and an even more “rotten” Rotten Tomatoes score of 33%. When audiences see Rotten Tomatoes ratings like that, they tend to steer clear of the show in question. Most critics felt that, while its efforts to update the formula for a modern audience were admirable, it never managed to achieve more than a familiar re-tread of a much better series.
Sometimes, a show takes a couple of years to find its feet. The Office didn’t start to make Michael Scott sympathetic – the key to the series’ success – until season 2. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia didn’t perfect its signature style until season 4. After an underwhelming first season, there was room for How I Met Your Father to grow in its second season. But season 2 received the same negative reviews as the first season, which put off a lot of potential viewers from even giving the series a try.
How I Met Your Father Struggled To Live Up To HIMYM’s Legacy
Whereas an original series can succeed on its own merits, How I Met Your Father inherently invited comparisons to How I Met Your Mother. In spite of its polarizing finale episode and some problematic storylines that haven’t aged well, How I Met Your Mother is remembered as one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 21st century. Even with better writing, How I Met Your Father would struggle to live up to its predecessor’s legacy. It just couldn’t escape from the shadow of the flagship series.
