My little sister used to fall asleep to How I Met Your Mother. If I came into her room in the morning to wake her up, I’d turn off the TV which would proceed to show the ghost of the old “Are you still watching?” Netflix message. We were both obsessed with the show, when it was on it seemed like everyone was obsessed with it. First touted as trying to fill the cultural hole that Friends left behind, it quickly took on a life of its own and had a distinct style that hadn’t really been mainstream before. The thirty minute weekly comedy featured flashbacks and the best jokes in the show were running ones that you had to watch chronologically to appreciate. That quality made it a cult phenom, with fans becoming obsessed and trading theories with a passion.

HIMYM was on my binge list for quarantine, but I was never able to really stick it through. Maybe it’s Barney’s elaborate schemes to use and humiliate women, maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood. When the news came out about the How I Met Your Father spin off it reminded me that I was halfway through the series last year so I threw it back on. Instantly I was taken into another world, another lifetime of mine. I got lost in the story and the characters (though Barney still sticks in my craw). I realized that this show existed in a capsule – for a certain group of people in a certain time. Just like reading an old book brings back old memories, when I watch HIMYM I’m able to live in that bubble of time again. It’s comforting in its own way, and much like Friends the characters became their own legends.

In the spinoff, Hillary Duff is going to be the main character and together with her group of friends they navigate dating in the post HIMYM world, one article I read said the show was planning to “address app dating”. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hillary Duff and a good storyline about Tinder, but I don’t know if I want to be inundated with both at the same time. As much as I loved A Cinderella Story, I don’t want Hillary Duff’s voice narrating a show to me. I don’t think I can handle it. Lizzie McGuire, into it. Hillary Duff narrating an audio book? No thank you!

While I suppose that Hillary herself defined a part of my life, so it seems like she would be the perfect choice to reignite a cult classic, but I’m still hesitant. Is it too much of a good thing? Is it even a good idea to sequel a cult classic in the first place? Am I excited or am I nervous? Only time will answer all of these questions. What do you think?

Categories: Hulu Television

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