---
title: "How I Met Your Mother"
year: 2005
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/how-i-met-your-mother"
fi1m_id: "how-i-met-your-mother"
imdb_id: "tt0460649"
tmdb_id: 1100
wikidata_id: "Q147235"
fi1m_score: 74
critics_reviews: 3
published: "2026-09-23T11:02:30.195230+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-23T11:02:49.952050+00:00"
region: "IE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# How I Met Your Mother (2005)

Created by Craig Thomas, Carter Bays · IFCO 15 · Comedy

## Identity

How I Met Your Mother

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/how-i-met-your-mother
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** how-i-met-your-mother
- **IMDb ID:** tt0460649
- **TMDB ID:** 1100
- **Wikidata ID:** Q147235
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1100, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q147235

**Fi1m score: 74** · Critics: 3 of 6 reviews so far

*In a sentence:* Neil Patrick Harris makes a persuasive case for letting someone else tell Ted Mosby’s love story

> A funny, cleverly constructed romantic sitcom whose cast makes its uneven jokes worth forgiving. Neil Patrick Harris is the strongest reason to stay, though the writing’s self-satisfaction can make Ted Mosby’s search for love feel longer than necessary.

## Synopsis

In New York, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) searches for love. His story looks back on that search, tracing the relationships and conversations that precede the romance promised by the title. Around him are Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) and Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders). The opening places Ted Mosby’s romantic hopes alongside the lives of this group, with the account of how he finds a partner becoming part of the comedy. Dating supplies the subject, while the way Ted Mosby’s story is told complicates the route to an answer.

## Review

*How I Met Your Mother* is a good romantic sitcom with a habit of admiring its own cleverness. Creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas give Ted Mosby’s search for love enough narrative playfulness to make a familiar setup worth returning to. The title has already announced that there is a story to tell, so the interest lies in how the telling complicates the courtship. That is an effective invitation, though the programme sometimes behaves as if having an ingenious premise excuses an ordinary joke.

Josh Radnor has the difficult job of making Ted Mosby’s romantic preoccupations matter without asking us to treat every disappointment as a national emergency. He is an agreeable centre, though the writing can make agreement feel compulsory. Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen and Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin give the comedy a more relaxed warmth. We find their company easier to enjoy when the series stops insisting on the significance of its central search.

Neil Patrick Harris supplies the sharper comic pleasure as Barney Stinson. We laughed at the assurance of his delivery, including moments when the material itself seemed thinner than the performance. He makes a character’s certainty funny without requiring us to share it, which helps with a programme so prone to congratulating itself. Cobie Smulders, as Robin Scherbatsky, offers a useful contrast: her restraint is welcome alongside the more demonstrative performances.

The construction is more interesting than a simple run of romantic mishaps. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas make the telling part of the comedy, so anticipation can produce a laugh before the story has supplied an answer. At its strongest, the programme invites us to reconsider what a familiar romantic situation might mean to the person recounting it. At its weakest, we can feel the writers waiting for us to notice how neatly they have arranged things. There are stretches when a straightforward conversation would be a relief.

Directors Pamela Fryman and Rob Greenberg help keep the complicated storytelling clear, without making every conversation feel like preparation for a trick. John Swihart’s music does not compete with the cast for attention, a sensible judgement in a comedy so dependent on delivery. The presentation is brisk and legible, but it cannot disguise when a line has little behind it. The weaker jokes are particularly exposed beside Neil Patrick Harris’s timing.

The comparison with [*Friends*](https://film.one/tv/friends) is hard to avoid, and it does this programme no favours if taken as a promise of equal consistency. The interest in how adults choose partners gives *How I Met Your Mother* enough of its own concerns to justify the resemblance. The sexual humour is less reliably useful: too often, being frank seems to be treated as sufficient reason to laugh. A little less smugness would also make the romantic earnestness easier to accept.

Across nine seasons, the invitation to spend time with these people is a substantial one. We would not take the title as a contractual obligation to stay until every question has been answered. The cast and the sharper writing are sufficient reasons to begin, particularly for anyone who enjoys romantic comedy that plays with how a story gets told. Come for Neil Patrick Harris; patience with Ted Mosby is a separate requirement.

*Fi1m score 74, published 23 September 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is How I Met Your Mother worth watching?**

*How I Met Your Mother* is worth watching for fans of romantic sitcoms and playful storytelling; we score it 74 out of 100. Neil Patrick Harris’s comic timing and the ensemble’s warmth make the uneven jokes forgivable, though patience with Ted Mosby’s romantic search and the writing’s self-satisfaction is a separate requirement.

**How long is How I Met Your Mother, and what is it rated?**

*How I Met Your Mother* is rated 15 by the IFCO in Ireland. It is a comedy series.

**Where can I watch How I Met Your Mother in Ireland?**

*How I Met Your Mother* is streaming on Disney+ in Ireland. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is How I Met Your Mother, and is it suitable for children?**

*How I Met Your Mother* carries a UK 15 certificate, making it a choice for older teenagers and adults rather than children. The sexual humour is the clearest content concern we identify; we have too little detail about violence or frightening material to offer specific assurances on either.

**How does How I Met Your Mother compare to The Apartment?**

*How I Met Your Mother* offers playful romantic storytelling and ensemble comedy, while [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment) gives office politics and romantic longing a sadder, more patient treatment. We favour *The Apartment* for emotional depth, despite its drawn-out second half; the sitcom suits those after recurring comic company who can forgive uneven jokes and a measure of smugness.

### Reviews we read (3)

- **Variety**, Brian Lowry (83/100, inferred): The pilot is a bright, cleverly constructed half-hour sitcom with a topnotch cast and a sly structural twist that helps the premise stand out. It promises an engaging long story about Ted's search for love, backed by smart characters and strong execution. [Read](https://variety.com/2005/film/awards/how-i-met-your-mother-2-1200523089/)
- **The Guardian** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the show clever and funny with inventive structure and premise, recommending it especially for Neil Patrick Harris's performance despite some smugness and similarities to Friends. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2009/sep/08/how-i-met-your-mother-e4)
- **The Times**, Ed Potton (60/100, inferred): One critic sees it as Friends with added smut and lower quality control; another enjoys the romantic anthropology and laughs in recognition at the thirtysomething New York sitcom. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/battle-of-the-boxset-how-i-met-your-mother-nxdzxxnznvn)

## Details

- **Created by:** Craig Thomas, Carter Bays
- **Creator:** Craig Thomas, Carter Bays
- **Director:** Pamela Fryman, Michael Shea, Rob Greenberg, Neil Patrick Harris
- **Writer:** Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Chris Harris, Kourtney Kang, Stephen Lloyd, Jamie Rhonheimer, Matt Kuhn, Chuck Tatham, Joe Kelly, Brenda Hsueh, Robia Rashid, Matthew Zinman, Greg Malins, Craig Gerard, Maria Ferrari, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Tami Sagher, George Sloan, Barbie Adler, Kristin Newman, Sam Johnson, Phil Lord, Jennifer Hendriks, Chris Marcil, Ira Ungerleider, Tom Ruprecht, Doug Mand, Eric Falconer, Dan Gregor, Rachel Axler
- **Music:** John Swihart
- **Producer:** Stewart Halpern-Fingerhut, Suzy Mamann Greenberg, Missy Alexander
- **Cast:** Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby; Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson; Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen; Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin; Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky; Cristin Milioti as Tracy McConnell; Abby Elliott as Jeanette Peterson; Becki Newton as Quinn Garvey
- **Certificate (IFCO):** 15
- **Release (Ireland):** 19 September 2005
- **Genres:** Comedy

## Where to watch in Ireland

- Disney+: streaming, hd

*Checked 2026-09-23.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- International TV Audience Award for Best Comedy TV Series 2015: International TV Audience Award for Best Comedy TV Series (won)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2014: Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series (won)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2012: Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (won)
- Critics' Choice Awards 2011: Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (won)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2011: Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (nominated); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (won)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2010: Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (nominated)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2009: Outstanding Comedy Series (nominated)
- Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film 2009: Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (nominated)
- Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy 2009: Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (nominated)
- Streamy Awards 2009: Streamy Awards (won)
- TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy 2009: TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy (nominated)
- TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy 2009: TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy (nominated)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2008: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2007: Outstanding Art Direction for a Contemporary Program (won)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2006: Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Coupling* (2000): Romantic misunderstandings and intricate comic construction, with a sharper British edge.
- *Lovesick* (2014): A gentler group of friends makes the search for love feel consequential.
- *The Apartment* (1960), Fi1m 91: Office politics and romantic longing give this comedy a more bruised heart. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-apartment.md)
- *Please Like Me* (2013): Friendship and awkward intimacy, with less certainty about how adulthood should work.
- *The Worst Person in the World* (2021): For the romantic indecision, treated with more curiosity and fewer easy answers.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/how-i-met-your-mother