I can’t find the exact tweet, but someone described this as “a weird experiment where you take people in the year 2022 and you force them to make content with the comedic stylizing of 2012.” That’s exactly correct. There’s nothing particularly offensive about the show beyond its intense commitment to a brand of milquetoast, comfortable comedy that is just slightly below replacement level. The acting is not terrible but not particularly good (the British Barney stand-in is probably the stand-out, for at least a commitment to the over-the-top emoting). The hackneyed and, frankly, desperate callbacks to the original series don’t really hit any emotional notes beyond “oh, I remember that!” We might watch a second season of this if it comes out, but less out of excitement and more out of “well, sure, might as well.”

★★

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About How I Met Your Father

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About the author

I'm Justin Duke — a software engineer, writer, and founder. I currently work as the CEO of Buttondown, the best way to start and grow your newsletter, and as a partner at Third South Capital.

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