How I Met Your Father episodes 1-2 review: Hilary Duff-led spin-off deserves a chance but lacks humour

3/5

In the pilot episode, Sophie (Kim Cattrall) is about to tell her son the story of how she met his father, a story that transports us back to the present, where Sophie (Hilary Duff) and her close-knit group of friends are figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.

In the second episode, Sophie and the gang head to an exclusive new club for a wild night out, determined to try to live in the moment. Valentina (Francia Raisa) is having second thoughts about her relationship with Charlie (Tom Ainsley). Sid (Suraj Sharma) encouraged Jesse (Christopher Lowell) to be receptive to love. Ellen (Tien Tran) goes to the club and tries her luck with the ladies.

It's hard for a spin-off to get acceptance from the fans of their favorite show. Such were the earlier inhibitions fans had when How I Met Your Father, a spin-off of How I Met Your Mother, was announced. The inhibitions unsurprisingly turned into an underwhelming reaction when the pilot episode dropped earlier this week. But, is it right to judge it so soon when the makers took a risk? Well, I don't think so.

Hilary Duff and Kim Catrall play Sophie, on whom the story is based. Unlike in HIMYM, the series shows how the future Sophie looks with Catrall's face. For the uninitiated, the late Bob Saget voiced Ted Mosby's character, originally played by Josh Radnor. Moreover, the series advances in technology, with Catrall facetiming her son and narrating the story of how she met his father in the year 2050.

The series then goes back to the current era, which is 2022, where Sophie, who has one best friend, Valentina, and eventually her circle grows with Jesse, Sid, Charlie, and Ellen.

The pilot episode establishes that Sophie is a hopeless romantic and is on the search for her one true love in the age of Tinder. In the process, she meets with the gang, and they finally create a friendship that is going to last till eternity, or so it seems.

HIMYF has a hangover from HIMYM with a bar, like MacLaren's Pub, owned by Sid, which becomes their go-to place. Moreover, there's also one more place from the earlier sitcom, and it might instantly hit you hard and make you emotional.

But but but... It's my hope that the jokes get better in the upcoming episodes. Only a few might amuse you, but not make you laugh. And come on, it's 2022. Who needs a laughter track in the background? It is even a put off for the current generation who watched the 90s and early 2000s sitcoms such as Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and even How I Met Your Mother.

The creators, Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, have done a great job of bringing a diversified cast. But that's something one should expect in the series being created today. Yes, it's a correction from the all-white lead cast that How I Met Your Mother had and that explored very little of the LGBTQ community. This is something that the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, has also tried to correct.

How I Met Your Father blends well into the sitcom space, which has been missing in action from the series space for a long time now. This has even made fans go back to their favourite series often. However, it will take a lot of time for HIMYF to create a fanbase.

Let's not jump to judging the entirety of How I Met Your Father just on the initial two episodes. But that doesn't mean that we can be sure if it will get better or not.