Review: Does ‘How I Met Your Father’ Hold a Candle to ‘How I Met Your Mother’?

Younger actress Hilary Duff has come back to the attention of former Lizzie McGuire fans lately due to her confessed addiction to a certain Encanto song, her desire for a Lizzie McGuire reboot with Disney+ or Hulu, and her new lead role on the Hulu original series How I Met Your Father, which is a spin-off of the multiple-Emmy Award-winning show How I Met Your Mother.

The original show How I Met Your Mother followed Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor), a man in New York City. The series specifically follows Ted and his friends Robin (played by Cobie Smulders), Barney (played by Neil Patrick Harris), and the couple Lily and Marshall (played by Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel). Although the show often moved away from its theme during its episodes, the central background for the show was a future Ted Mosby (voiced by the late Bob Saget) telling his future children about the long line of romances and comical misadventures that eventually led to his romance with the children’s mother.

The new show starring Hilary Duff follows the same basic tenet as its predecessor: Hilary Duff’s character Sophie is a single woman in New York City looking for love, while her future self (voiced by Kim Cattrall) tells her son about how Sophie met his father. Like Ted Mosby, Sophie also has several friends who accompany her on her romances, her misadventures, and her overall quest for identity in the big city.

So far, four episodes have aired on Hulu — and while the show definitely is sticking with the same aesthetics and settings as How I Met Your Mother, it is somehow lacking in the original show’s charm. How I Met Your Mother managed to have a unique tone (bolstered by the comedic chemistry between Lily and Marshall as well as the standout comic relief from Barney) that won it ten Emmys. How I Met Your Father, in contrast, strikes the viewer simply as a run-of-the-mill sitcom.

Hilary Duff does bring her usual earnest, sweet nature that has endeared her to many fans ever since the premiere of the Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire, and there are plenty of new talents to consider in the show who might be more captivating as the season continues. This show does seem more modern and diverse than the original show did, which many viewers will definitely appreciate and which might also make the Hulu series more appealing over time. Cameos from actors like Leighton Meester and Josh Peck might also make certain episodes stand out!

Unfortunately, even though Hilary Duff is bringing her signature Disney princess charm, the setting of the show is the same as its predecessor, and exciting new characters have been brought into the mix, the show falls a bit flat. Without anything feeling particularly special about it, the show results in a mildly enjoyable experience that is not great, and not particularly memorable. Perhaps this show will redeem itself, however, by having a more satisfying ending than the original show did!

Are you planning on watching How I Met Your Father on Hulu? Have you been following Hilary Duff’s career ever since Lizzie McGuire, and were you a big fan of How I Met Your Mother?