How I Met Your Mother Information

How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, and directed by Pamela Fryman.

Set in Manhattan, the series follows the social and romantic lives of Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and his friends Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), and Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). As a framing device, the main character, Ted, using voiceover narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting their mother.

Known for its unique structure and eccentric humor, How I Met Your Mother has been a critical success, having received positive reviews throughout most of its run and gaining a cult status over the years. The show has been nominated for twenty-four Emmy Awards, winning six. In 2010, Alyson Hannigan won the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress. In 2012, seven years after its premiere, the series won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Network TV Comedy, and Neil Patrick Harris won the award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor.

On December 21, 2012, CBS announced that the cast members had signed new deals with the network, increasing the chances for a ninth season. On January 30, 2013, CBS officially renewed the series for a ninth and final season.

Production

How I Met Your Mother was inspired by Carter Bays' and Craig Thomas' idea to "write about our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York." The two drew from their friendship in creating the characters. Ted is based loosely on Bays, and Marshall and Lily are based loosely on Thomas and his wife. Thomas' wife Rebecca was initially reluctant to have a character based on her, but agreed if they could get Alyson Hannigan to play her. Hannigan was looking to do more comedy work, and was available.

MacLaren's, a bar in the middle of New York, in which some of the show is set, is based on a bar named McGee's. It has a mural that Bays and Thomas both liked and wanted to incorporate into the show. The name for the bar is from Carter Bays' assistant, Carl MacLaren; the bartender in the show is also named Carl.

Each episode is usually shot over three days in the Los Angeles-based Soundstage Studio 22 and features upwards of 50 scenes with quick transitions and flashbacks. However, the "Pilot" episode was filmed at CBS Radford. The laugh track is later created by recording an audience being shown the final edited episode. Thomas claims that shooting before a live audience would be impossible because of the structure of the show and the numerous flashforwards in each episode and because doing so "would blur the line between 'audience' and 'hostage situation'." Later seasons started filming in front of an audience on occasion when smaller sets are used.

The theme song is a portion of "Hey Beautiful" by The Solids, of which Bays and Thomas are members. Episodes from Season 1 generally started with the opening credits. A cold opening has been used since Season 2. Viewers then occasionally see Ted's children on a couch and hear him talking to them, telling the story of how he met their mother. Alternatively, scenes from previous episodes or shots of New York City with Ted narrating over the top are shown. Thomas has explicitly said Future Ted is an unreliable narrator since he is trying to tell a story that happened over 20 years earlier; this has been a plot point in several episodes such as "The Goat", "Oh Honey", "How I Met Everyone Else" and "The Mermaid Theory". Nevertheless, Thomas has also emphasized maintaining a coherent and consistent universe, and trying to avoid continuity errors, based on his experiences of being a fan of other shows.

A scene directly relating to the identity of the mother, involving Ted's future children, was filmed near the beginning of Season 2 for the show's eventual series finale. This was primarily done because the teenage actors portraying them will be adults by the time the final season is shot.

During the 2007"2008 Writers Guild of America strike, How I Met Your Mother shut down production; but, when the strike ended, the show returned on March 17, 2008, with nine new episodes. A change in timeslot was also announced, to 8:30 pm ET/7:30 pm CT, flip-flopping from the summer schedule with The Big Bang Theory. CBS renewed the show for a fourth season on May 14, 2008, which premiered on September 22, 2008.

In September 2008, it was announced that Lifetime Television had purchased the right to rerun How I Met Your Mother at a rate of about $725,000 per episode. The four-year syndication contract stipulated that the studio deliver at least 110 half-hour episodes by the year 2010, and allowed for up to eight seasons of the show. At the end of the fourth season only 88 episodes had been produced, and a further 22 episodes were required, ensuring that there would be a fifth season. On May 19, 2009, the fifth-season renewal was announced. On May 20, 2009, CBS announced that How I Met Your Mother would again be aired at 8 pm, leading into the new comedy Accidentally on Purpose. On January 12, 2010, the show hit the milestone of its 100th episode. It was also announced that the series would return for a sixth season on CBS. In response to being syndicated, Thomas said, "We're thrilled that it will live on in other forms," and they were proud of the show and it was great to see the strong demand.

On September 13, 2010, reruns of the series began airing on local U.S. broadcast television stations and on Chicago-based cable superstation WGN America. Featured in these airings are vanity cards previously unseen in the CBS and Lifetime airings due to marginalized credit sequences used by the two networks. Shown in between the closing credits and the production company credits, these vanity cards show portions of "The Bro Code", a list of rules frequently referenced by Harris' character, Barney Stinson, on how men should interact with each other, with an emphasis on activities involving pursuing members of the opposite sex. The opening theme song for the syndicated reruns is also slightly edited, running shorter and not using all the pictures seen in the opening montage that runs on DVD and the original CBS broadcasts. The episodes are also slightly edited, leaving out a few details.

One of the series' ongoing traditions involves giving guest roles to actors from various Joss Whedon productions, many of whom co-starred with Hannigan on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Bays attributes this to their being "huge fans" and to those casts representing "a big talent pool".

Another tradition involves the use of euphemisms for culturally sensitive issues. These include "eating a sandwich" for smoking marijuana, "thumbs up" for giving the middle finger, as well as "playing the bagpipes" for loud, raucous sex acts. These euphemisms, among others, have been used extensively throughout the show and have even been used as central plot themes, such as the episode "Benefits" in Season 4.

On March 4, 2011, CBS announced that the show had been renewed for two more seasons, with the seventh season premiering with back-to-back episodes on September 19, 2011.

On July 27, 2011, it was announced that the FX channel had picked up the show for syndication. FX began airing the show on September 5, 2011.

Although cast members have stated that the show will not run longer than eight seasons, a ninth season was secured in December 2012 amidst tense negotiations with the studios and the actors - especially Jason Segel, who had wanted to move on to other ventures after the eighth season.

Cast

• Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby, an architecture teacher and the central character of the series. Ted moved to New York City with his friends Marshall and Lily after graduating from Wesleyan University. In New York he met Barney and Robin, who became part of the group. Ted is on a quest for happiness and "The One", the woman he will marry. Ted is the more mature of the group, preferring more elegant and high class interests than the ones his friends possess. He goes to great lengths to profess his love to the women in his life, but they all falter after awhile. Despite these qualities, Ted often acts immature, such as partaking in wild activities with Barney. He is a big Star Wars fan and is often heard quoting the films. Ted is from Shaker Heights, Ohio, but considers himself a true New-Yorker, showing a massive hatred for the neighbouring New Jersey.
• Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen, an environmental lawyer and Ted's best (often disputed by Barney) friend. Marshall is married to Lily, whom he has been in love with since his freshman year of college, and they serve as an inspiration for Ted to find his true love. Marshall, like Ted, was born outside of New York (St. Cloud, Minnesota), but considers the city his home.
• Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, an unknown position at Goliath National Bank (which is a constant theme throughout the show) and Ted's "bro". Due to his father leaving him as a young child, Barney has abandonment issues and clings to his friends. He is a serial playboy, using his wealth to seduce women for sex, with no intentions on engaging in a relationship. He falls in love with Robin and becomes engaged to her, their wedding being the day upon which Ted meets the mother of his children. Barney is one of two of the group who was actually from New York (Lily being the second).
• Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky, a news anchor and Ted's ex-girlfriend. Robin emigrated from Canada to take a job in a news station and met Ted at MacLaren's, setting him on his journey to find "The One". Though her relationship with Ted did not work out, they continue to remain close friends. Her Canadian background is a source of many jokes from her friends, particularly from Barney. She smokes cigars and drinks scotch, causing Barney to fall for her. They later embark on a relationship that eventually sees them marry. In season two it is revealed that, as a teenager, she was a pop star under the stage name Robin Sparkles who had a hit song with "Let's Go to the Mall". Later she went grunge under the name Robin Daggers.
• Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin, a kindergarten teacher and Marshall's wife. Lily is the group's moderator, always there to resolve a conflict and a shoulder to cry on. Barney goes to her as a confidante, though she is terrible at keeping secrets. She has also been revealed to be very manipulative, often coaxing her friends behind the scenes to get her desired results. She met Marshall in college and they have been together ever since, only breaking up once. Though coming off as sweet and cute, Lily is quite fierce and sexually ravenous, similar to Barney's desires. During Season 7, she becomes pregnant and has Marshall's and her first child, Marvin Waitforit Eriksen. Like Barney, she is a true New Yorker.
• Bob Saget (voice only) as Future Ted Mosby (), Ted's future self telling his children the story in the year 2030 of how he met their mother.

Season synopsis

Season 1

In the year 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) sits his daughter and son down to tell them the story of how he met their mother.

The series begins in 2005 with Ted (Josh Radnor) as a single, 27-year-old architect living with his two best friends from his college years; Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), a law student, and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten teacher and aspiring artist. Lily and Marshall have been dating for almost nine years when Marshall finally proposes. Their engagement causes Ted to think about marriage and finding his soul mate, much to the disgust of his self-appointed best friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), whom he met in the restroom at a bar four years earlier. Barney is a serial womanizer who concocts elaborate con games, usually involving costumes and fake identities, designed to bed women, whom he loses interest in immediately afterward.

Ted begins his search for his perfect soul mate and meets an ambitious young reporter from Canada, Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), with whom he quickly falls in love. Robin, however, doesn't want to rush into a relationship and the two decide to be friends. Future Ted reveals that Robin is not the mother after referring to her as "Aunt Robin".

Ted begins dating a baker, Victoria (Ashley Williams), whom he meets at a friend's wedding, causing Robin to become jealous and realize she does have feelings for Ted. Victoria, having been offered a fellowship in pastry-making, moves to Germany; and she and Ted try a long-distance relationship. Once Ted learns Robin has feelings for him, he tells her he broke up with Victoria, even though he hasn't. They almost have sex when Victoria calls and Robin answers, mistaking Ted's phone for her own. Ted and Victoria then break up and an angry Robin distances herself from Ted, but they eventually make up and decide to date.

Meanwhile, Lily begins to wonder if she's missed any opportunities because of her relationship with Marshall, and decides to pursue an art fellowship in San Francisco, breaking up with Marshall in the process. The season ends with Ted coming back to the apartment, the morning after spending the night with Robin for the first time, to find Marshall sitting in the rain with Lily's engagement ring, devastated by their sudden break up.

Season 2

Ted and Robin are now a couple; meanwhile, a heartbroken Marshall tries to continue his life without Lily. After enduring numerous emotional breakdowns, Marshall's friends step in, and Barney, using sly catch phrases and pick up lines, tries to get Marshall back in the dating game. Later, Lily, after finally realizing she is not meant to be an artist, returns to New York. She is reunited with Marshall, and their engagement is reinstated. When Robin refuses to go to the mall or explain why, Marshall suspects she is married, and Barney suspects she has performed in adult films. They bet on it, appointing Lily as "Slap Bet Commissioner." Lily oversees the search for the truth, as they discover that Robin was a teenage pop star named "Robin Sparkles", and Marshall eventually earns the right to slap Barney five times whenever he wants to. It is revealed that Barney has a gay half-brother named James (Wayne Brady) and, unaware that his mother lied to him, he believes that Bob Barker is his father, as a result of which he takes a trip to California to be a contestant on The Price is Right to meet his "father". While on the show, Barney wins all of the prizes and gives them to Lily and Marshall as a 'happy early wedding' present.

In the season finale, Ted reveals to Barney that he and Robin have been broken up for some time due to their conflicting views on marriage and children. They didn't tell anyone in order to avoid taking attention away from Lily and Marshall's wedding. The season ends with Barney excited at the prospect of Ted and him being single guys on the town again, and ends the season with Barney saying "this is going to be legen- wait for it...".

Season 3

Barney begins the season with the word, "-dary!" Robin returns from a trip to Argentina with her new boyfriend, Gael (Enrique Iglesias), and Ted must adjust to life as just her friend, while watching Robin and Gael fawning over each other. Marshall and Lily decide to move out on their own, falling in love with a place they can't afford. Robin learns of Lily's bad credit rating due to her compulsive shopping for designer brands, and forces Lily to tell Marshall. Despite this, they are able to finally secure their dream apartment, only to discover it's in a bad location and more poorly constructed than they thought (the floor is tilted). Barney is slapped for the third time on Thanksgiving, which Marshall dubs "Slapsgiving."

Ted tells his children he met their mother through a story concerning her yellow umbrella. He finds the umbrella at a club and takes it home after attending a St. Patrick's Day party where his future wife was, although they did not meet. Ted attempts to woo Stella (Sarah Chalke), a dermatologist he sees to remove an embarrassing butterfly tattoo. This culminates in a memorable "two-minute date," which incorporates small talk, dinner, a movie, coffee, two cab rides, and a goodnight kiss, all within two minutes. Robin sleeps with Barney after he comforts her following a break-up with a past Canadian love; Ted is infuriated, and decides to stop being friends with Barney. Meanwhile, an unknown woman begins to sabotage Barney's attempts to hook up. His saboteur is revealed to be Abby (Britney Spears), Stella's receptionist, with a vendetta against him for not calling her after they had sex.

In the season finale, Ted gets into a car accident and ends up in hospital, Subsequently Barney gets hit by a bus on the way to visit him and ends up receiving treatment in the same hospital. Ted realizes Barney really cares about him and they renew their friendship. It is revealed Barney has true feelings for Robin, while Ted proposes to Stella in an arcade.

Season 4

Stella says yes to Ted's proposal. Robin takes a new job in Japan, but quickly resigns and returns to New York to attend Ted's wedding, after realizing how much she misses her friends. Stella leaves Ted at the altar to get back together with Tony (Jason Jones), the father of her daughter. Barney struggles with his feelings for Robin as his company shifts him to the management team of a new acquisition, Goliath National Bank (GNB), where Marshall has accepted a position.

Marshall and Lily move to their new apartment and debate over whether or not they're ready to have children. Robin becomes roommates with Ted and gets a job as an anchor for a 4 AM news show after Barney sends out her video resume. Ted and Robin decide to sleep together constantly so they won't fight over each other's bad co-living habits. Barney attempts to make them stop fighting to prevent this, revealing to Ted his love for Robin.

Ted finds out Lily has sabotaged all of his relationships with anyone she doesn't approve of and indirectly may have inspired his breakup with Robin. Robin and Ted end up talking about it, causing their friendship to begin moving toward a positive note. After Barney finally sleeps with his 200th woman (and rubs it in the face of the childhood bully who taunted him into pursuing it), he begins to question the purpose of the remainder of his life, leaving him more certain of his feelings for Robin.

Ted, while carrying the yellow umbrella, bumps into Stella and Tony. Tony later decides to visit him, sympathizing with Ted over his loss of Stella. Tony offers him a job as a professor of architecture, which Ted initially turns down.

In the season finale Robin finds out that Barney loves her, and initially refuses to commit to anything but a sex-only relationship; they seemingly end up together anyway. Ted decides that being an architect is leading nowhere, and finally decides instead to become a college professor. The finale ends with Ted preparing to teach his first class and Future Ted revealing to his children that one of the women in the class is their mother.

Season 5

Ted begins his job as a professor of architecture, standing in the middle of a classroom " although the mother was present, it turns out to be an economics class as he's in the wrong lecture hall. Barney and Robin have had a sexual relationship throughout the summer and Lily locks them in a room, forcing them to come to terms with their relationship. After a rough patch they decide to break up. Robin describes it instead as "two friends getting back together." Barney immediately goes back to his old ways, using the playbook to score with women. Throughout the season Barney and Robin show feelings of regret over their break-up.

Ted dates a graduate student named Cindy (Rachel Bilson) and it is revealed her roommate is his future wife. Robin meets Don Frank, her new co-anchor on her 4 AM TV show. Though she initially dislikes him, the two start dating and eventually she moves in with him. At the end of the season they break up when Don takes a job in Chicago "? a job which Robin had previously turned down to stay in New York with Don. Marshall uses his fourth slap on Barney, once again at Thanksgiving. Ted buys a house, which needs to be fixed up badly, but is later revealed to be the future home for Ted and his children.

Lily and Marshall are still unsure about having children. After watching four doppelgangers of their group (Lesbian Robin, Moustache Marshall, Stripper Lily and Mexican Wrestler Ted) they decide to leave the big decision to the universe's "infinite wisdom" and start trying when they have seen Barney's Doppelganger. In the season finale, Barney disguises himself to have sex with a girl from every country in the world, and Lily and Marshall mistake him for the final doppelganger. When Marshall finds out, he decides not to tell Lily, fearing she will want to wait even longer to have children. Lily eventually finds out and decides to wait. In the season finale, Lily thinks she sees Barney's doppelganger as a hot dog vendor, which causes the group to realize she is seeing what she wants to see, and play along. Eventually Barney agrees having babies is not a stupid idea and Lily and Marshall should go forth. The season ends with Lily asking Marshall to "put a baby in my belly".

Season 6

In the season opening, Ted sees Cindy again with a girl who he thinks to be her roommate, but she turns out to be Cindy's girlfriend whom she later marries. After prodding by Barney, Ted is eventually hired by GNB once more as the architect of the bank's new headquarters, which was originally scrapped in Season 4. However, he encounters opposition when he meets Zoey Pierson (Jennifer Morrison), a woman who is protesting against GNB for selecting a decrepit hotel, the Arcadian, to be torn down for the headquarters. Over the season, Ted's encounters with Zoey eventually blossom into a relationship after she divorces her rich husband, but they break up as he puts his career and friends over love, leading to the Arcadian's demolition. Ted also resolves not to get back with Zoey.

Having agreed to conceive a baby at the end of the previous season, Lily and Marshall keep having sex, hoping she will get pregnant. Around Christmas, they have a false alarm and later seek fertility testing. The fertility specialist, Dr. Stangel, turns out to be Barney's doppelgänger, fulfilling their promise with the universe in regard to their decision to have a child. However, tragedy strikes when Marshall's father passes away, leaving him devastated and the gang comforting him. Marshall tries to get over his father's death and live again. Despite a pledge to Lily to work harder for their future, Marshall resigns from GNB and follows his dream of being an environmental lawyer. Zoey also hires him as her lawyer in what became a futile battle to save the Arcadian. At the end of the season, Lily reveals that she is pregnant.

Barney finally admits to the gang that Bob Barker is not his real father, especially when his mother decides to sell the house he grew up in and his brother, James, meets his own father. Loretta offers the identity of Barney's father on a sheet of paper, but Barney tears this up after realizing her efforts as a single mother. At the funeral of Marshall's father, Barney tells Loretta that he wants to see his father at last. The man, Jerry Whittaker, is eventually revealed to be someone whom Barney thought was his guardian. Barney, who remembers Jerry as a fun-loving man, is disappointed after learning how Jerry has grown out of his free-wheeling ways. Although he tries to bring back Jerry's old behaviors, Barney admits that he wants to settle down someday. He is also introduced to Nora, a co-worker of Robin, for whom he develops feelings. After an initial falling out, the two reconcile at the end of the season after Barney asks her for coffee.

Robin continues to work at her talk show, Come On, Get Up, New York!, but the presence of a new hyperactive co-host forces her to leave. She is accepted as a researcher in another network, World Wide News. The gang also discovers more of her past as the Canadian pop star Robin Sparkles. Robin also encounters a man (Michael Trucco) she has had a secret crush on since first seeing him when she and Ted were dating, and Future Ted hints that they will see more of him later.

Short scenes during the season premiere and finale feature a wedding set sometime in the future, where Ted will meet his future wife. In the final scene of the season, the groom is revealed to be Barney.

Season 7

Season seven opens with another flash forward, in which Ted is helping Barney get ready for his wedding to a still unknown bride. In the present, Marshall gets a job in environmental law while Lily progresses with her pregnancy. Barney proves to Nora that he can be a good boyfriend to her, while Robin is revealed to still have feelings for Barney. Robin takes court-mandated therapy, until her therapist Kevin (Kal Penn) becomes attracted to her, breaking his ethical code. They start to date.

While reminiscing about Hurricane Irene, it is revealed that Lily and Marshall had conceived their baby in Barney's apartment, and Barney and Robin end up sleeping together. Barney and Robin both realize what they've done and decide to break up with their partners. However, Robin reneges on the deal, returning to Kevin and leaving Barney alone and heartbroken. Marshall and Lily decide they want to move to Long Island, after Lily's paternal grandparents offer them their house there. They move back to New York City after realizing suburban life is not for them.

Robin gets a pregnancy scare at Thanksgiving and tells Barney the child is his, since she and Kevin hadn't slept with each other at that point. However, Robin's doctor informs her she cannot have children, which devastates her however she slowly comes to terms with the news. Kevin proposes to Robin; while she loves him and is ready for the commitment, she reveals she can't have children and that she doesn't want children at all, so they break up. Soon after, Robin tells Ted everything that happened, only for him to profess his love for her, revealed to be the final time he declares his love for someone other than his future wife. Robin soon admits that she does not love Ted, and Marshall asks her to move out of Ted's apartment so Ted can finally move on with his love life. Ted gives his apartment to Lily and Marshall because he believes he cannot move on from Robin while living there.

Barney starts dating Quinn, a stripper who performs under the name "Karma". When the gang finds out through Ted, who broke a "broath" from Barney to not tell anyone about her profession, they begin to meddle in their relationship. This is revealed to be a set-up, with Quinn acting like a crazy girlfriend and Barney being spineless toward her. Quinn ends up moving in with Barney, and Ted buys Quinn's old apartment. Robin is eventually offered the news anchor job she wanted and subsequently achieves recognition after preventing a helicopter she is flying in from crashing. She reveals to Ted that with her raise she is moving into another apartment.

Lily, worried that Marshall is too stressed with the birth close at hand, arranges for Barney to "kidnap" Marshall to a casino, where Marshall proceeds to get very drunk. Meanwhile, Ted decides to patch up his differences with Robin. Lily goes into labor and frantically calls Barney and Marshall. Marshall is still in the casino, drunk and has turned off his phone. When Barney learns Lily is in labor, he promises to help Marshall get to the hospital provided that Barney can choose the baby's middle name. After many attempts to escape the casino, Marshall arrives in time for Lily's delivery. Because of his promise to Barney, Marshall and Lily name their son Marvin Waitforit Eriksen.

Marshall and Lily begin their new family with their baby. Barney proposes to Quinn through an airport fiasco after she tells him that she quit her job, and she accepts. Ted, after his conversation with Robin about his love life, calls Victoria to see if he still has a chance with her, even though she is getting married. She leaves her fiancé for Ted and wants to go off into the sunset with him. After some thinking, Ted eventually decides to go with her.

The season concludes with a flash forward to Barney's wedding that the season opened with, where Robin is revealed as Barney's bride.

Season 8

See How I Met Your Mother (season 8) for more information The eighth season began on September 24, 2012.

Tie-ins

Books

• The Bro Code, cited by Barney many times throughout the series, is a set of written rules for bros to follow, and has been published as a tie-in novel, an audiobook, and an iPhone Application. Barney alleges it was written by Barnibus Stinson, a contemporary of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Many of the rules listed in this book also appear in the show's closing vanity cards, similar to what Chuck Lorre uses to end episodes of several of his other shows, Dharma and Greg, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, and Mike and Molly.
• Bro on the Go, a companion to The Bro Code, released in 2009.
• Bro Code for Parents: What to Expect When You're Awesome, released in 2012.
• The Playbook, based on the fifth season episode of the same name, by Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn.
• How I Met Your Mother and Philosophy, under contract with Open Court, to be released in 2013.

Phone numbers

• 1-877-987-6401 "? During the Super Bowl XLIV telecast, a clip of Neil Patrick Harris was shown holding up a sign, ostensibly in the stadium's stands, with the words "Call Barney Stinson (CBS)" and this phone number. In the episode "Rabbit or Duck", which aired the week after the Super Bowl, the same clip from the Super Bowl with Harris was shown with the number on the sign changed to a 555 number. This occurrence became a plot point within the episode. When the number is dialed, a message recorded by Harris in character as Barney is played. This number is no longer in service.

Soundtrack

• A soundtrack album entitled How I Met Your Music: Original Songs from the Hit Series was released digitally to iTunes on September 24, 2012.

Nielsen ratings

Season	Timeslot (ET)	Season premiere	Season finale	TV season	Rank	Avg. viewers (in millions)
1	Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 19, 2005 " May 15, 2006)	September 19, 2005	May 15, 2006	2005"2006	#54	9.47
2	Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 18, 2006 " October 2, 2006) Monday 8:00 P.M. (October 9, 2006 " May 14, 2007)	September 18, 2006	May 14, 2007	2006"2007	#61	8.94
3	Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 24, 2007 " March 10, 2008) Monday 8:30 P.M. (March 17, 2008 " May 19, 2008)	September 24, 2007	May 19, 2008	2007"2008	#70	8.21
4	Monday 8:30 P.M. (September 22, 2008 " May 18, 2009)	September 22, 2008	May 18, 2009	2008"2009	#49	9.42
5	Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 21, 2009 " May 24, 2010)	September 21, 2009	May 24, 2010	2009"2010	#42	8.60
6	Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 20, 2010 " May 16, 2011)	September 20, 2010	May 16, 2011	2010"2011	#48	8.79
7	Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 19, 2011 " May 14, 2012)	September 19, 2011	May 14, 2012	2011"2012	#45	9.67
8	Monday 8:00 P.M. (September 24, 2012 " May 2013)	September 24, 2012	May 13, 2013	2012"2013

The highest viewed episode was the season 1 episode "The Pineapple Incident", watched by 12.27 million viewers. The lowest-viewed episode was the season 6 episode "Landmarks", watched by 6.41 million viewers, approximately 52 percent of the show's series high.

Season seven was the highest watched season overall and among the 18"49 adults, scoring a 4.1 rating in that sector up from the 3.4 rating it had for season six.

Awards and nominations

The show has been nominated for numerous awards, including an Emmy nod for Outstanding Comedy Series, beaten by 30 Rock. Stars Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris have each received acting accolades, with both receiving People's Choice Awards, and Harris receiving Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. The show's art direction, editing and cinematography have also been awarded.

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
2006	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series	How I Met Your Mother
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New Television Comedy
	ALMA Award	Outstanding Script for a Television Drama or Comedy	Gloria Calderon Kellett
	Art Directors Guild	Multi-Camera Television Series	How I Met Your Mother
	Casting Society of America, USA	Best Comedy Pilot Casting
2007	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series
		Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Neil Patrick Harris
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Comedy
	Art Directors Guild	Episode of a Multi-Camera Television Series	How I Met Your Mother
	GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding Individual Episode
2008	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Neil Patrick Harris
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Scene Stealing Star
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Show: Comedy	How I Met Your Mother
		Choice TV Actor: Comedy	Neil Patrick Harris
	ALMA Awards	Outstanding Writing for a Television Series	Gloria Calderon Kellett
	Art Directors Guild	Episode of a Multi-Camera Television Series	How I Met Your Mother
2009	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Comedy Series
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Neil Patrick Harris
		Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series	How I Met Your Mother
		Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role	Neil Patrick Harris
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Scene Stealing Guest Star	Britney Spears
	TCA Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Comedy	How I Met Your Mother
		Individual Achievement in Comedy	Neil Patrick Harris
	Art Directors Guild	Episode of a Multi-Camera Television Series	How I Met Your Mother
	Satellite Awards	Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television	Neil Patrick Harris
2010	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy Actress	Alyson Hannigan
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Neil Patrick Harris
		Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics	How I Met Your Mother
		Outstanding Art Direction For A Multi-Camera Series
		Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special
	Art Directors Guild	Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series
	Prism Awards	Performance in a Comedy Series	Neil Patrick Harris
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy Actress	Alyson Hannigan
		Favorite TV Comedy Actor	Neil Patrick Harris
		Favorite TV Comedy	How I Met Your Mother
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Neil Patrick Harris
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Picture Editing For A Comedy Series (Single Or Multi-Camera)	How I Met Your Mother
		Outstanding Art Direction For A Multi-Camera Series
		Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
		Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
		Outstanding Cinematography For A Multi-camera Series
	Art Directors Guild	Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television	Neil Patrick Harris
	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a TV Series " Guest Starring Young Actor Ten and Under	Riley Thomas Stewart
2012	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy	How I Met Your Mother
		Favorite TV Comedy Actor	Neil Patrick Harris
		Favorite TV Guest Star	Katy Perry
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor Comedy	Neil Patrick Harris
	Art Directors Guild	Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series	How I Met Your Mother
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series
		Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series
		Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series
2013	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy	How I Met Your Mother
		Favorite TV Comedy Actor	Neil Patrick Harris

DVD releases

DVD season	Region 1 Release date	Region 2 Release date	Region 4 Release date	Episode #	Additional information
Season 1	November 21, 2006	May 7, 2007	January 10, 2007	22	This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 1. Bonus features include commentaries on six episodes, Video Yearbook (20:29), two music videos: "First Round" (1:13) and "Last Call" (1:45), and Gag Reel (9:00). The episodes on the DVD have been cropped from the originally broadcast widescreen to a full frame 4:3 format. At present there is no widescreen version available.
Season 2	October 2, 2007	February 8, 2010	April 8, 2008	22	This three-disc box set includes all 22 episodes of Season 2. Bonus features include commentaries on seven episodes, How We Make Your Mother (17:10), two music videos: Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go To The Mall" (3:17) and The Solids' "Hey Beautiful" (3:51), three "How It Really Happened" scenes (5:28), Gag Reel (7:10), and an Easter Egg.
Season 3	October 7, 2008	May 10, 2010	February 11, 2009	20	This three-disc box set includes all 20 episodes of Season 3. Bonus features include commentaries on seven episodes, Series Retrospective (2:42), Lily & Marshall's Honeymoon Videos (10:37), Cast Favorites (4:59), Behind the Scenes of "We're Not From Here" (5:43), six "How It Really Happened" scenes (8:33), two music videos: Marshall Eriksen's "You Just Got Slapped" (1:52) and Robin Sparkles' "Sandcastles in the Sand" (3:39), "Ted Mosby Is A Jerk" Audio Track for "The Bracket", and Gag Reel (11:12).
Season 4	September 29, 2009	July 19, 2010	October 27, 2009	24	This three-disc box set includes all 24 episodes of Season 4. Bonus features include commentaries on four episodes, A Night With Your Mother: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Panel Discussion, Season 3 Recap, Eriksen's Fight Club, music video for Barney Stinson's "That Guy's Awesome", and Gag Reel. Also available on Blu-Ray, and is the only season to have a subsequent Blu Ray release.
Season 5	September 21, 2010	November 8, 2010	October 27, 2010	24	This three-disc box set includes all 24 episodes of season 5. Bonus features include a blooper reel, the music videos Super Date, Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit, and Best Night Ever, two behind the scenes features; Making of Super Date and Behind the Scenes of the 100th Episode, an extended version of the Wedding Bride Trailer, and a musical Series Recap.
Season 6	September 27, 2011	October 3, 2011	October 5, 2011	24	This three-disc box set includes all 24 episodes of season 6. Bonus features include a blooper reel, two behind-the-scenes features; Making of Subway Wars and Behind the Scenes of Glitter, commentaries on three episodes, an extended performance of "Stand By Me" by Neil Patrick Harris and Wayne Brady, and a Season 5 Recap.
Season 7	October 2, 2012	October 15, 2012	October 10, 2012	24	This box set includes all 24 episodes of season 7. Bonus features include a gag reel, two behind the scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, audio commentaries on three episodes and a feature on Neil Patrick Harris' Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

seasons 1 through 7 are available to stream on Netflix in the USA and Canada and 1 through 6 in Mexico.