There is no debate on how popular Friends is. This infamous American sitcom ran from 1994 till 2004 and it is nothing but 10 seasons of laughter. How I Met Your Mother, which is yet another popular American sitcom, started running in 2005 and continued for nine seasons until 2014. What makes How I Met your Mother interesting is its similarity to David Crane and Marta Kauffman’s Friends. Both these sitcoms revolve around a group of friends who are attempting to navigate their lives while enjoying it.
Of course, given the timeline and the immense popularity of Friends, it is obvious that many shows would have taken some notes from this successful show. However, How I Met Your Mother goes a step further as it will invoke nostalgia for those who have watched and loved Friends. This article will unpack the similarities between the two shows and how How I Met Your Mother became a fan favorite, probably due to its huge resemblance to Friends.
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The Same Group Of Friends?
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In both sitcoms, the story revolved around a group of adults in their 20s, trying to navigate life’s challenges in relation to career, family, love, and finances. However, if one were to look closely, one might be able to find a near-replica of each Friends’ character in How I Met Your Mother. To start off, there is the nerdy Professor who is very passionate about their careers and fields, while also finding it difficult to manage their on-again-off-again relationship with that one female friend in the group. This is Ross in Friends and Ted in How I Met Your Mother. Perhaps, the only difference between these two characters is that Ted does not end up with Robin and that he narrates the whole story to his children through a flashback.
Robin can be paralleled to Rachel in Friends. Both characters seem to be the newest addition to the group, with Rachel coming to live with Monica following her escape from her wedding and Robin meeting Ted after moving to America from Canada. Robin and Rachel also have a relationship with the “womanizer” of the group, and both these characters tend to make a drastic change in these “womanizers”. The difference between these two characters’ stories is that Robin ends up marrying the “womanizer”, while Rachel ends up with the nerdy Professor.
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The “womanizer” is definitely a famous trope that focuses on a male character who is very good at flirting and easily attracts women. In Friends, it is Joey with his tagline “how you doin’”, while in How I Met Your Mother it’s Barney with his tagline or word “legendary”. However, Joey is not as sly, smart, and rich as Barney, and he is quite childish with a big heart, which is why fans instantly fell in love with him.
Then there’s the mother-like friend who is very mature and caring. This would be Monica in Friends and Lily in How I Met Your Mother. Both these characters end up with the very comical persona of the group, that is Chandler in the former and Marshall in the latter. Even though a character similar to Phoebe is missing in How I Met Your Mother, it can be argued that certain traits like Phoebe’s craziness and joyfulness are seen in Lily.
Of course, there are significant differences between these characters, but it cannot be denied that the similarities in their storylines and personalities are uncanny.
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The Setting: A Cafe and A Pub
Another very obvious parallel between the two is there each has its own significant or rather, go-to place to chill, converse and just spend time. In Friends is the Central Perk Café, while in How I Met Your Mother it is the MacLaren’s pub. Of course, the Central Perk Café went on to become a symbol of the series that fans of the show can find replicas of this coffee house in the real world.
Both groups of Friends seem to have acquaintances with the owners or workers of these places. In Friends, one of the workers of the cafe, Gunther, goes a step further and starts crushing on Rachel. Interestingly, if one were to recall the Friends series, they might be able to come across a flashback episode which shows that the Central Perk Café used to be a bar where the group (excluding Rachel) used to hang out. In season 3, episode 6, “The One With The Flashback”, we see the gang, three years before the current setting of the story, discovering that the bar is being converted into a coffeehouse and being quite disappointed about it.
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Very Similar Trivial Details
From an episode on doppelgängers to some characters getting stung by a jellyfish, and the strong couple of the group suck at taking proper couple photographs, there are so many tiny details in How I Met Your Mother, that are borrowed from Friends. What’s more, is that there are some guest stars appearing on both shows. Sherri Shepherd might be called Daphne in How I Met Your Mother, but Friends fans know her as Rhonda. She is the Rhonda at Ross’ museum and who shows Joey that there is a huge distinction between blue coats and white coats.
Another guest star appearing in both series is Anne Dudek. However, unlike Sherri Shepherd’s roles, Dudek’s role in How I Met Your Mother seems to be an exact replica of Friends. In both shows, she becomes a victim of bad breakups. What’s worse is that both characters she plays get dumped on her birthday. Dudek’s characters cannot seem to catch a break in these two similar worlds.
In a nutshell, if one were to watch Friends and then How I Met Your Mother, they would be shocked at the similarities between the two shows. Nonetheless, both have their own set of die-hard fans as both shows have the necessary ingredients to uplift the viewer’s mood.
