“How I Met Your Mother” Celebrates Its 100th Episode at the Paley Center

Attending the special presentation and screening of “How I Met Your Mother’s” 100th episode at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills last week can be described in one word: HILARIOUS! The creators, cast, writers and producers in attendance were clearly a well-oiled comedy machine. They not only write, act and direct comedy, they live and breathe it. It is an integral part of who they are and it is nearly impossible to distinguish between their professional and personal personas. For the past six years, “How I Met Your Mother” has been home for this special group of gifted individuals. It was created out of a vacuum at a time when comedic television series were thought to be a thing of the past. So it was with an innocuous start that they landed on the television landscape with barely a splash, but it was not long before this little show that could, broke out and took the television world by storm.

Neil Patrick Harris and Cobie Smulders

As Neil Patrick Harris perfectly summed up, “It was always eggshells. For a good two and a half out of our first 5 years, we were considering cancellation. . .Television is such a weird medium. Shows that are lauded critically fail and shows that no one seems to like sometimes seem to stick around for a long time. . . We never had a lot of light shining on us. . . That first year, none of us felt secure enough although we were all proud of the show. . . I don’t think for the first year, we ever really celebrated.”

But even from their humble beginnings, anyone who tuned in knew instantly there was something special going on. This was not just a show content with 30 minutes of laughs. It was a show that had a heart. It was a story of a father sharing the story of the humorous journey he went through to find the mother of his children. Told with a distinctly comedic tone, the story unfolds as a series of fun-loving adventures against a poignant backdrop. It was not long before the five leading stars were major sensations as their one-liners melded with pitch-perfect physical comedy and their warm genuine friendship began to garner more and more attention.

So it was with earned confidence that the creators and cast sat before a select audience at the Paley Center for a screening of their 100th episode. It was a landmark night as they were clearly proud of their long-running and creatively original series. Never one to back down from a challenge, they chose to celebrate their 100th episode as a musical. On any television show it is risky enough to dare to step outside the box, but they embraced their wild-side and threw caution to the wind. Relying on the strong showmanship talents of Broadway-star Neil Patrick Harris, they wrote an episode set to showcase his immeasurable musical talents combined with the awesome comedy the entire cast is known for. The song, the dance, the irrepressible quick quips of comedic confection had the entire audience rolling with laughter and joy.

As the lights went up after the screening, creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays got up on stage along side their fellow comrades through this amazing journey:  Josh Radnor (Ted), Alyson Hannigan (Lily), Jason Segel (Marshall), Cobie Smulders (Robin), Neil Patrick Harris (Barney), and Pam Fryman, who directed 93 of their 100 episodes. Their beaming faces spoke volumes about how happy they were to be celebrating this momentous occasion. It is rare for any television show, let alone a comedy, to make it to the milestone mark of 100 episodes. With television audiences proving more fickle and finicky (cat joke! – trust me, it makes more sense later), it is a remarkable feat to make it so far in this day and age.

Alyson Hannigan and Josh Radnor

Creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays are the first to admit that they were certain that “HIMYM” was not going to be a huge success and they continue to be surprised and delighted it did. Coming off a prior failed television sitcom, they decided to follow the best advice any writer can receive: write what you know. And what they knew was:  what it was like to be a single guy searching for the right woman. The concept was simple enough, but what really made the series shine from the get-go was superior casting. Being self-admitted huge “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” fans, they only had one person in mind for the role of Lily and they were delighted when Alyson Hannigan leapt at the chance to portray her. It was also a pure sign of the stars aligning that Alyson ran into Neil Patrick Harris at one of the auditions and, with her rooting for him, he too landed the part of Barney which would skyrocket him to international stardom. With those two wickedly funny performers locked-in, the show was then lucky enough to land in quick succession, Josh Radnor, Jason Segel and Cobie Smulders to round out the stellar cast. It was lightening in a bottle. They all clicked from the get-go and became fast friends – something which reflected brightly through the television lens. Watching them all in the pilot alone, it simply felt like they were all life-long friends and the audience wanted to join them. So as the audience grew and ratings steadily rose, the sensation of “HIMYM” swept across the world.

Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan

During the moderated portion of the panel, the cast and creators were quick to point out their mutual affection and respect. They also took every opportunity to demonstrate their snappy wit by making cat references whenever possible. Alyson Hannigan started the shenanigans by letting it slip that one of their favorite past times during filming is coming up with puns. She explained, “We’ll just spend hours doing cat puns: like how can you work cat into a sentence?” With that invitation for mischief hovering in the air, none of them could resist and, without a second thought, the puns came fast and furious. A few of the notable puns were: Neil Patrick Harris, “Jason that was a purrrfect answer.” Alyson Hannigan, “Were their any cat-amarans?” along with Jason Segel’s, “I just hope you didn’t litter” referring to a day they spent filming at a Malibu beach. Josh Radnor, “Thinking about that season, wasn’t that episode nine — nine lives?” Jason Segel, “Makes you take a second and paws.” Jason, “Sometimes it feels like the entire kitten-kaboodle.” Neil Patrick Harris, “We’re now able to play in a bigger sand-box.” With pun-sters like these to work with, it is obvious why Craig Thomas and Carter Bays feel so inspired to write for them and relish doing so.

Josh Radnor

Despite all the antics, they were all quick to admit that it is the whimsy behind the show that initially drew them in and keeps their hearts tied to the show. As Josh shared regarding his character Ted: “I find that I’m a little bit charmed by him. He’s almost like an aggressively nostalgic guy. He’s a good friend. He wants his friends together – to create memories and there’s something very sweet about it.” Carter Bays also explained that, “[Ted] is the Dad of the show. We like the idea that he doesn’t have kids, but he’s already a dad.” Josh further elaborated with an observation that, “One of the great things about the show is that there is a sweet optimism — that the world will be alive in 2035.” And perhaps most tellingly, Pamela Fryman shared, “When I met Carter and Craig at a Starbucks, having read the script and loved it, it was like a great first date.” For the show had set the bar high and made everyone fall in
love with it upon first sight.

As for this season, Carter Bays happily shared, “This season has been like a box of candy . . . from a writing standpoint just getting inspired by how amazing this cast is . .  It’s just so fun to discover the new superpowers, to have the time to discover the superpowers of this cast and like we started writing this show . . . So it’s great to sort of dig deeper and discover who they are comedically and emotionally.”

To cap-off the celebratory love-fest, Jason Segel sagely noted: “This is the longest I’ve ever been a part of anything, besides my immediate family. It is longest relationship I’ve ever had. . . We know each other really well and have kind of grown up together which is really cool . . . Watching us all grow up together and sort of achieve our dreams has been my favorite part. Like, ‘Wow, we really did it!’”

For a show that only wanted to share the beautiful story of a father telling his kids how he met their mother, the show has become something much, much more. It has become an integral part of television history and set a new bar on what it means to be a comedic television show. It has also invited us on an extraordinary journey and we are savoring every minute of it.

“How I Met Your Mother” airs Mondays at 8:00 p.m. on CBS and its 100th episode will air on January 11th.