How I Met Your Mother has aged faster than the average sitcom, yet it remains worth watching today. Comedy tends to age more quickly than other genres. While an old horror film from the ‘60s or ‘70s might seem slower than a recent horror movie, it can still evoke fear in audiences.

However, comedy is different. There are timeless comedies whose absurdity transcends the eras in which they were created, from The Naked Gun to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Generally, since humor often relies on contemporary references and is intrinsically tied to the social climate of its time, comedies tend to age poorly.

Even by typical standards, How I Met Your Mother has aged rapidly, partly due to significant social changes in the last decade. The show’s references feel outdated, and many comedic premises have become obsolete. Nonetheless, it remains a great sitcom that everyone should watch.

Despite Airing In The 2000s, How I Met Your Mother Has Aged Surprisingly Fast

A Lot Of HIMYM Doesn’t Hold Up Today

How I Met Your Mother premiered 20 years ago and ended its run just over a decade ago, yet it has aged poorly. The character Barney Stinson, in particular, would not be acceptable today. He is a misogynist who treats women like objects and lies pathologically to engage in anonymous sex. In a post-#MeToo era, Barney is viewed as a villain.

When the show aired, its protagonist Ted Mosby was portrayed as a nice guy whom any woman would be fortunate to have. However, in the years since, Ted has been reevaluated as a “nice guy” — a man who believes he is a hopeless romantic and the ideal boyfriend, but is actually selfish, pushy, and toxic.

Moreover, it’s not just the chauvinistic elements of How I Met Your Mother that have aged poorly; many cultural references also contribute to its datedness. With nods to Lost, The Wire, Pearl Jam, Neil Strauss, The Departed, and a viral video résumé from YouTube, it is clear that it is a product of the 2000s.

While it is common for a sitcom to show its age, there are much older shows than How I Met Your Mother that still resonate today. The golden age of The Simpsons was notably progressive for the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The political discussions in All in the Family remain surprisingly relevant today, even half a century after it aired.

Aging Is A Problem For Many Sitcoms, Including The One Most Similar To HIMYM

Friends Has The Same Issue

When How I Met Your Mother debuted, it was one of many shows that followed Friends and aimed to become its successor: a light-hearted sitcom featuring a group of twenty-something friends navigating work and relationships. Other shows like New Girl, Coupling, and even The Big Bang Theory adopted a similar style in later seasons.

How I Met Your Mother was arguably the most successful of the Friends clones, as it aired for nearly as long as Friends and became equally embedded in pop culture. However, Friends encountered the same issue as How I Met Your Mother: it aged surprisingly quickly after its conclusion.

Much of the humor in Friends feels regressive by today’s standards. Jokes about the male nanny seem unnecessarily cruel now that the stigma has faded. There are numerous homophobic and transphobic storylines, including the recurring assumption that Chandler is gay and the negative portrayal of Chandler’s transgender parent.

Joey makes an uncomfortably inappropriate joke about Emma’s 18th birthday while she is still a baby. Ross tries everything possible to prevent his infant son from playing with dolls. Monica faces body-shaming whenever there’s a flashback to her teenage years. All these shortcomings contribute to the rapid aging of Friends, similar to that of How I Met Your Mother.

Why How I Met Your Mother Is Still Worth Watching, 20 Years After Its Premiere

The Jokes Haven’t All Aged Well, But The Emotions Still Land

While some aspects have aged poorly, How I Met Your Mother is still worth watching. Many of the jokes may not resonate today, but the emotional moments still connect. The writers effectively tapped into universally relatable situations like breakups, long-distance relationships, and the loss of a parent in a way that feels genuinely authentic.

How I Met Your Mother had the characteristics of a typical network sitcom — multi-camera filming, a laugh track, and a limited number of recurring sets — yet it feels much more realistic than a conventional artificial sitcom. This is one area where How I Met Your Mother surpasses Friends; the melodramatic moments are more impactful.

Although the misogynistic humor hasn’t aged well, much of the show’s humor features an absurdity that remains timeless. It employs quirky concepts like time travelers, an imaginary talk show, or an anthropomorphic magazine cover to explore mundane yet profoundly relatable everyday experiences. How I Met Your Mother remains a must-watch for sitcom enthusiasts.