How I Met Your Father

In addition to trying to set up its own story and characters, HIMYF is struggling with the legacy of its past, while trying to fix the errors its predecessor made. That’s a lot to ask of any sitcom, and who knows if it will be able to pull this off in the long haul. But at least with these first four episodes, thanks to its appealing cast and plenty of promise, How I Met Your Father is off to a rocky, but auspicious start.

Father is too much of an imitation at some points and too scattered and strange at others. But there are a few sparks of potential here, at least in the supporting cast."

Despite the updates, this new series certainly feels like a piece of its predecessor in the style of humor, laugh track and direction (Pamela Fryman, who directed almost every episode of “Mother” returns to helm “Father” episodes). The theme song is the same and there are other Easter eggs of varying size and scope. Duff, formerly married to former Penguins player Mike Comrie, is the standout here.

The zingers are often gag-inducing and none of the characters remotely plausible. Yet the show sparkles with such exuberance and lack of cynicism that I found myself laughing at the inanity of it all. Twenty five minutes flew by and, while I didn’t love this creaking comedy, I can’t quite say I hated it either.

There are enough good things about the show to think it’ll work eventually, but it might never click on all cylinders like the parent show did at its peak.

The series replicates HIMYM’s narrative inventiveness, but it’s the chemistry between its leads the new series tries hardest to recreate. ... Part of the problem is, without the core chemistry (which may take a few episodes to work out), the new show so far also lacks the clever plot overlays we came to expect from Carter Bays and Craig Thomas’ original series.

If old episodes of HIMYM feel like comfort food in 2022, HIMYF feels less like an updated recipe than the prepackaged Trader Joe’s version. It’s good enough to pass in a pinch, but not quite good enough to surpass the real deal.

This Hulu series feels particularly stale, with its modest wrinkles failing to offer enough to merit starting a new relationship.

It's a familiar sitcom with familiar beats, and stars a particularly familiar lead who brings a nostalgic vibe to an essentially wistful enterprise. "How I Met Your Father" is for anyone who grew up on Duff's "Lizzie McGuire" or "Drake and Josh" (Josh Peck joins in a later episode) and may be wondering right now why romance is so tragically out of reach circa 2022.

Hulu’s How I Met Your Father has a strong cast, but lame jokes and an excess of schmaltz make it fall short of the original.

Father overstuffs itself with elaborate backstories, yet it's barely clear why the ensemble wants to hang out together. Contrivances pile up.

“How I Met Your Father” misses all of that spark and feels like watching the copy of a copy of a copy. It’s enough to fulfill a nostalgic craving in the most superficial sort of way, but far too flimsy to do anything else.

We've seen this story before and better versions of it since life moved on, making the writers' choice to retrace its dated habits so odd.

There’s a lot of light and snacky fare out there, but HIMYF feels more akin to a reheated, juiced-up leftover.

This new show feels like dating someone who superficially reminds you of a long-term ex, but without either the exhilarating highs or maddening lows that made the original relationship the kind you would one day tell stories about. It’s just another piece of familiar IP that’s been dusted off without any idea of what to do with it.

“How I Met Your Father” (created by the writing team of Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, who also adapted the TV series “Love, Victor” from the film “Love, Simon”) simply feels like a void — an absence where interesting characters or relatable scenarios or effective attempts at wit and charm should be.

One of the more downright disorienting series in recent memory. ... Not even Lowell, so capable on shows like “GLOW” and “Enlisted,” can overcome the musty characterization of “Uber driver weathering the humiliation of his failed proposal going viral.” That just about applies to every character and complication on “How I Met Your Father.” ... “How I Met Your Father” is just a bizarre exercise in recycling nostalgia for modern times without finding a way to be modern at all.