Fans May Be Disappointed To Find Out Where HIMYM Was Really Filmed
"How I Met Your Mother" is remembered by many television fans as one of the funniest sitcoms of all time, even if it didn't necessarily stick the landing. The series first debuted in 2005 on CBS and during its nine-season run managed to nab 10 Emmys. Despite acclaim during its first few seasons for its inventive premise in narrating a man's entire love story before he marries his wife, the series disappointed many in its final execution, resulting in a less-than-stellar conclusion that some fans believe didn't live up to expectations.
Critics like Adam White at Independent have argued that the series became irrelevant in its final batch of episodes. On the other hand, despite calling its curtains in 2014, the series continues to find enduring popularity on social media, particularly with its 200,000-strong fan group on Reddit. The show also became the latest series to receive the spin-off treatment in the form of "How I Met Your Father," a Hulu series starring Hilary Duff in the lead role.
Despite some noted shortcomings, however, the original series has emerged as a quintessential part of New York City's on-screen canon, alongside other popular shows like "Mad Men" and "Friends" (via CinemaBlend). Despite various episodes focused on the city's iconic skyline and culture, fans of "HIMYM" will be surprised to know that the CBS sitcom wasn't actually even filmed in the Big Apple.
How I Met Your Mother was filmed in a Los Angeles studio
In what may come as a huge surprise to even hardcore fans of the show, "How I Met Your Mother" was mostly filmed in a Los Angeles studio. This revelation might take many aback as "How I Met Your Mother" has, by all accounts, succeeded in portraying the culture of New York. Showrunners Craig Thomas and Carter Bays spent their early careers as writers for the "Late Show With David Letterman," which was written and produced in New York City. The duo lived together in an Upper West Side apartment, which reportedly influenced the surroundings of the main "HIMYM" characters (via New York Post).
The most notable location that the duo drew inspiration from was the Irish pub McGee's, which served as the basis for MacLaren's, the bar that the "How I Met Your Mother" gang frequented in nearly every episode. Thomas, Bays, and the rest of the "Late Show" staff would frequent the real-life establishment, so it makes sense that the duo adapted the watering hole for their television series. Despite later working in Los Angeles, the duo continued to be inspired by New York, especially when it came to their characters' many quirks. The showrunners recreated the Canadian-themed bar Ontario by turning it into the similarly themed, but entirely fictional Hoser Hut, which the Canadian-born Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) frequents whenever she feels homesick.
McGee's and Ontario are just two of many locations that were recreated on "HIMYM." As with many Hollywood productions, this just goes to show that a series doesn't actually need to be filmed in any given location, so long as it carries that environment's true essence at heart.