60 best sitcoms of all time

45. How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother was an interesting idea for a sitcom that ultimately got dragged out much longer than it should have. Along the way, it finally made America aware that Neil Patrick Harris is a lot more than “the kid from Doogie Howser,” gave Alyson Hannigan a great post-Buffy the Vampire Slayer comedic showcase and gave us Cobie Smulders before Marvel snapped her up to play Maria Hill. Did you ever imagine Robin Sparkles as a SHIELD agent? Nope, not us either.

Give creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas credit for keeping up with their framing device for as long as they did, and to the cast for sticking together as a unit for the entire run of the show — both things that don’t usually happen in television. HIMYM showed us what funny and charming things can happen when writers really start to play toward the strengths of their actors, and along the way roped in many folks that we didn’t usually think of as comedy players — like Jennifer Morrison, Michael Trucco and Hannigan’s real-life husband Alexis Denisof. It was a joy just to see talented folks get to travel the comedic path along with a main crew that developed into being amazingly funny.

Unfortunately, this show is going to stay in our bottom half for sticking around too long and for its disappointing ending that just didn’t live up to the question that the show had us waiting to answer for nearly a decade. Still, we have to give HIMYM credit for the things it did right, and for how it introduced or re-introduced some comedic voices.

Next: 44. Home Improvement