Both How I Met Your Mother's spinoff How I Met Your Father and That '70s Show's reboot That '90s Show dodged the same sitcom spinoff problem, but the two shows achieved this in very different ways. It is always tricky for a spinoff to establish an identity of its own, particularly in the world of sitcoms. Sitcom spinoffs need to feel familiar enough for the show to be a fun comfort watch but fresh and original enough to justify their existence.
While both How I Met Your Father and That '90s Show share a laugh track, the two sitcom spinoffs also have something else in common. That '90s Show and How I Met Your Father managed the admirable achievement of following up a beloved series without overshadowing the earlier show's influence. While both How I Met Your Father and That '90s Show draw inspiration from How I Met Your Mother and That '70s Show, respectively, the two spinoffs used very different approaches to distinguish themselves from their predecessors.
Both How I Met Your Father and That '90s Show are spinoffs of comedy shows with big casts, meaning the shows had to bring back these familiar stars while also establishing their original characters. However, both spinoffs managed to do this using opposing approaches. How I Met Your Father's best trick in season 1 was the spinoff's decision to focus on its new characters without drawing attention to the lack of How I Met Your Mother cameos.
This approach paid off for How I Met Your Father season 1 as, by the time Robin appeared in the finale, viewers were invested in Sophie's story. It was still exciting to see the How I Met Your Mother heroine return to the screen, but this cameo was not as impactful as Robin's heart-to-heart with Sophie, meaning that the show's new characters successfully replaced the original cast.
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