‘How I Met Your Mother’ series finale draws big ratings; co-creator talks backlash
Regardless of whether or not you enjoyed the series finale for “How I Met Your Mother,” the numbers here by and large speak for themselves. For its last episode ever, the show drew a fantastic 5.3 in the 18-49 demographic, which is probably going to finish as the #3 program of the week behind only “The Walking Dead” and “The Big Bang Theory.” It was long expected that fans were going to tune back in for this last installment … even if they did not like what they saw.
As a matter of fact, in our poll posted after the finale more than 44% said that they “hated” the episode, whereas almost 25% said they were “disappointed.” Only 21% said that they either “loved it” or even just “liked it.” We gave the finale a “D,” our lowest grade since we started reviewing new episodes of the show. What we will be most intrigued by next is if this disdain translates into low ratings or a lack of interest for the new series “How I Met Your Dad.” If viewers feel as misled as they did watching this finale, they may opt not to watch.
It also didn’t take too long for one of the creators to respond (sort of) to some of the backlash. In a post on Twitter, executive producer Craig Thomas had the following to say:
“Thank you all. I mean it: Every possible reaction to the last 44 minutes…thank you all … The fact that we have been a tv sitcom that has received this much passion from fans, for 9 years (not just tonight) — thank you. We wrote a comedy with dramatic elements till the very end. Thanks for taking that ride with us. We did a finale about life’s twists and turns and that is not always what happens…but THANKS!”
The one thing that we hope future series take from this is that it is okay to change things up. “How I Met Your Mother” was perhaps hurt by the fact that the creators had decided upon the ending in the first episode, and when the story started to veer away from that ending being what the fans of the series wanted or were hoping for, they didn’t change it up. Maybe this was the story they wanted to tell, but it was not what the viewers wanted to see.
We’ll have some more on the fallout in the coming days, so be sure to stay tuned. For now, just be sure to click here if you want to get further news and updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: CBS