How I Met Your Mother successfully earned its place as a sitcom staple, and the show’s popularity still hasn’t died down despite the show ending in 2014. With 208 episodes across nine seasons, the show managed to captivate audiences with its unique storytelling and humor.
The series created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays first aired on CBS on September 19, 2005, and is loosely based on the friendship between Thomas and Bays during their time together in New York. The series unfolds in the form of a flashback as Ted Mosby explains to his kids the story of how he met their mother.
The mother’s identity is kept a mystery until the series finale. The show’s highlight is the dynamic between “The Gang,” a group of friends consisting of the main characters: Ted, Marshall, Lily, Barney, and Robin. Ted is constantly searching for love, while Barney hates the idea of settling down. Marshall and Lily are a couple, and Robin is a career-driven woman who knows what she wants.
It has been over eight years since the show aired its highly anticipated finale, but fans still haven’t quite moved on from it yet. So, here’s a list of shows like How I Met Your Mother you can binge-watch in your free time.
1. Friends (1994-2004)
Every sitcom lover has watched or at least heard of Friends. The American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman for NBC boasts an ensemble cast of Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer. The show revolves around the lives of six friends in their 20s and 30s as they navigate their lives in New York City. The show was a huge success throughout its run and has maintained popularity over the years.
2. Community (2009-2015)
The community follows the story of a former lawyer who attends a community college set in the fictional town of Greendale to earn a legitimate degree after he is suspended from his law firm for lying about having a Columbia University bachelor’s degree. He forms a Spanish study group to impress a girl he likes, but more people show up, and they form an unlikely group of individuals who explore community college together. During its initial run, the show struggled in ratings but gained a cult following and received critical acclaim for its pop culture references and satirical parodies.
3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2021)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a sitcom set in Brooklyn’s fictional 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. The series follows a group of detectives with contrasting personalities headed by the serious Captain Raymond Holt, who is the NYPD’s first black gay police captain. The dynamic between the immature Jake Peralta and stoic Captain Holt is entertaining to viewers. Besides receiving acclaim for the show’s writing and acting, the series also gained praise for its portrayal of the LGBTQ+ community.
4. The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019)
The Big Bang Theory primarily follows the lives of Leonard and Sheldon, brilliant physicists, as they learn how to interact with people and impress women. Things take a turn when the beautiful Penny moves into the apartment across the hall. Leonard and Sheldon’s equally awkward friends Howard and Raj are part of the crew as well. The story takes place in Pasadena, California. The success of the show spawned a prequel series called Young Sheldon.
5. The Good Place (2016-2020)
The Good Place tells the story of a woman named Eleanor Shellstrop who ends up in a heaven-like utopia after her death as a reward for leading her life as a righteous person until her last breath. She soon realizes that she was sent to a good place by mistake and must hide her imperfect past from the afterlife architect Michael while trying to become a better person with the help of moral philosopher Chidi. The show’s usage of morals and ethics gained praise among viewers.
6. Parks And Recreation (2009-2015)
The show follows Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat’s journey as she helps local nurse Ann Perkins to turn an abandoned construction site into a community park to boost her career. The series is set in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Season one was met with criticism for its similarities to The Office, but subsequent seasons gained critical acclaim for their unique tone and format. Current events were incorporated into the series, and real-life political figures have made cameos in some episodes.
7. Superstore (2015-2021)
The American sitcom created by Justin Spitzer and starring America Ferrera and Ben Feldman follows a group of employees working in a chain store called Cloud 9. The show is set in St. Louis, Missouri. Considered one of the greatest workplace comedies, the show’s ensemble cast includes Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nico Santos, Nichole Sakura, Mark Mckinney, and Kaliko Kauahi.
8. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-2019)
Ellie Kemper plays Kimmy Schmidt in this streaming television sitcom Tina Fey, and Robert Carlock created. The series follows 29-year-old Kimmy’s struggle to adjust to life after being rescued from a cult. Kimmy eventually moves to New York City to restart her life and finds an unusual group of friends. The series has a total of 52 episodes across four seasons.
9. Two And A Half Men (2003-2015)
Two And A Half Men originally aired on CBS for 12 seasons. The show revolves around Jingle-writer Charlie and how his life turns around after his uptight brother Alan and son Jake move into his beach-front house with him following Alan’s divorce. The series was the third-highest revenue-generating program of 2012.
10. That ’70s Show (1998-2006)
The show follows a group of 17-year-olds living in Wisconsin in 1976. They are residents of the fictional town called Point Place. The main protagonist Eric Forman lives under his parents’ roof and abides by their rules. He lives next door to his girlfriend Donna Pinciotti and her parents, Bob and Midge. The rest of the gang includes Jackie and her boyfriend Kelso, Hyde, a conspiracy theorist, and Fez, a foreign exchange student adapting to American culture. The gang spends the majority of their time in Eric’s basement. Each episode revolves around the mishaps and adventures of the gang.
11. The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air (1990-1996)
Will Smith plays a fictionalized version of himself in this television sitcom. Will is a street-smart teenager who is sent to live with his rich uncle and Family in Bel-Air after spending his entire life in West Philadelphia. Comedy and drama ensue when Will’s lifestyle clashes with the rich lifestyle of his upper-class relatives.
12. Seinfeld (1989-1998)
Seinfeld is a slice-of-life sitcom that follows the lives of Jerry, a fictionalized version of Jerry Seinfeld and his three friends in New York. The show focuses on Jerry’s relationships with his closest buddy George Costanza, his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes, and his next-door neighbor Cosmo Kramer. Fictional Jerry uses the events of each episode as material for his stand-up comedy segments scattered throughout an episode. The show was largely written by Seinfeld and fellow comedian, Larry David. Seinfeld is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.
13. Modern Family (2009-2020)
Modern Family follows the lives of three different types of interrelated families living in the Los Angeles area. Jay Pritchett lives with his much younger wife Gloria, her son Manny and their son Joe who was born in season four. Claire Pritchett lives with her husband, Phil Dunphy, and three kids, Haley, Alex, and Luke. Mitchell Pritchett lives with his same-sex partner Cameron and their adopted daughter Lily. Each episode is a testament to how much the families love each other despite their drama.
14. New Girl (2011-2018)
Jess, a quirky teacher, moves into an apartment loft with three single men after a bad breakup. They find her unusual at first, but they eventually come to love her for who she is and become her biggest support system. Comedy and drama are combined to present these characters’ relationships and career dilemmas. The cast’s performances have gathered much praise from viewers and critics alike.
15. The Last Man On Earth (2015-2018)
Created by Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth is a post-apocalyptic comedy that chronicles the life of an average guy named Phil Miller, the last remaining man on earth after a deadly virus swept the planet. Phil travels across the country trying to find other survivors but finds no one. When all hope seems lost, a group of survivors shows up.
16. Grace And Frankie (2015-2022)
Grace and Frankie form an unlikely friendship after their long-term husbands, Robert and Sol, announce they’re in love with each other and plan to get married. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin play the titular Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein. The two women who initially hated each other learn to become their support system under unusual circumstances. The show was created by Martha Kauffman and Howard J. Morris for Netflix.
17. 2 Broke Girls (2011-2017)
Two women in their mid-twenties named Max and Caroline work as waitresses at a Brooklyn restaurant. They come from different backgrounds and therefore have different perspectives on life. Caroline grew up as the daughter of a billionaire, while Max grew up in poverty. The chemistry between the two lead characters gained the show much popularity. They dream of opening a cupcake business together someday, but they always fall short on money. The show aired on CBS, created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings.
18. One Day At A Time (2017-2020)
The series follows the lives of three generations of the same Cuban-American Family living under the same roof following an ugly divorce. A newly divorced former military mother, her teenage daughter and tween son, and traditional mother try to navigate their life forward after the divorce. The show was adapted from the 1975 series of the same name. The original CBS sitcom is reimagined to address challenges that Latinos living in the United States face while also addressing issues like mental illness, immigration, misogyny, homophobia, gender identity, and racism.
19. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (2005-present)
The show follows “The Gang,” a group of misfits who run an Irish pub called “Paddy’s Pub” in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They spend their free time playing pranks on others and each other for trivial reasons. It premiered on FX and moved to FXX during its ninth season. The show has amassed a cult following for its usage of dark humor.
20. Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)
A married couple is forced to relocate to a small town called Schitt’s Creek with their two adult kids after they lose all their wealth and go bankrupt. The Canadian sitcom Dan and Eugene Levy created has them playing the lead roles as well. The series has a total of 80 episodes spread across six seasons. The series follows the Family as they learn to adjust to a life without wealth. The show gained critical acclaim for its acting, writing, and humor. The show set the record for the first comedy or drama series to receive all seven major comedy awards at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.
21. Happy Endings (2011-2013)
Happy Ending is a single-camera American sitcom that aired on ABC. The show follows six young friends as they try to make sense of adulthood. The show’s main characters are shop owner Alex and her ex-fiancé Dave, who owns a food truck. They are also joined by Brad and Jane, a married couple who are madly in love, their friend Max, who is always looking for work, and Penny, a single woman who is constantly looking for the right man.
22. Lovesick (2014-2018)
Created By Tom Edge, Lovesick is a British sitcom starring Johnny Flynn, Antonia Thomas, Daniel Ings, Hannah Britland, and Joshua McGuire. The show follows university student Dylan as he attempts to contact all of his previous sexual partners to inform them of his chlamydia diagnosis. The show is set in the West End of Glasgow. Each episode is told in the form of a flashback and details Dylan’s encounter with each woman.
23. Master Of None (2015-present)
Master Of None, created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, was released for streaming on Netflix in 2015. The series follows the personal and professional life of Dev, a 30-year-old actor, in the first two seasons as he struggles to find meaning in life.
Ansari is the lead in the first two seasons but barely appears in the third season. The third season follows a 37-year-old lesbian novelist, Denise, and explores her marriage with Alicia.
