When Did How I Met Your Mother Jump the Shark?

Today, we look at when (or if) you folks believe that How I Met Your Mother “jumped the shark.”

This is “Just Can’t Jump It,” a feature where we examine shows and whether they “jumped the shark.” Jumped the shark (coined by Jon Hein) means that the show had a specific point in time where, in retrospect, you realize that show was going downhill from there. Not every show DOES jump the shark. Some shows just remain good all the way through. And some shows are terrible all the way through. What we’re looking for are moments where a show that you otherwise enjoyed hit a point where it took a noticeable nose dive after that time and if so, what moment was that?

How I Met Your Mother was framed as a story that a man was telling his kids about how he met their mother, while obviously just mostly telling the misadventures of a group of friends in New York City in the early 21st Century. It ran for nine seasons.

So first…DID IT JUMP THE SHARK? Yes.

WHEN DID IT JUMP THE SHARK This is a tricky one, as the last season (which took place all over the course of a wedding weekend) was a bit of a slog, but honestly, I’m sticking with literally the series finale, which I’ve written about a number of times over the years (and I’m sure I’ll write about it more). I know it’s weird to say a show jumped the shark at the end, because it’s over, so how can it jump, right? But it jumped so badly IN THE FINALE, then by the end of the episode, the show had been so tarnished that it hurt the legacy of the show AFTER the end of the show.

Let me know what you think in the comments or on social media!

Feel free to e-mail me at brian@popculturereferences.com for suggestions for shows for us to do in future installments!