In the latest act of unnecessary reboots, the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” has been reinvented into the appropriately named, “How I Met Your Father.” Most notably starring Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother” was a well-received sitcom, running for nine seasons, originally airing in 2005. From solely the first two episodes, any viewer can tell that “How I Met Your Father” is boring and far from amusing. It relies heavily on laugh tracks to make jokes appear funnier when instead they leave the viewer cringing and questioning why they decided to even watch in the first place. “How I Met Your Father” can only be found on Hulu, and will most likely stay that way, as I can’t see this painfully unfunny sitcom finding its way onto another major network. 

“Seinfeld,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” are two of the most popular sitcoms to find their way onto television. These shows were bursting with character and life, something that can’t be said for “How I Met Your Father.” All of the characters were unbelievably one-dimensional, playing into a single trope, which made them seem repetitive and boring. While, the comedic element in “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” leaves viewers laughing, “How I Met Your Father” never had me even remotely chuckling, partly due to the constant barrage of outdated jokes and sexual innuendos. 

The overuse of low-hanging jokes became quite bothersome. The show would consistently try to have somber moments between characters before making a complete u-turn and throwing multiple sex jokes in the viewers’ faces. This inconsistency left me wondering if the writers were trying too hard, or not trying at all. 

Making an explicit joke falls into the relief theory of comedy (a joke theory that uses edgy and politically incorrect jokes to get a laugh); this method, however, should be used sparingly. By mainly relying on explicit jokes to hold most of the comedic weight, the show comes across as very uncomfortable and downright distasteful.

Another problem with the show is that I constantly found myself trying to wrap my head around which audience demographic this is supposed to cater to, and for the life of me I couldn’t find one. In sitcoms, having a target audience for television shows is especially important, so if “How I Met Your Father” could find and stick to one set demographic, I think it could be better. Instead, however, the producers try to cater to everyone, using all styles of comedy, none of which fit together. This created a messy atmosphere that overall, wasn’t enjoyable.

On top of lackluster comedy and a disorganized plot, “How I Met Your Father” also 

does a poor job of design. The set pieces are bland and additionally lack any character or excitement. The green-screen effects, when used, looked incredibly fake, especially during a scene where the characters take an Uber. Having the show be set in New York City is far and above the most unimaginative part of this sitcom. The cliche of sitcoms being set in New York has been completely overused since the nineties, being host to shows such as “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Brooklyn 99” and “30 Rock.” 

Overall “How I Met Your Father” is a poorly executed attempt to revitalize a once-beloved show. It lacks the traits of the great sitcoms that came before it and leans too much on sexual remarks for its comedy. While watching, I found myself constantly pausing and putting my head in my hands. The show uses cringey, outdated language and feels completely uninspired. Unless something changes in the writers’ room, I don’t think “How I Met Your Father” is going to last very long.