How I Met Your Dad Will Not Go Forward At CBS

Following the divisive but successful series finale of CBS’s hit How I Met Your Mother, the spin-off project How I Met Your Dad seemed like a done deal at the same network. Not so, according to Deadline, who tells us this morning that the show has not been picked up by CBS. The network’s option on the series expires today, so unless there’s a sudden miracle, the spin-off series will not go forward at How I Met Your Mother’s parent network.

CBS’s decision to pass on the How I Met Your Dad pilot means that the show will now be shopped to other networks by 20th Century Fox TV, the producing studio. CBS has cited some serious problems with the pilot as their reason for passing, and recently made an offer to retool it all together. 20th Century Fox TV refused that offer because CBS was still declining to take a series order, even on the basis of a retooled pilot.

That’s the basic run-down on How I Met Your Dad, and it does not bode well for the future of the show. I cannot believe that CBS would pass on a series so closely tied to one of their biggest hits if there was not some really serious issues to deal with in the pilot. Despite the involvement of How I Met Your Mother creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, and writer Emily Spivey, it sounds like How I Met Your Dad just does not capture the same magic.

The show is not dead yet, though, and chances are that it will find a home somewhere else. How long it will actually last is another question entirely. Many critics have agreed that How I Met Your Mother jumped the shark right there at the end of its run. Do we really think that another version of the same basic premise will be a success?

We will keep an eye on How I Met Your Dad and let you know if and when it gets picked up.