Neil Patrick Harris Given How I Met Your Mother Spinoff Titled "The Show You Actually Want to Watch."

Since the premiere of How I Met Your Mother, fans have believed the sitcom would be far superior if it narrowed its focus to exclusively follow the exploits of Barney, the beloved suit-wearing womanizer played by Neil Patrick Harris.

Finally they will get their wish.

CBS has green-lit a spinoff titled "The Show You Actually Want to Watch," that will follow Barney as he suits up with his bro's and engages in his signature brand of non-threatening misogyny. In addition, each episode will feature a song and dance routine and conclude with Barney sitting at a blue-screened computer, registering poignant reflections on his week.

"It's everything America wants," said Harris in a prepared yet seemingly off the cuff statement. "Now who wants to see me wear a top hat?"

The decision to spotlight Barney was a move long in the works for the network.

"We originally thought just cutting out Ted would do the trick," said CBS president and CEO, Leslie Moonves, who admitted that centering the show around a boring character played by a boring actor was a 'big mistake'. "But why stop there? The women certainly aren't funny, and I often forget that Jason Segel is even on the show."

Segel has signed on to make cameo appearances on the NPH spinoff on the condition that he makes no mention of his character's wife, Lily.

"Alyson Hannigan is not allowed on set," insisted Harris. "That was the first first clause of my contract."

In the meantime, How I Met Your Mother will be retitled "Don't Worry, NPH will still guest star," until it is inevitably canceled at the end of the season.

-Dan Abramson, thehollywoodham.com

-Follow The Hollywood Ham on Facebook

Follow The Hollywood Ham on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehollywoodham

Comments

[JimR]

This is funny! God, that show is awful.

[MorpheusXNYC]

Nobody's putting a gun to your head forcing you to watch and there are hundreds of other channels you can turn to if you have standard cable.

But more importantly - are you insane??!

That show ROCKS. It's one of the best shows on TV period and almost makes up for the colossally lame, terribly unfunny and dumbed down show aimed squarely at the 40% of illiterate adults and children educated during the Bush generation years named "Two and a Half Men".

[MikeDu]

Is this a spoof or actual news? Bad bad bad idea if its real. It'll kill off the first show and sink Harris's career. Remember the Joey Tribiani show? Remember Matt LeBlanc's career?

[sheeshbrother]

Matt LeBlanc is no Neil Patrick Harris.
Harris will triumph like he always does.

[poomplet]

NPH is awesome & all...but there is NO WAY the Barney character could support a show. NPH in another character.­­..maybe/p­r­obby...b­ut Barney only exists because his friends are there to draw out enough instances of him being a decent guy for us to not abhor him.

In fact, the ONLY stuff Ted brings to the table on the show is being Barney's foil & occasional wingman..."Have you met....TED?". Barney in a vacuum, or with other Barney's in some kind of Bro-Pack, would be unwatchable.

The show is PLENTY watchable as-is; Lily & Marshall are a great TV couple (who's plot situations are NEVER cliched, i.e. "Stripper Lily") played by GREAT actors...I LOVE Cobie Smulders & her character (Robin Sparkles is the #1 bit in the show's history)...Barney, duh, is great.

Ted...well, as we all know, his utter lack of sack-stuffers...or ANY sign of masculinity...DO bring the show down a TAD. But don't go claiming HIMYM is a crap show...or that NPH is the only bright spot. CLEARLY, the steady ratings growth prove otherwise.

[poomplet]

NPH is awesome & all...but there is no way in HELL the Barney character could support a show. NPH in another character.­..maybe/pr­obby...but Barney only exists because his friends are there to draw out enough instances of him being a decent guy for us to not abhor him.

In fact, the ONLY stuff Ted brings to the table on the show is being Barney's foil & occasional wingman..."Have you met....TED?". Barney in a vacuum, or with other Barney's in some kind of Bro-Pack, would be unwatchable.

The show is PLENTY watchable as-is; Lily & Marshall are a great TV couple (who's plot situations are NEVER cliched, i.e. "Stripper Lily") played by GREAT actors...I LOVE Cobie Smulders & her character (Robin Sparkles is the #1 bit in the show's history)...Barney, duh, is great.

Ted...well, as we all know, his utter lack of sack-stuffers...or ANY sign of masculinity...DO bring the show down a TAD. But don't go claiming HIMYM is a crap show...or that NPH is the only bright spot. CLEARLY, the steady ratings growth prove otherwise.

[WiseLonghorn]

Funny, Barney is my fav and Marshall...but it's actually NPH...I missed out that he had a great comedic side until I saw Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle...he was the funniest thing in that movie too. Actually, they don't need to spin off..they can just have Dr. Horrible turn into a Barney type character by day and I bet it'll be a cool show. Seeing NPH act as a shy guy in Dr. H, reminds me of his turn on L&O CI, as a psycho cannibal.

[ktano0]

Someone give this guy the memo:

Disparaging remarks about the supreme Ms. Hannigan will not be tolerated.

(Especially now, since she is a red-head again!)

[Pimpinnati]

She looks absolutely fantastic after the pregnancy.

[Joe Kilker]

Funny, kind of. You had me until the bit about cutting out Ted, when I just thought 'how cruel...' In the UK, we've just started watching the first season, after E4 bought the show (BBC2 first ran it, years back, but in a bad time slot). I can appreciate that stretching the premise of the show to four or five seasons isn't going to be easy, and there are going to be plot twists that strain the audience's patience. Me, I'm all about the plot twists, though. DS-9 didn't really kick off until the Founders/Dominion turned up.

What keeps me watching is the thought that the 'mother' turns out to be LIly, 'cause we all love Alyson Hannigan. Not everyone will agree, but it's less jarring than the prospect of Robin/Barney (please, let me forget...).

[dubuqueborn]

The guy looks like a human version of " Timmy " from South Park!!!

[Ted Silliman]

Well, not that funny, but the point is well taken. I used to really enjoy this show, despite the Ted character being far and away the weakest part of the show. I think the producers realize this and that is why the mother character is going to be revealed sooner rather than later. You just can't sustain the show on Ted's exploits because no one care about his character, a whiny, self-absorbed effete bore.

The two shows so far this season have been unbearably bad. Even the Barney-Robin subplot seems tired, despite being so promising last season. Their coupling is the show's Jump the Shark moment.

[jason10006]

Not a very funny post.

Of course, in seriousness (and it seriously was not a funny post) people said the same thing about lots of sitcom sidekicks, from Jack and Karen on "Will & Grace" all the way back to JJ on "Good Times" or the various crazy relatives on "Bewitched." However, as we learned from "Rhoda" and the other less successful spin-offs of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show", (remember "Phyllis?" No?)

the sidekick is actually funniest when playing off the straight lead. Or does everyone forget that they gave the maid from the Jefferson's, Flo the waitress from Alice, and the Roepers from "Three's COmapny" failed spin-offs. (Really, look them up on IMDB.)

[poomplet]

VERY good point/examples of how sidekick-CHARACTERS can't be turned into star vehicles.

Now, NPH CERTAINLY could support a show, but not as Barney.