Many people have speculated in this regard. Some of them have even gone as far as to qualify this alleged copy as a rip-off. I would like to weigh in, as someone that has enjoyed both shows and has watched them more than once.
I will definitely try to play devil’s advocate throughout this article, so I apologise in advance if I offend anyone! Bear in mind I am just expressing my very own opinion. If you see things differently, I would love to hear what you have to say. Don’t forget to leave something in the comment section!
First I would like to share with you three similarities that are not that obvious. These caught me of guard, because I have never had the time to think of it until now. They are truly something!
1)Monica and Lily both have a guilty pleasure: eating and buying things, respectively.
2)Lily and Phoebe share their curiosity regarding a possible lesbian experience with their female friends.
3)There is a character called “ugly naked guy” in “Friends” that appears as the “naked man” in “How I met your mother”.
Once you have recovered and are ready to keep reading, you can take a look at the other ideas that “How I met your mother” copied from “Friends”. Some of these similarities might be well-known; others may be food for thought. Are you ready? Let’s go, then!
4)In both TV series the group of friends live in an apartment together.
5)Both groups have a characteristic waiter, as well as a regular spot where they hang out.
6)Ross and Ted end up in a teaching position and date one of their students.
7)Chandler and Marshall hate their respective jobs.
8)Ross and Ted both enjoy correcting people.
9)Joey is addicted to food; Barney is addicted to sex.
10)Marshall and Chandler are Ted and Ross’s best friend.
11)Marshall and Chandler are the funny ones.
12)Ted and Ross are the nerdy ones.
13)Monica and Lily act like the mom of the group.
14)Lily and Phoebe are the quirky character of the group.
15)Joey and Barney are womanisers.
16)Ross falls for Rachel in the first episode; Ted falls for Robin in the first episode.
17)Joey falls for Rachel and Barney falls for Robin but it does not work out.
18)Lily and Marshall end up getting married by their womaniser friend, same as Monica and Chandler.
19)Rachel and Robin are awful at cooking and put their carreer above all else.
After having come up with 19 different things that appear in both TV series and as a big fan of “Friends”, I have to admit I am fully convinced that “How I met your mother” follows the same pattern, structure and has the same type of characters in it. Nevertheless, I believe that “Friends” is the best TV series of all time (Big Bang Theory comes pretty close, but I leave that for another article).
Hence the need for a new TV series that can help us fill the void. That is why I am truly grateful that “How I met your mother” resembles “Friends” in such a way. I appreciate the fact that we have had another show to fall in love with. But it is what it is… Maybe “How I met your mother” is not a rip-off of “Friends” in itself but it certainly is an attempt to emulate the best TV series of my generation!