"How I Met Your Mother" (HIMYM) is a television series following a man, Ted Mosby, and his friends through their late 20s in New York City. The show is narrated by Ted who has sat his children down to tell them the story of how he met their mother. As Harold Mendelsohn stated in his mass entertainment theory, "TV provides an inexpensive, convenient way for people to satisfy various psychological needs"(Baran & Davis, 2015, p.120). HIMYM is a very popular show because it satisfies viewers' various psychological needs by allowing them to experience life and love in NYC and feel a sense of belonging with the group.
For nine seasons HIMYM took its fans on a roller coaster of Ted's happy relationships and heartbreaks all leading to him meeting the mother of his children. According to the uses and gratification theory, consumers use media for five reasons: to gain knowledge, to identify with characters, for simple entertainment, to enhance social interaction and to escape from the stresses of daily life ("Uses and gratification," 2015). Viewers watched this show to learn about relationships, friendships, and love, as well as to experience life with a group of friends in NYC.
HIMYM touched on many current events, both political and social, throughout the 2000s. Political and social events included were the global financial meltdown, the environmental protection movement, gay marriage and rights, the housing crisis, differences between Canadian and American social politics, marijuana use and legalization, the decline of local journalism, and finally, gun laws and safety. As blogger Erin Ryan wrote "Because of its relentless dated cultural and political references, How I Met Your Mother will likely be remembered by future TV nerds as one of the most quintessentially of-the-moment shows"(2014). Viewers did not just watch HIMYM because it was current, there was a character for every person to identify with or want to identify with on the show.
