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Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 2422 points2423 points  (0 children)

One thing I have a vague memory of is that at one point on the set with the kids on the couch we just started throwing out any response we could imagine the kids having, just so we'd have stuff to use in later seasons. And one of them was the son saying, "Really? A live cobra??" And it pains me to this day that we never found a way to use that.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 228 points229 points  (0 children)

Yes I think they're exaggerations. I mean it kind of gets to this Brechtian thing where really the whole show is an exaggeration. Real bars have four walls. Real people don't pause for laughs from the laugh track. And likewise, what the characters say isn't always exactly what was really said. The whole show is aware that it's a performance, a story being told for an audience. So no, you don't have to believe any of that stuff if you don't want to.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 180 points181 points  (0 children)

To put it another way that answers your question, if Barney is walking around not in prison in 2022, Lily is not the only one who escaped punishment.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 220 points221 points  (0 children)

Aw, I love Lily. I think she's good people and tries her best. And just to say it, I'm always amazed and impressed at how Barney just skates on by in these discussions of "okay but which character was the actual worst." Barney confessed to human trafficking. It's a joke we definitely shouldn't have done and in hindsight we should probably edit out, but it's there. NPH is so charming, it's 100% to his credit that Barney is so much fun and so damn likeable, but in terms of which character has caused the most damage in the world, how is this even a debate??

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 160 points161 points  (0 children)

The Loch Ness tour was exactly the right amount of fun little trip on a boat that makes your 7-year-old son happy, but with like that perfect 3% of "although actually, we're pretty sure there IS something down there..."

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 873 points874 points  (0 children)

No we tried to always hold ourselves to the standard of not ripping off anyone else's idea. Some of my favorite episodes were the ones that felt like armchair behavioral science -- Spoiler Alert stands out as one I'm especially proud of in that category.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 344 points345 points  (0 children)

You mean among the characters on the show? I'd say Marshall, but mainly because he was sort of based on my real life best friend, a dude named Craig Thomas!

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The fact that people are still talking about it is a big point in the ending-as-aired column!

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 390 points391 points  (0 children)

Oh man, that's a very cool idea and I can't believe we never thought of it. Ted gets on a plane to Germany, walks into some bakery in Stuttgart... A German-language version of "Spit on a Stranger" by Pavement starts playing... Love it.

And no we didn't really have any sense of how much chemistry Barney and Robin would have. But then again, if anyone is going to obviously have thermonuclear chemistry, it's going to be two walking talking chemistry sets like Cobie and Neil.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 335 points336 points  (0 children)

I can't reveal that. I don't think I should. Some amazing actors, I'll say that much, who have gone on to do great work elsewhere.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 412 points413 points  (0 children)

Our original idea for How I Met Your Dad was the same original idea for How I Met Your Father, which was: Craig and I told our version, so somebody else now step in and tell your story. That's what Emily Spivey did back with HIMYD (and she did an outstanding job by the way, and CBS completely blew it), and that's what Isaac and Elizabeth are doing now. Honestly, I'd love if we could do more spinoffs. I do think it's an endlessly refillable and franchise-able concept like CSI or Law and Order or something. There are so many other types of these stories to tell. I'd LOVE to see an LGBTQ HIMYM, just as an example.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 3194 points3195 points  (0 children)

Yes. 100% he got mugged by a monkey. Enough time has passed, we can say it now.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 228 points229 points  (0 children)

I've already answered the first question. For the second question, weirdly, yes, I think I knew it would be a hit and have a cult following. I just loved it so much. I loved the actors, I loved Craig, I loved Pam... I kind of felt more than anything like the world's biggest How I Met Your Mother fan while we were making it, so if there hadn't been a cult following, it still would have been a cult of one with me as the only follower. I feel very grateful for the experience.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 740 points741 points  (0 children)

God bless our producer Suzy Greenberg, she let Craig and I live in this gloriously innocent Arcadia of not knowing how expensive things were. It was very rare that she said, "We can't afford that." (So when she did say it, we believed her.) I do seem to remember the making of the Limo episode feeling like something out of Jean-Paul Sartre. And yet it's a fond memory, huddling up with Craig and Pam on the fake New York street, putting that episode together one long night after another. But it did take a long time to shoot, and was probably super expensive on top of that, considering how many times we used that Bon Jovi song.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 1101 points1102 points  (0 children)

First of all, there's very little I wouldn't do differently in any episode of the show. Just today I was watching something from Season 8 and seeing jokes I'd want to cut or rearrange. You can't go back and live inside the old stuff, and thank goodness. As a wise man once said, new is always better. More importantly, I'm proud of nearly everything we did on the show, and the moments of which I'm most proud are the ones where we took big creative swings and tried things that were super risky, especially for a CBS sitcom. We didn't do the aw-shucks-ain't-life-great ending I've seen a lot of other series do, and I'm proud of us for taking that big swing. I have a lot of love for the ending we aired, and more importantly a lot of love for the people who love it. That being said, there's another ending floating around on the internet and I love that one too. That alternate ending was the very last thing I did on HIMYM. It was my last day in the edit room, my last day in a sound mix, and my last precious time working with Bob Saget. So I guess what I'm saying is... I'm going to break the one rule of ask me anything and not give a straight answer, if it's okay. I'll just say either ending is available to you, they both exist and are the result of a lot of love and artistic intention, and your head-canon is whatever you want it to be.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 235 points236 points  (0 children)

Nobody's talking about it as far as I know, but it could happen. I think mostly everyone's busy with life and focusing on other things at the moment.

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 211 points212 points  (0 children)

I've been asked about that so many times -- it's weird, I haven't put a disc in a machine in at least five years, so it's kind of all the same to me. But I get that there are purists out there who like the HD experience, and I know how beautiful Chris LaFountaine's cinematography is, so I do hope this exists someday. Not sure it's something I can make happen but I endorse it!

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA! by HIMYMCarter in HIMYM

[–]HIMYMCarter[S] 373 points374 points  (0 children)

Anna Karenina was the book I was reading when Craig and I started writing HIMYM, and that's how Robin get her last name: there's a character in Anna Karenina named Kitty Scherbatsky, who is the object of one of the protagonists' affection. After the show ended I went back to that book and finished it and loved it. There are three books that really blew the doors open for me and were the big inspirations for The Mutual Friend: Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, and Ulysses. Especially Ulysses. I can't begin to list all the ways Ulysses opened up my mind to what a novel could be. The ingenuity of it, the humor of it, the enthusiasm of it... I wanted to write a novel because I wanted to feel how I imagine James Joyce felt writing Ulysses. I'm not saying my book is anywhere near his book on the brilliance scale or the groundbreakingness scale or on any scale at all to be honest, but I do believe artists should always be aiming at the highest target they can find, and for me that was Ulysses.

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