'How I Met Your Dad' Dead at CBS: What Happened? - Report
CBS announced its Fall schedule for the 2014-2015 broadcast season, and the rumors were true after all: How I Met Your Dad, the spinoff of the recently-concluded How I Met Your Mother, is dead in the water. So how did a virtual lock for a series pickup end up falling by the wayside?
Apparently, CBS president Nina Tassler really wanted it on the network, but states that the pilot just wasn't up to the standard they expected.
“We reached out [to Bays and Thomas], tried to get a redo,” said Tassler. “It wasn’t what they wanted to do.”
Naturally, this is because, as first reported by Deadline, studio 20th Century Fox was unable to secure a guarantee from CBS that if they did reshoot the pilot, How I Met Your Dad would receive a series pickup.
Here's a picture from How I Met Your Mother, for lack of a single damn image from How I Met Your Dad (Credit: CBS)
Tassler would go on to explain, “To say we love this show and we love these producers is an understatement. They are beloved, and we have an extraordinary relationship with them. But there were elements in the pilot that didn’t work out.”
The CBS prez stated that CBS has “an extraordinary track record redoing pilots,” citing The Big Bang Theory as just one such example of a show that improved and found success after reshooting the initial pilot episode. However, CBS felt they had little choice but to let go of the show after Bays and Thomas refused to reshoot. “I’m heartsick," Tassler stated. "We loved this brand, it is a very important show and we love the producers, but it didn’t work out.”
As much as it might disappoint Tassler, this was probably the right choice for the network. The How I Met Your [Blank] brand really is a bit toxic right now, following the controversial HIMYM series finale (which has spawned any number of alternate endings to fix what creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays actually did, such as cutting a pivotal scene that might have helped the stomach-churning twist go down a tiny bit easier).
Still, it's hard to argue that the show didn't seem like a lock for a series order, even after its pro/con development cycle: on the one hand, creative difficulties may have led to the departure of Krysta Rodriguez from the show; on the other, the series was still able to get a damn solid cast including high profile hires such as series lead Greta Gerwig and designated Bob Saget surrogate Meg Ryan. But this wasn't enough to keep the show alive, I suppose.
Well, at least not at CBS.
After its series option expires today at CBS, 20th Century Fox will be able to shop the series around to other networks. Word is, there is already some considerable interest. The studio is reportedly looking to make a final decision on the fate of the series over the next week, although executives are confident that How I Met Your Dad could receive a series order from another network. If that happens, and it becomes a hit like its predecessor, CBS might have cause for kicking itself in the pants. Especially if it was anything like this: