On one side of New York City, six friends sit together in a coffee shop and talk about the challenges and triumphs life throws their way.
On another side of New York City, five friends get together in an Irish bar, cracking jokes while one man comes yet another day closer to meeting his future wife.
The simplistic comedy is why I prefer the show about six friends in the coffee house, also known as “Friends.”
It premiered in 1994 and followed the lives of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Phoebe, Monica and Joey for 10 years, becoming one of the most quotable shows of all time.
The other show, “How I Met Your Mother,” premiered a year after the end of “Friends” and followed the lives of best friends Marshall, Lily, Ted, Barney and Robin until its final season in 2014.
Both shows are about a group of friends in their late twenties to early thirties who face supposedly everyday problems, coming to terms with the messiness of life and becoming a family unit.
Fans have long debated which show is better. Despite both shows providing comedy gold for millions of viewers, “Friends” is the better show.
While “How I Met Your Mother” fans admit the show took inspiration from “Friends,” it’s obvious that “How I Met Your Mother” is a rip-off.
The common argument for fans who prefer “How I Met Your Mother” is that it has stronger comedic value and general unpredictability, despite having an overarching narrative.
“Friends” focused on the moment-to-moment lives of each character, showing that life is full of surprises and constant change.
The undeniable message that both shows share is that life is a complicated and beautiful journey, full of heartache, love and over-the-top people.
Through “How I Met Your Mother,” audiences learn that each moment in life weaved a tapestry to a much larger picture and everything will eventually come together, just not the way you expect it.
But “Friends” stuck closer to living in the now, something I personally appreciate at a point in my life when I’m constantly worried about the future.
Both shows had a star-studded cast at the time, with Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris on “How I Met Your Mother” and Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox on “Friends.”
However, the cast members for both shows were used to convey different comedic tones as a way of distinguishing the shows.
Although “Friends” had very strong comedic tones, it stuck relatively close to reality and had a consistent tone throughout the series.
“How I Met Your Mother,” on the other hand, was narrated from the future and used a romanticized and comedic reflection on the past.
This in turn gave the creators of “How I Met Your Mother” the opportunity to use different tones throughout the series and still be able to stick the landing for the majority of the show.
But it fell apart with an unnecessarily controversial series finale, leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
From the core group of friends with the running gags and the New York City setting, “Friends” developed a clear aesthetic and feel that “How I Met Your Mother” copied for a more modern time.
For anyone choosing between the two shows, “Friends” is essential to watch first because it is the gold standard that other sitcoms have since followed.
