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The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother

The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother
Image credit: BBC, ABC, FOX, STARZ , Channel 4, E4

So, you've laughed, cried, and high-fived through all nine seasons of "How I Met Your Mother" (HIMYM) and now you're stuck in a sitcom-less void, huh? We got just the list for you.

No "Friends" or "Parcs & Rec" on this list: we're talking under-the-radar gems that deserve way more attention.

1. "Coupling" (2000-2004)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 1Think "Friends" meets "HIMYM," but with a British accent. Six pals — three guys and three girls — navigate the complicated maze of dating and friendship.

Steve, the 'nice guy', finally dumps his overly attached girlfriend, Jane, but his real crush is Susan. Susan's ex, Patrick, is also in the circle. So, you know, awkwardness galore! They hang out at their regular spot, a bar called "Cougartown." From disastrous dates to embarrassing sexual escapades, they've seen it all.


2. "Better Off Ted" (2009-2010)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 2If you ever wondered what it's like to work for an utterly soulless corporation, but make it funny — voilà, "Better Off Ted."

Ted Crisp is a well-meaning single dad trying to navigate his role as head of Research and Development at Veridian Dynamics, a company that has no moral compass. Projects include cryogenically freezing employees or making indestructible plates (which nobody can eat off of because they also repel food).

His boss, Veronica, is hilariously detached, while scientists Phil and Lem provide the quirk.


3. "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23" (2012-2013)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 3Need a roommate but ended up with a sociopath? That's what happens to June when she moves to NYC and shares an apartment with Chloe.

Chloe loves to scam people and initially tries to scare June off by being outrageous (think faking a pregnancy or walking around naked). But instead, they form an unlikely alliance against life's absurdities. They even befriend James Van Der Beek, who plays an exaggerated version of himself.


4. "Happy Endings" (2011-2013)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 4After their friend Alex leaves her fiancé Dave at the altar, a close-knit group of friends tries to hold their social circle together. And it's messy.

Penny is the perpetually single girl who speaks her own form of "abbrevs" (that's abbreviations, BTW). Brad and Jane are a married couple, complete opposites yet so right for each other. Max, meanwhile, breaks all gay stereotypes by being a slob who loves sports. They get into all sorts of shenanigans, from trying to win a food truck competition to surviving a heatwave.


5. "Suburgatory" (2011-2014)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 5What happens when a city girl is suddenly dropped into the suburbs? Sixteen-year-old Tessa moves with her dad George to the suburbs after he finds condoms in her drawer.

Culture shock doesn't even begin to cover it. They're surrounded by obsessively perfect moms, macho dads, and overly groomed teens. Tessa becomes friends with her neighbor Lisa, whose mom Sheila is basically the queen bee of this suburban hive.


6. "Raising Hope" (2010-2014)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 6Ever think about what it would be like to suddenly find yourself a parent? At 23, Jimmy Chance does just that but with a twist — the baby's mom is a one-night stand who ends up on death row.

Jimmy, who's not the brightest bulb, leans on his quirky family for help. His mom, Virginia, and dad, Burt, were teen parents themselves, and they're more 'winging it' than 'Wisdom 101'.


7. "Party Down" (2009-2010)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 7You ever work a job that you're overqualified for while dreaming of something bigger? Welcome to "Party Down," where a group of Hollywood wannabes work as caterers. Henry, a failed actor, finds himself serving appetizers to people who recognize him for a humiliating beer ad he once did. Then there's Roman, an aspiring sci-fi writer who looks down on everyone.


8. "The IT Crowd" (2006-2013)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 8Computer illiterate but got a job in IT? That's Jen Barber, who becomes the manager of the IT department at Reynholm Industries. Her team consists of Roy and Moss, two socially awkward but brilliant nerds who know their way around computers but not around people. Their basement office is where sanity goes to die.

It's British humor at its geekiest and finest.


9. "The Inbetweeners" (2008-2010)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 9To be a teenager, full of angst and soooo many bad decisions. Four high-school friends in the UK are not popular, but they're not total losers either — they're the "inbetweeners." Will is the new kid, a smart but socially awkward type. Simon pines for a girl who barely knows he exists. Jay is the compulsive liar with outrageous (and false) sexual conquest tales, while Neil is, well, the dopey one.

They get into all kinds of cringeworthy situations, from botched field trips to failed attempts at buying alcohol.


10. "Enlisted" (2014)
The 10 Best Shows To Watch if You Like How I Met Your Mother - image 10Ever been stuck working with family? Try being in the military with them! Three very different brothers find themselves in the same dysfunctional Army unit in Florida.

Pete is a super-soldier who gets demoted and sent back stateside from Afghanistan. His brothers Derrick and Randy are already there, mostly screwing things up. While they're supposed to be preparing soldiers for deployment, they're usually doing the opposite.