Neil Patrick Harris Defends Much-Hated “How I Met Your Mother” Finale: 'Big Supporter of It' (Exclusive)
Neil Patrick Harris Defends Much-Hated “How I Met Your Mother” Finale: 'Big Supporter of It' (Exclusive)
Virginia ChamleeMon, March 16, 2026 at 3:31 PM UTC
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Neil Patrick HarrisCredit: Gerald Matzka/Getty; Ron P. Jaffe/Fox -
Neil Patrick Harris says he's a fan of the How I Met Your Mother series finale that divided fans
Harris starred as Barney Stinson in the show, which ran from 2005 to 2014
It's ending was widely panned by fans, but in a new interview, Harris says he approves
Neil Patrick Harris says that — despite the criticisms leveled at the 2015 finale of How I Met Your Mother — he believes the show ended just as it should have.
The sitcom premiered on Sept. 19, 2005 and aired until 2014.
The show was narrated by the late Bob Saget — who played the future version of Josh Radnor's character, Ted Mosby. He told the story of how Ted met the mother of his two children through flashbacks of his life in New York City with his close-knit friend group, Robin (Cobie Smulders), Barney (Harris), Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel).
On a new, two-part episode of the How We Made Your Mother podcast, hosts Radnor and co-creator Craig Thomas spoke to 52-year-old Harris about the show's ending.
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Neil Patrick HarrisCredit: Monty Brinton/CBS
The show's finale was arguably the most disastrously received series ender since Lost and included (spoiler alert) – killing off the titular "Mother" and seeing the demise of a fan-favorite relationship between Barney and Robin.
According to Harris, the finale worked.
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“People ask me about the ending all the time, and I’m a big supporter of it," Harris said on the podcast. "I really am. I think Barney is that guy all the way through the run of the show. He’s not going to suddenly change overnight, and I think it would’ve been short-sighted, very ‘TV sitcom logic,’ to suddenly say, ‘Oh, and now everything’s perfect.’ "
The first part of the two-part How We Made Your Mother episode featuring Harris is out Monday, March 16, and the second installment will drop on Monday, March 23.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
