The How I Met Your Mother Blog

Carter Bays who, along with Craig Thomas, is responsible for How I Met Your Mother (the characters and story were based on the lives of the two writers) was nice enough to take time out this week and answer some of my questions about the future of the characters as well as give some glimpses as to what life is like for a big important TV writer. Besides showing why writing a comedy comes easily to him, Bays gives us a peak behind the curtain, drops a few hints at what’s to come, and even unveils a huge spoiler for the end of season four.

Many of these questions were inspired by readers of this site. I tried to bring up the kinds of things that are important to fans of the show and avoid the boilerplate “is Britney coming back” kind of question we read over and over. Without further adieu, I give you Carter Bays:

[all links added by JD]

JD: The show has wonderful secondary characters. When are we going to see more of our favorite bartender Carl (Joe Nieves), the lovely Wendy the Waitress (Charlene Amoia), or Ranjit (Marshall Manesh)?

CB: We love that our bench extends deeper than the five very talented names in the opening credits. As far as when Wendy and Carl and Ranjit will be re-appearing, it’s hard to plan too far ahead. Wendy was just in last weeks and will be returning in the episode after next — as do our old friends Stuart and Claudia, for a rather dramatic peek into what’s been going on in their lives since their wedding in season one. And beyond that, we don’t have any specific plans — it all depends on where the stories take us. But it’s nice to know we have so many places to go for comedy.

JD: We have an idea of what’s in store for Ted. Can you tell us anything that LAME (Lily Aldrin + Marshall Erikson) might have coming up in their future?

CB: Oh, so you know what’s in store for Ted, do you? I really thought we were doing a good job of keeping our storylines top secret. But anyway, I guess since the cat’s out of the bag, yes, it’s true Ted will soon start going through the long difficult process of gender reassignment — he’ll be getting counseling and hormone treatments through the season, with a big May sweeps finale revolving around “the operation.” We were really hoping to keep this secret, but oh well, that’s life in the internet age, right? Marshall and Lily meanwhile will struggle this season with a new apartment, a new job for Marshall, and of course trying to be supportive of Ted (or Dorothy as he will be called after episode eight or nine, still figuring that out), as well as Stella and her newfound lesbianism. Meanwhile, Robin gets a (SPOILER AHEAD!!!) haircut.

No, seriously, there’s some big stuff coming up for Marshall and Lily. I think it’s pretty obvious what their next big issue is going to be. They’re married, they just got the big apartment, Marshall’s bringing home some decent coin… and they’re not getting any younger…

JD: The chemistry between Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris is amazing, they play so well together.  Will we see more of their friendship in the future? What about Marshall and Robin sharing some time? They’ve never really had a shared plot line. Has that been intentional?

CB: Marshall and Robin have not been kept apart for any intentional reason, except maybe to stoke the rumor that they’ll eventually turn out to be the same person in some crazy Fight-Club-esque twist. Actually, we had a special request from Pam, our director, for this very thing: a good Marshall and Robin story. And we plan to deliver one. Jason and Cobie have had great chemistry together in what few scenes they’ve shared — it would be fun to see more of it.

JD: When originally choosing actors for the lead roles did you end up casting people whose personalities closely resembled those of the characters or did parts of the actors’ personalities go into their characters? How much of the characters we see now was from your initial vision?

CB: I think with each role, we had a pretty fleshed out idea of who the character was. And since no actor is going to be exactly what you’d initially envisioned, the casting process was kind of like a game of bingo, looking for enough similarities between the character and the actor until you find something that feels like a fit. We have five really good actors, and a really good actor can theoretically play any role — but if your goal is to make 150, 200 episodes of a show, and live with these characters for years, it helps to find people for whom playing their character comes naturally. So it’s kind of been a workshop situation — it’s mostly been out of the give and take between the actors and the writers that the characters have been defined.

JD: Last season brought a lot more visibility to the show. What kind of impact has the series had on your day-to-day lives? Just more busy? Are you getting recognized in public and whatnot? Any weird fan moments?

CB: No, I’ve never been recognized or anything. It’s funny because so much of our interaction with the cast is in the privacy of the soundstage, that you forget that outside these studio walls, that’s something they have to contend with. And then on the occassions you do venture out with them, it’s like, “Oh yeah, those guys are on TV every week.” As far as how it’s impacted our day to day lives, the biggest effect is that on other jobs we used to work hard, but now we work really, really, really, really hard. Like years-off-my-life, how-have-I-not-gone-bald hard. That’s been the biggest change.

JD: Is it odd to be writing (and seeing for that matter) a semi-fictional amalgamation of your own lives on a week to week basis?

CB: Yeah, but honestly it feels a lot more odd when it’s not autobiographical. On the rare occasion that we take a gamble on a story that isn’t drawn from one of our lives, it never quite feels right (and usually falls flat as a result).  And when I say one of “our” lives, I don’t mean me and Craig, I mean the twelve amazing writers we have on our staff. I say that chiefly because credit is way due, but also to make the point that for a show that tells this many personal stories, it’s nice to have a big room full of great storytellers who have all lived some pretty interesting lives.

I will say, though, that sometimes maybe we run the risk of getting too obscurely autobiographical. The Burger episode is a good example. I guess it got some mixed reviews from people, which we try not to worry about too much because it’s a long season and of course you’re gonna win some games and lose some games, so you can’t beat yourself up about it. But I will say that that one is an example of how, in writing a show like this, you have to take the leap of faith that what’s personal and important to you, if written and produced and acted right, can feel personal and important to someone watching it for the first time.

For me, the personal and important stuff in that episode was the stuff about banks and fast food chains taking over Manhattan, because that’s really happening, and it sucks. There’s a scene in the beginning of the episode, where the bar called Fez gets turned into a bank. Being able to write that was pretty cathartic, because there really WAS a bar called Fez at 85th and Broadway, and it really IS a bank now.

Craig and I used to go to Fez all the time back when we lived in New York. We had our usual booth, we were friends with all the people who worked there, Josh, Keith, Hiram, Jenni, Meghan, it’s now seven years since we moved away and I still remember all of it — it was basically Maclarens. (Along with McGees on 55th, which is still there thank goodness.) Anyway, I was back in New York last May, and I headed up to 85th and Broadway just to duck into Fez, maybe see a familiar face, and kablammo, it’s GONE, it’s a bank, a big stupid soulless glowing neon bank where an awesome bar full of great memories used to be. And that really bummed me out. Like more than I would have expected it to. I’m sure part of it was tied up in me being in my thirties now, and wishing I could live in New York again but knowing I’m kind of married to Los Angeles for the time being. But it sucked. Not to mention the fact that, as of this week, the bank that made Fez disappear has now itself disappeared.

So anyway, being able to write that scene, where Marshall turns the corner, and his favorite burger joint is now an ATM, being able to watch that moment from one of our own lives unfold in the lives of our characters, was kind of moving and therapeutic, at least to me, and to Craig, since he knew and loved Fez too. Now, whether any of it made the quantum leap over to meaning anything to anyone else outside of our personal radius, I can’t say. Again, you win some, you lose some. But keeping it honest and personal has always been our guiding principle, and on balance I think it’s been a successful strategy.

JD: How I Met Your Mother is the first series for both of you. Now that you’re into the fourth season can you talk about some of the best things that have come from having a successful sitcom? Any surprise benefits you didn’t expect four years ago?

CB: I think the biggest benefit has been the friends we’ve made. It’s just a terrific bunch of people working here, it feels like Craig and I have made some friends for life in the last three years. I know that sounds corny, but it’s true. Also, one surprise benefit is always having something to write. There’s only one surefire cure for writers block, and that’s a deadline. So having 24 very real deadlines every year is in its own weird way a blessing.

I want to thank Carter for taking the time to answer my questions so candidly. He and Craig Thomas are both known for the level of interactivity they maintain with the fans and this proves the point. Leave any comments you have for Mr. Bays in the comments, for all we know he’ll read them!

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