There has been a huge debate going on around the supremacy of Friends and How I Met Your Mother. Although both shows came at different times, they both are still loved by their fans. Despite having different storylines, fans cannot stop comparing one with the other to prove their favorite one is the best. However, both shows have their own charm that makes them different from each other. So, here are 3 reasons one show is better than the other and vice versa.

When the 1994 show created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman ended in 2004, fans of the show were pretty devastated. But then there came another sitcom, How I Met Your Mother in 2005. Both American sitcoms comforted their viewers. Both these sitcoms made their viewers believe in friendship and love. And of course, both these sitcoms became so hit that fans still love them and can not let them go. So, how is one better than the other?

3 reasons Friends is better

The year 1994 became special when 2 friends decided to create a show featuring the stories of 6 characters. Ross, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey are friends who stay together all the time. Joey and Chandler and Monica and Rachel were the roommates while Ross and Phoebe had their own places. However, this group of friends always stayed together, grew together, laughed, and cried together. And here are 3 reasons for the show’s greatness and supremacy over How I Met Your Mother.

Solid 10 seasons

Starting in 1994, the American sitcom had solid 10 seasons till 2004. Throughout these 10 seasons, Ross got married and divorced thrice and had two babies with different women. Rachel, with her juicy gossip and stunning fashion sense, became a mature and independent woman from someone who was living in her own bubble. But ultimately, she “got off the plane” to be with Ross and their child, Emma.

Ross’s sister Monica, the clean freak and a brilliant chef, had an obsession with cleanliness and perfection. From falling for the wrong men to falling for her ophthalmologist, Monica found the love of her life unexpectedly in Chandler. Chandler, who was “hopeless, awkward and desperate for love“, also fell hard by entering into an adult relationship with Monica.

And Joey and Phoebe, they both had their own moments throughout the seasons. When Phoebe was pregnant with triplets, Joey even offered to marry her as well. However, they stayed best of friends because “boyfriend and girlfriend are gonna come and go. But this is for life,” as Phoebe Buffay once said. Although later on, Phoebe married Mike, who was as crazy and weird as Phoebe.

The journey of these six companions throughout ten seasons was not an easy one, as they encountered various difficulties, heartbreaks, love, laughter, and fights, but it was through these experiences that they were able to truly thrive and become their best selves.

A loved finale

One of the extremely saddest moments in the history of television is the finale of the show. On many occasions, including in the reunion episode, all the cast members admitted they cried like babies when they show the final scene. Rachel bidding goodbye to everyone in the last episode, it was one of the most difficult times for fans as well. However, when she came back to Ross, it greatly satisfied fans.

While emptying the apartment when Monica said, “This is harder than I thought it would be,” every viewer felt it to their core. In a world where there are a lot of chaotic situations, Friends‘ finale gave comfort to the viewers. When they sang, “I’ll be there for you,” they meant it till the end, especially Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer.

Inside jokes for fans

One of the best things the show gave to its fans is none other than endless humor. Not only Chandler’s sarcastic jokes but also each character’s distinguished quality became the fandom’s inside jokes moments. For instance, if someone is a too-clean freak and loves to be the host all the time, they are Monica. To express their intense feelings, fans would start their sentence with, “Could I be anymore…”

Several famous dialogues became fans’ own references to make jokes around their friends. Phoebe’s weird references added fun to them. While this show is much-loved, How I Met Your Mother has a charm of its own.

3 reasons How I Met Your Mother is better

A hopeless romantic, a realist, a commitment escapist, and a committed couple made the sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, extremely interesting. Ted Mosby, an architect, falls hopelessly in love with Robin. Despite being in a relationship for a while, both part ways. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily gave fans real couple goals. And Barney? Barney was the entire mood of the show. So, here are the reasons for this show’s supremacy over Friends.

A more compelling and complete story

Throughout 9 seasons, Ted Mosby takes his kids on a journey of his hopeless romantic adventure of finding their mother. While his journey was about finding love despite extreme difficulties, Marshall and Lily took their own journey of keeping their relationship intact. Love, breakup, heartache, laughter, a lot of beer, and Barney’s endless theories made the show compelling.

The story starts with a hopelessly romantic boy finding love and ends with him getting together with the love of his life. From broken to completeness, all the characters become more mature and get their complete stories with a perfect ending. Moreover, the show gave the viewers sacred rules of the Bro Code as well.

Barney

As we said earlier, Barney is the entire sitcom. In a way, he binds the entire group together and makes everyone feel the sheer madness within themselves. Always suited up, Ted’s best friend is extremely emotional but never shows it, and the writer of the sacred book The Playbook, Barney, hypes the sitcom up.

Everything changes when he finds himself in love with her best friend’s ex. However, he did end up with Robin, only to be separated after 3 years of their marriage. So many things changed, but the beautiful advice he gave never changed: “Whatever you do in this life, it’s not legendary unless your friends are there to see it.”

The way the show handled tough moments

And the way this show handled the tough times is, in Barney’s words, “Legendary.” Be it Ted’s heartbreaks or Marshall and Lily’s breakup, the show allowed all the characters to feel whatever they were feeling and grow through them.

It never glorified, nor did it undermine, those heavy and emotional moments the characters were having. One of the beautiful examples was when Barney looks at Robin to know if she talked to Ted about their relationship. That eye contact of a few seconds exposed Barney’s heart to be broken into a million pieces, and Robin’s eyes revealed her regret. The show is filled with moments like this when characters expose their emotions very realistically.

If you noticed, both these shows have one common element despite all these differences and it is the element of keeping every character together. And because of this quality, both shows have their own fan bases.

Which one do you like? Tell us in the comments below.