It looks like you can add Neil Patrick Harris to the list of people who disagreed with my impassioned plea on behalf of How I Met Your Mother's sixth season. The Emmy nominated star of stage and (small) screen booked a three-night stint leading the Stephen Sondheim musical Company earlier today, and he used the occasion to somewhat bury the veteran sitcom.
"It just allows the performer a great opportunity to mine as deep as they choose. My day job requires a shallowness that will be fun to play against," Harris told Dave Itzkoff from the New York Times. "I don't know that Barney [on How I Met Your Mother] has the deep-seated desire to couple up like [Company's] Bobby probably does. But then again, Bobby doesn't have to respond to laugh tracks."
Ouch? Sorta. If those not-so-veiled digs at How I Met Your Mother sound familiar, it's probably because you recall Jason Segel's summertime interview with GQ.
When your idol is Peter Sellers, playing one character for eight years isn't what you're trying to do. I don't really feel like I have that much more to offer with [Marshall on HIMYM]. Maybe if we got divorced or something -- but that's not gonna happen. It's gonna be some iteration of, like, my TV wife opens the fridge, and she's like, "What happened to the birthday cake?" And I walk in with a little frosting here [points to corner of mouth] like, "What birthday cake?"
OK, that's an ouch. For their part, Harris and Segel have not slacked in their performances on the series, but it certainly doesn't sound like they're is getting creative fulfillment either. Which begs the question: Which HIMYM star will speak out next? Guesses welcome in the comments below.
ยท In Comes 'Company,' Starring Neil Patrick Harris, in New York Philharmonic Production [NYT/ArtsBeat via Vulture]