5 Most Annoying How I Met Your Mother Characters (& 5 Everybody Loved)

CBS’ How I Met Your Mother has often been called one of the best sitcoms on television due to its unique premise and amazing characters. Created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, the show revolves around Ted Mosby and his group of friends making their way through relationships, careers, heartbreaks and more, with one simple twist — the story is narrated by Ted to his children almost 25 years into the future, as he talks about how he met their mother.

While the show is well-known for its cast, there have been many guest stars and recurring or supporting characters that have been both loved and hated by fans of the show. So, here are five characters that everyone found annoying and five everyone loved, excluding the main five characters of the show.

10 Loved – Ranjit

Ranjit is the first recurring character of the show, seen in the pilot episode as a taxi driver. However, he kept popping up throughout the course of the show, as Barney’s limo driver. The gang always greets him with an excited “RANJIT!” and he always greets them with a cheerful “Heellloooo!”

The final season actually shows that he was extremely successful in his career. In “Gary Blauman,” it is revealed that he finds success in the stock market and ends up owning the limo company he works for.

9 Annoying – Zoey

Zoey was one of those characters fans instantly despised — something they had in common with the gang. Although even Ted initially hates her after she protests GNB’s demolition of the Arcadian, he falls for her and they start dating. However, Zoey sabotages Ted in the end by revealing a tape recording of Ted bad-mouthing his superiors.

Zoey and Ted’s relationship was one that was doomed to fail — Zoey protested Ted’s job as Head Architect of the Arcadian project, she was in the middle of a divorce, and she was quite selfish and self-absorbed.

8 Loved – Victoria

Another of Ted’s love interests, Victoria is said by many fans to be the one who should have ended up with Ted, at least instead of Robin. While they first met, started dating and then broke up all in Season 1, Victoria reappears in Season 7 and 8 and they date again. They broke up both times because of Robin — Ted cheated on her the first time and then chose Robin over her.

While Victoria was also sometimes unreasonable, she was clearly the best love interest for Ted and a perfect choice for him. Fans also criticize Ted’s treatment of Victoria when he told Robin they broke up, when in fact they were still together.

7 Annoying – Stella

Perhaps the most hated minor character in the series, Stella initially seemed a great choice for Ted — so much so that they almost got married. However, Stella left Ted at the altar for her ex, Tony. Even before getting married, they seemed to have many problems, like Stella forcing Ted to leave his life behind and move to New Jersey.

When Tony leaves her, she requests for Ted to talk to Tony and beg him to take her back, which was quite cold. And in season 5, she does nothing when Tony makes a movie that falsely paints Ted (Jed Mosley) as the villain in their love story.

6 Loved – James

James Stinson, Barney’s older brother, was an extremely hilarious and well-received character. While initially, the fact that Barney has a gay, black brother is played for laughs, the later seasons really flesh him out as a character, as we see when he finds his father, Reverand Sam Gibbs, and cheats on his husband, Tom.

In the season 9 episode, “Gary Blauman,” it is revealed that Blauman was one of the people James cheated on Tom with. It is revealed that in the future he makes amends with Tom and gets back together with him and their daughter, Sadie.

5 Annoying – Karen

Ted had a knack for having terrible love interests, which has apparently been happening since high school and college when he starts dating Karen. She is disliked by many fans and the gang, too, due to her being extremely pretentious and curt. She cheated on Ted with her philosophy professor in college and again when they start dating in season 4.

Marshall and Lily hate her with a passion, as Marshall once called her a douche, to which Ted says, “Wow. Thanks for sugarcoating it.” Marshall hilariously replies, “Douche is sugarcoating it.”

4 Loved – Brad

One of Marshall’s law buddies and close bro, Brad, played by Joe Manganiello, is hard to dislike. He’s a close friend of Marshall who helps him in his wedding and consoles him when he and Lily are broken up in season 2. The later seasons give him a larger role, as Marshall’s opposing counsel on an important lawsuit and even as his political rival for mayor of New York.

Although he initially tricks and tries to defeat Marshall, he later gets inspired by Marshall and sees the error of his ways. He then pledges to “look out for the little guy.”

3 Annoying – Jeanette

Another terrible love interest of Ted (there are many), Jeanette was Ted’s last serious girlfriend before he gives up on dating and says he’s ready to get married again. She was clearly made to be hated, being literally crazy and downright psychotic, and destroys his apartment and throws away Robin’s locket.

Even them meeting was an insane plan by Jeanette involving a fire alarm and a heavy dosage of stalking. Thankfully, their relationship was short-lived and Ted soon met Tracy, the “Mother”.

2 Loved – Carl the Bartender

One of the most underrated minor characters, Carl MacLaren, the bartender of MacLaren’s Pub, has been a fan-favorite character and a regular since the show’s very first episode. He has a good relationship with the gang and is kind of friends with them, as seen when he looks after drunk Ted and names a drink after Robin.

He also gives the bar to Ted and Barney in “Three Days of Snow” and obviously trusts them. In “Gary Blauman,” it is revealed that in the future, Carl has a son and has turned MacLaren’s into a family business.

1 Annoying – Scooter

Scooter (played by Neil Patrick Harris’s real-life husband, David Burtka) was Lily’s high school boyfriend who keeps showing up in order to win her back, such as at her wedding and by getting a job serving at the cafeteria in the kindergarten where she teaches. He becomes a waiter because Lily once made a comment that made him think she would be attracted to him if he was a waiter.

In “Gary Blauman,” his future is revealed to be quite hilarious. He ends up marrying Lily’s stripper doppelganger, Jasmine, and they both are cafeteria servers.

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