How I Met Your Mother season 5

The fifth season of the American television comedy series How I Met Your Mother premiered on September 21, 2009, and concluded on May 24, 2010. It consists of 24 episodes, each running approximately 22 minutes in length. CBS broadcast the fifth season on Monday nights at 8:00 pm in the United States.

Main cast

 * Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby
 * Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen
 * Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky
 * Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson
 * Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin
 * Bob Saget (uncredited) as Future Ted Mosby (voice only)

Recurring cast

 * Lyndsy Fonseca as Penny, Ted's Daughter
 * David Henrie as Luke, Ted's Son
 * Marshall Manesh as Ranjit
 * Joe Nieves as Carl, the owner of MacLarens Pub
 * Charlene Amoia as Wendy the Waitress
 * Cristine Rose as Virginia Mosby
 * Ben Koldyke as Don Frank
 * Chris Elliott as Mickey Aldrin

Guest cast

 * Joe Manganiello as Brad Morris
 * Tim Gunn as TV's Tim Gunn (Barney's personal tailor)
 * Lindsay Sloane as Jen
 * Rachel Bilson as Cindy
 * JoAnna Garcia as Maggie
 * Jennifer Lopez as Anita Appleby
 * Stacy Keibler as Karina (Hot Bartender)
 * Alan Thicke as himself
 * Amanda Peet as Jenkins
 * Laura Prepon as Karen
 * Nick Swisher as himself
 * Carrie Underwood as Tiffany
 * Malin Åkerman as Movie Stella
 * Chris Kattan as Jed Mosely
 * Judy Greer as Royce
 * Peter Bogdanovich as himself
 * Hong Chau as Cook Pu
 * Charles Chun as Mr. Park
 * Sarah Wright as Claire
 * Phillip Wilburn as Joe
 * Jim Nantz as himself

Reception
Reviews for season 5 of How I Met Your Mother were mixed.

Cindy McLennan of Television Without Pity gave the season a negative review, and at the end of the season wrote: "I'm okay with any given season not being primarily focused on mother-meeting, but this season, the characters seemed to regress -- particularly Barney and Ted. Usually, when a season ends, I have to deal with a week or two weeks' worth of letdown. Right now, all I'm feeling is relief."

On the other hand, Amanda Sloane Murray from IGN gave the season a lukewarm review saying "So maybe this season didn't have the funniest jokes or the freshest material to work with. On the whole, it's not one that's going to stand out in our minds as one of the best seasons in the How I Met Your Mother canon; most of us are eager to forget Robin and Barney ever happened, Robin's co-anchor Don was switched up from funny guy to boring straight man and eventually discarded; nobody made significant strides in their career or their love life. Yet at the end of the day, a few loose ends suggest tantalizing possibilities for next season: Ted is now in possession of a house, while Marshall and Lily have decided to get pregnant. Our group is back together, unfettered by relationships inside or outside the inner circle, and we're happy to have it that way."