Movies like How He Met My Mother (2020)
The best movies like How He Met My Mother (2020) are Riley's First Date? (2015), 20th Century Women (2016) and About Time (2013). If How He Met My Mother hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
How He Met My Mother
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAbout Time (2013)7.9/10 from 9,649 votes
- NewestDoing Life (2026)Released 2026
Riley's First Date? (2015)
Riley, now 12, who is hanging out with her parents at home when potential trouble comes knocking. Mom's and Dad's Emotions find themselves forced to deal with Riley going on her first "date."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this20th Century Women (2016)
In 1979 Santa Barbara, California, Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women – Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields' home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbour – to help with Jamie's upbringing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbout Time (2013)
The night after another unsatisfactory New Year's party, Tim's father reveals to him that the men in their family have the ability to travel through time. They can't change history, but they can change what happens and has happened in their own lives. Thus begins the start of a lesson in learning to appreciate life itself as it is, as it comes, and most importantly, the people living alongside us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOne Fine Day (1996)
Melanie Parker, an architect and mother of Sammy, and Jack Taylor, a newspaper columnist and father of Maggie, are both divorced. They meet one morning when overwhelmed Jack is left unexpectedly with Maggie and forgets that Melanie was to take her to school. As a result, both children miss their school field trip and are stuck with the parents. The two adults project their negative stereotypes of ex-spouses on each other, but end up needing to rely on each other to watch the children as each must save his job. Humor is added by Sammy's propensity for lodging objects in his nose and Maggie's tendency to wander.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Date with Drew (2005)
Ever since the second grade when he first saw her in E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Brian Herzlinger has had a crush on Drew Barrymore. Now, 20 years later he's decided to try to fulfill his lifelong dream by asking her for a date. There's one small problem: She's Drew Barrymore and he's, well, Brian Herzlinger, a broke 27-year-old aspiring filmmaker from New Jersey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBecause I Said So (2007)
In an effort to prevent family history from repeating itself, meddlesome mom Daphne Wilder attempts to set up her youngest daughter, Milly, with Mr. Right. Meanwhile, her other daughters try to keep their mom's good intentions under control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCarolina (2003)
A young woman escapes her wildly eccentric family in search for a life of normalcy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTime Freak (2018)
Stillman, a heartbroken physics student, builds a time machine when his girlfriend breaks up with him. Going back in time, he attempts to save their relationship by fixing every mistake he made—while dragging his best friend along in the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNowhere Boy (2009)
A rebellious teenager, future Beatle John Lennon lives with his Aunt Mimi in working-class mid-1950s Liverpool, England. Mimi's husband suddenly dies, and John spies his mother Julia at the funeral. Despite Mimi's misgivings, John intends to have a real relationship with his mother. Julia introduces him to popular music and the banjo and, though a family conflict looms, young John is inspired to form his own band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWander Darkly (2020)
New parents Adrienne and Matteo are forced to reckon with trauma amidst their troubled relationship. They must revisit the memories of their past and unravel haunting truths in order to face their uncertain future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNothing in Common (1986)
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAfter We Fell (2021)
Just as Tessa's life begins to become unglued, nothing is what she thought it would be. Not her friends nor her family. The only person that she should be able to rely on is Hardin, who is furious when he discovers the massive secret that she's been keeping. Before Tessa makes the biggest decision of her life, everything changes because of revelations about her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStomp the Yard (2007)
After the death of his younger brother, a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black, Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. But his efforts to get an education and woo the girl he likes are sidelined when he is courted by the top two campus fraternities, both of which want and need his fierce street-style dance moves to win the highly coveted national step show competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPalm Trees and Power Lines (2023)
Seventeen-year-old Lea spends her summer break tanning in her backyard, and drifting between tiptoeing around her needy mother, and aimlessly trailing her best friend and boys from school. This monotony is interrupted by a chance encounter with Tom, a seductive man twice her age who promises an alternative to Lea's unsatisfying adolescent life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoing Life (2026)
A single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFreaky Friday (2003)
Mother and daughter bicker over everything -- what Anna wears, whom she likes and what she wants to do when she's older. In turn, Anna detests Tess's fiancé. When a magical fortune cookie switches their personalities, they each get a peek at how the other person feels, thinks and lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe True Adventures of Wolfboy (2019)
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisFlora and Son (2023)
Single mom Flora is at a loss about what to do with her rebellious teenage son, Max. Her efforts to keep him out of trouble lead to a beat-up acoustic guitar, a washed-up LA musician, and harmony for this frayed Dublin family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter Ever Happy (2022)
As a shocking truth about a couple's families emerges, the two lovers discover they are not so different from each other. Tessa is no longer the sweet, simple, good girl she was when she met Hardin — any more than he is the cruel, moody boy she fell so hard for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like How He Met My Mother?
The closest matches to How He Met My Mother are Riley's First Date? (2015), 20th Century Women (2016) and About Time (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after How He Met My Mother?
Start with Riley's First Date? (2015), the closest match to How He Met My Mother.
What is the highest-rated movie like How He Met My Mother?
About Time (2013), rated 7.9/10 by 9,649 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like How He Met My Mother?
Doing Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like How He Met My Mother?
Yes: Riley's First Date? (2015), 20th Century Women (2016) and About Time (2013).
How are movies similar to How He Met My Mother chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside How He Met My Mother, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.