document_title: How I Met Your Mother

question_text: who does the voice on how i met your mother

question_tokens: who does the voice on how i met your mother

text: How I Met Your Mother

text: Premise[edit]

text: The series concerns the adventures of Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) narrating the story of how he met the mother of his children. The story goes into a flashback and starts in 2005 with a 27-year-old Ted Mosby living in New York City and working as an architect; the narrative deals primarily with his best friends, including the long-lasting couple Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), womanizing-playboy Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), and news reporter Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders). The lives of all characters are entwined in each others. The series explores many storylines, including a "will they or won't they" relationship between Robin and each of the two single male friends, Marshall and Lily's relationship, and the ups and downs of the characters' careers.

text: The show's frame story depicts Ted (voice of Bob Saget, uncredited) verbally retelling the story to his son Luke (David Henrie) and daughter Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) as they sit on the couch in the year 2030. This future-set frame is officially the show's "present day" and How I Met Your Mother exploits this framing device in numerous ways: to depict and re-depict events from multiple points of view; to set up jokes using quick and sometimes multiple flashbacks nested within the oral retelling; to substitute visual, verbal or aural euphemisms for activities Ted does not want to talk about with his children (sexual practices, use of illicit substances, vulgar language, etc.); and even to add some elements of humor: in the episode "How I Met Everyone Else", Ted describes his dates with a girlfriend whose name he has forgotten, leading all characters to act as though her given name were "Blah-Blah"; later in the series, Ted remembers her name as Carol.

text: While the traditional love-story structure begins when the romantic leads first encounter each other, How I Met Your Mother does not introduce Ted's wife (Cristin Milioti) until the eighth-season finale, and only announces her name (Tracy McConnell) during the series finale. The show instead focuses on Ted's prior relationships and his dissatisfaction with those women, thus setting the stage for his eventual happiness with Tracy. Finally in present 2030, six years after Tracy's death, Ted gets back with Robin.

text: Production[edit]

text: How I Met Your Mother was inspired by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas' idea to "write about our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York", where they previously worked as writers for Late Show with David Letterman, among others.[1] The two drew from their friendship in creating the characters. Ted is based loosely on Bays, and Marshall and Lily are based loosely on Thomas and his wife.[9][10] Thomas' wife Rebecca was initially reluctant to have a character based on her but agreed if they could get Alyson Hannigan to play her. Hannigan was looking to do more comedy work and was available.[9] Josh Radnor and Jason Segel, who were cast as Ted and Marshall, respectively, were not well known, though Segel had been a cast member on the short-lived Freaks and Geeks and a recurring guest star on Judd Apatow follow-up Undeclared. The role of Barney was initially envisioned as a "John Belushi-type character"[11] before Neil Patrick Harris won the role after being invited to an audition by the show's casting director Megan Branman.[12] Pamela Fryman invited Bob Saget to be the voiceover narrator, Future Ted, explaining to him that the show would be like The Wonder Years but "kind of into the future".[13] Saget either went to the television studio and recorded the narration while watching the episode, or did so separately and rerecorded with the episode if necessary.[14] He normally did not attend table readings but did so for the last episode.[15]

text: In various interviews Bays and Thomas have stated that "a pretty famous actress"[16] turned down the role of Robin, whom they revealed in February 2014 to have been Jennifer Love Hewitt.[17] They then cast Cobie Smulders for the role who, at the time, was fairly unknown. Bays and Thomas later said, "Thank God we did for a million reasons... when Ted's seeing her for the first time, America's seeing her for the first time—the intriguingness of that propelled the show going forward and kept the show alive".[16] Although Ted is initially smitten by Robin in the pilot, it is quickly established at the end of the episode that she is not the mother, which Thomas said was done so they would not copy or rehash the "will they or won't they" Ross and Rachel storyline from Friends.[10]

text: According to an Entertainment Weekly article, the writers adopted facets of each main actor's personality and incorporated them into their characters. This includes Neil Patrick Harris' skills with magic, Jason Segel's passion for songwriting, Alyson Hannigan's absent-mindedness while pregnant, and Josh Radnor's intellectualism.[18]

text: MacLaren's, an Irish bar in the middle of New York, in which some of the show is set, is loosely based on four favorite bars of Bays, Thomas and others from the Late Show staff. They include: McGee's, a Midtown tavern near the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Late Show is taped; McHale's, a legendary Hell's Kitchen bar which closed in 2006; Chumley's, a since-closed historic Greenwich Village pub; and Fez, another closed bar on the Upper West Side.[19] McGee's had a mural that Bays and Thomas both liked and wanted to incorporate into the show.[20] The name for the bar is from Carter Bays' assistant, Carl MacLaren; the bartender in the show is also named Carl.[21]

text: Episodes were generally shot over a three-day period in the Los Angeles-based Soundstage Studio 22[22] and featured upwards of 50 scenes with quick transitions and flashbacks. However, the "Pilot" episode was filmed at CBS Radford.[23] The laugh track was later created by recording an audience being shown the final edited episode. Thomas claimed that shooting before a live audience would have been impossible because of the structure of the show and the numerous flashforwards in each episode and because doing so "would blur the line between 'audience' and 'hostage situation'".[24] Later seasons started filming in front of an audience on occasion when smaller sets were used.

text: The theme song is a portion of "Hey Beautiful" by The Solids, of which Bays and Thomas are members. Episodes from Season 1 generally started with the opening credits. A cold opening has been used since Season 2. Viewers then occasionally see Ted's children on a couch and hear him talking to them, telling the story of how he met their mother. Alternatively, scenes from previous episodes or shots of New York City with Ted narrating over the top are shown. Thomas has stated that Future Ted is an unreliable narrator since he is trying to tell a story that happened over 20 years earlier;[25] this has been a plot point in several episodes including "The Goat", "Oh Honey", "How I Met Everyone Else" and "The Mermaid Theory". Nevertheless, Thomas has also emphasized maintaining a coherent and consistent universe and trying to avoid continuity errors, a problem he noticed in other shows.[26]

text: A scene relating to the identity of the mother, involving Ted's future children, was filmed in 2006 for the show's eventual series finale.[27] This was done because the teenage actors portraying them would be adults by the time the final season was shot.[25]

text: During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, How I Met Your Mother shut-down production; when the strike ended, the show returned on March 17, 2008, with nine new episodes.[28] The network announced a change in the timeslot to 8:30 pm ET/7:30 pm CT, flip-flopping from the summer schedule with The Big Bang Theory.[29] CBS renewed the show for a fourth season on May 14, 2008,[30] which premiered on September 22, 2008.[31]

text: In September 2008, Lifetime Television announced it had purchased the cable rerun rights to How I Met Your Mother at a rate of about $725,000 per episode.[32] The four-year syndication contract stipulated that the studio deliver at least 110 half-hour episodes by the year 2010, and allowed for up to eight seasons of the show. At the end of the fourth season only 88 episodes had been produced, and a further 22 episodes were required, ensuring that there would be a fifth season.[33] There also was a complication with the writing of the show due to the absence of actress Alyson Hannigan due to her pregnancy. The writers had to create episodes that did not include one of the five main characters.[34] On May 19, 2009, the fifth-season renewal was announced.[35] May 20, 2009, CBS announced that How I Met Your Mother would again be aired at 8 pm, leading into the new comedy Accidentally on Purpose. On January 12, 2010, the show aired its 100th episode and CBS announced that the series would return for a sixth season.[36] Upon learning that the series would be syndicated, Thomas said, "We're thrilled that it will live on in other forms," and they were proud of the show and it was great to see the strong demand.[37]

text: Reruns of the series began airing on local U.S. broadcast television stations and on Chicago-based cable superstation WGN America September 13, 2010. Featured in these airings are vanity cards previously unseen in the CBS and Lifetime airings due to marginalized credit sequences used by the two networks. Shown in between the closing credits and the production company credits, these vanity cards show portions of "The Bro Code", a list of rules frequently referenced by Harris' character, Barney Stinson, on how men should interact with each other, with an emphasis on activities involving pursuing members of the opposite sex. The opening theme song for the syndicated reruns is also slightly edited, running shorter and not using all the pictures seen in the opening montage that runs on DVD and the original CBS broadcasts. The episodes are also slightly edited, leaving out a few details.

text: One of the series' ongoing traditions involves giving guest roles to actors from various Joss Whedon productions, many of whom co-starred with Hannigan on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Bays attributes this to their being "huge fans" and to those casts representing "a big talent pool".[38]

text: On March 4, 2011, CBS announced that the show had been renewed for two more seasons,[39] with the seventh season premiering with back-to-back episodes on September 19, 2011.[40]

text: On July 27, 2011, the FX channel announced it had picked up the series for syndication. On September 5, 2011, FX began airing the series.[41]

text: Although cast members had previously stated that the show would not run longer than eight seasons,[42] a ninth season was secured in December 2012 amidst tense negotiations with the studios and the actors – especially Jason Segel, who had wanted to move on to other ventures after the eighth season.[43][44] During these negotiations, Bays and Thomas originally approached the eighth season as if it was the show's last year, but also had a "Plan B" if the show was renewed.[45] After producers secured a ninth and final season, they implemented plans to secretly cast the titular future mother, with Cristin Milioti eventually winning the role, besting at least two other contenders.[16] Milioti first appeared in the last scene in the season eight finale "Something New" and was a regular cast member in the show's final season.[46] This marked the first time that the show had expanded its core roster.[46][47]

text: In January 2013, How I Met Your Mother was renewed for a ninth and final season.[48] Carter Bays stated to Entertainment Weekly that season nine "will feature some of the most non-linear episodes we've ever done".[49]

text: The season nine premiere episode aired on September 23, 2013 and the one-hour series finale aired on March 31, 2014.[8]

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text:
Main cast

Josh Radnor
Ted Mosby

Jason Segel
Marshall Eriksen

Cobie Smulders
Robin Scherbatsky

Neil Patrick Harris
Barney Stinson

Alyson Hannigan
Lily Aldrin

Cristin Milioti
Tracy McConnell

tag: ul

text:
Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby, an architect, college professor and the central character of the series. He is the main protagonist since he tells the story of his adult years from his late twenties to his early thirties and about all the obstacles he has to overcome before he meets "The One" aka the Mother. This story is told by the Older Ted Mosby, and narrator of the series, Bob Saget. Ted moved to New York City with his friends Marshall and Lily after graduating from Wesleyan University. In New York, he met Barney at the urinal of MacLaren's and Robin, to whom he was immediately attracted. Ted is on a quest for happiness and "The One", the woman he will marry. Ted prefers more elegant and high-class interests than his friends have. He goes to great lengths to profess his love to the women in his life, but they all falter eventually. Despite these qualities, Ted often acts immaturely, such as partaking in wild activities with Barney. In the show’s finale, he says, that, in Tracy, he had met the love of his life (the titular Mother), but only after he was finished telling the story he realized that Robin was the love of his life.
Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen, Ted Mosby's best friend. In season 2 Marshall marries Lily, with whom he has been in love since his freshman year of college; they have a child during season 7. Marshall was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He has an interest in the paranormal phenomenon, and mythical creatures, particularly Sasquatch. His dream to be an environmental lawyer, conflicts with his immediate need for money, such as for his wedding and to raise his children.
Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky, a news anchor who has on-again-off-again relationships with both Ted and Barney. Robin emigrated from Canada to take a job in a news station and met Ted at MacLaren's; her Canadian background is a source of many jokes from her friends. She is shown to be very career-centric and rejects traditional roles, such as getting married and having kids. Robin often drinks scotch and smokes cigars, and she is an avid gun fan. She and Barney get engaged and later marry in the first part of the series finale, but divorce in the second part, three years later. Cobie's husband Taran Kilam has also appeared on 6 episodes of the show as Gary Blauman.
Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson is a serial playboy, using his relative wealth and an array of outrageous strategies to seduce women with no intention of engaging in a relationship. His catchphrases include 'Suit Up' and 'Legend-wait-for-it-Dary'. He is Ted's "bro," often jealous of Marshall for having known Ted since college and that Marshall is Ted's first best friend. Abandoned by his father at a young age, Barney has abandonment issues and clings to his friends. He marries Robin in the series finale but they divorce after three years. In 2020, a failed one-night stand gives him a daughter, Ellie. Neil's husband David Burtka has appeared on 7 episodes on the show as Scooter.
Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin, a kindergarten teacher, aspiring artist, and Marshall's wife. She is terrible at keeping secrets and can be manipulative at times. She marries Marshall in season 2 and gives birth to Marvin in season 7. Though appearing sweet and cute, Lily can be quite unexpectedly fierce. Alyson's husband Alexis Denisof has appeared on 10 episodes on the show as Sandy Rivers.
Cristin Milioti as Tracy McConnell (guest - season 8; main - season 9),[46] (although only appearing customarily, 28 episodes out of 208, she plays an integral part in the show in the build-up to the finale) the future wife of Ted Mosby, The Mother. Tracy McConnell is first seen in the finale of season 8, though her name is hinted at season 1 (01x09 "Belly full of Turkey") and officially revealed in the series finale. Ted falls madly in love with her, but in 2024 she passes away.
Bob Saget as Future Ted Mosby (voice only, uncredited), Ted's future self, telling his children the story of how he met their mother, in the year 2030.

text: Season synopsis[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired

First aired
Last aired

1
22
September 19, 2005 (2005-09-19)
May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15)

2
22
September 18, 2006 (2006-09-18)
May 14, 2007 (2007-05-14)

3
20
September 24, 2007 (2007-09-24)
May 19, 2008 (2008-05-19)

4
24
September 22, 2008 (2008-09-22)
May 18, 2009 (2009-05-18)

5
24
September 21, 2009 (2009-09-21)
May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)

6
24
September 20, 2010 (2010-09-20)
May 16, 2011 (2011-05-16)

7
24
September 19, 2011 (2011-09-19)
May 14, 2012 (2012-05-14)

8
24
September 24, 2012 (2012-09-24)
May 13, 2013 (2013-05-13)

9
24
September 23, 2013 (2013-09-23)
March 31, 2014 (2014-03-31)

text: Season 1[edit]

text: In the year 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) sits his daughter and son down to tell them the story of how he met their mother.

text: The series begins in September 2005 with Ted (Josh Radnor) as a single, 27-year-old architect living with his two best friends from his college years; Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), a law student, and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten teacher and an aspiring artist. Lily and Marshall have been dating for almost nine years when Marshall finally proposes. Their engagement causes Ted to think about marriage and finding his soul mate, much to the disgust of his self-appointed best friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), whom he met in the restroom at a bar four years earlier. Barney is a serial womanizer who concocts elaborate con games, usually involving costumes and fake identities, designed to bed women, only to lose interest in them immediately afterward.

text: Ted begins his search for his perfect soul mate and meets an ambitious young reporter from Canada, Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), with whom he quickly falls in love. Robin, however, does not want to rush into a relationship and the two decide to be friends. Future Ted reveals that Robin is not the mother after referring to her as "Aunt Robin".

text: Ted begins dating a baker, Victoria (Ashley Williams), whom he meets at Stuart and Claudia's wedding, causing Robin to become jealous, and realize she does have feelings for Ted. Victoria is offered a fellowship in pastry-making, moves to Germany and she and Ted try a long-distance relationship. Once Ted learns Robin has feelings for him, he tells her he broke up with Victoria, even though he has not. They almost have sex when Victoria calls and Robin answers, mistaking Ted's phone for her own. Ted and Victoria then break up and an angry Robin distances herself from Ted, but they eventually reconcile and decide to date.

text: Meanwhile, Lily begins to wonder if she has missed any opportunities because of her relationship with Marshall, and decides to pursue an art fellowship in San Francisco, breaking-up with Marshall in the process. The season ends with Ted returning to the apartment, the morning after spending the night with Robin for the first time, to find Marshall sitting in the rain with Lily's engagement ring, devastated by their sudden break-up.

text: Season 2[edit]

text: Ted and Robin are now a couple; meanwhile, a heartbroken Marshall tries to continue his life without Lily. After enduring numerous emotional breakdowns, Marshall's friends step in, and Barney, using sly catchphrases and pick-up lines, tries to get Marshall back in the dating game. Later, Lily, after finally realizing she is not meant to be an artist, returns to New York. They remain separated as Marshall begins to date another girl, described by the gang as having 'crazy eyes'. The date with the girl does not end well and eventually leads to Lily and Marshall becoming reunited, and their engagement eventually resumes. When Robin refuses to go to the mall or explain why, Marshall suspects she is married, and Barney suspects she has performed in adult films. They bet on it, appointing Lily as "Slap Bet Commissioner." Lily oversees the search for the truth, as they discover that Robin was a teenage pop star named "Robin Sparkles", and Marshall eventually earns the right to slap Barney five times whenever he wishes. He uses one slap immediately and another later in the season. It is revealed that Barney has a gay African American half-brother named James (Wayne Brady) and, unaware that his mother lied to him, believes that Bob Barker is his father. As a result of this he takes a trip to California to be a contestant on The Price Is Right to meet his "father". While on the show, Barney wins all the prizes and gives them to Lily and Marshall as a 'happy early wedding' present.

text: In the season finale, Ted reveals to Barney that he and Robin have been broken up for some time due to their conflicting views on marriage and children. They did not tell anyone, in order to avoid taking attention away from Lily and Marshall's wedding. The season ends with Barney's excitement at the prospect of he and Ted being single guys on the town again. Barney's final words are "this is going to be legen- wait for it...".

text: Season 3[edit]

text: Barney begins the season with the word, "-dary!" Robin returns from a trip to Argentina with her new boyfriend, Gael (Enrique Iglesias), and Ted must adjust to life as just her friend, while watching Robin and Gael fawning over each other. Marshall and Lily decide to move out on their own, falling in love with a place they cannot afford. Robin learns of Lily's bad credit rating due to her compulsive shopping for designer brands, and forces Lily to tell Marshall. Despite this, they are able to finally secure their dream apartment, only to discover it is in a bad location and more poorly constructed than they thought (the floor is tilted). Barney is slapped for the third time on Thanksgiving, which Marshall dubs "Slapsgiving."

text: Ted tells his children he met their mother through a story concerning her yellow umbrella. He finds the umbrella at a club and takes it home after attending a St. Patrick's Day party where his future wife was, although they did not meet. Ted attempts to woo Stella (Sarah Chalke), a dermatologist he sees to remove an embarrassing butterfly tattoo. This culminates in a memorable "two-minute date," which incorporates small talk, dinner, a movie, coffee, two cab rides, and a goodnight kiss, all within two minutes. Robin sleeps with Barney after he comforts her following a break-up with a past Canadian love; Ted is infuriated, and decides to stop being friends with Barney. Meanwhile, an unknown woman begins to sabotage Barney's attempts to hook up. His saboteur is revealed to be Abby (Britney Spears), Stella's receptionist, with a vendetta against him for not calling her after they had sex.

text: In the season finale, Ted gets into a car accident and ends up in hospital after breaking up with Stella. Subsequently, Barney is hit by a bus while he is on his way to visit Ted and receives treatment in the same hospital. Ted realizes Barney really cares about him and they renew their friendship. Barney's true feelings for Robin are revealed while Ted proposes to Stella in an arcade with a toy kangaroo.

text: Season 4[edit]

text: Stella says yes to Ted's proposal. Robin takes a new job in Japan, but quickly resigns and returns to New York to attend Ted's wedding, after realizing how much she misses her friends. Stella leaves Ted at the altar to get back together with Tony (Jason Jones), the father of her daughter. Barney struggles with his feelings for Robin as his company shifts him to the management team of a new acquisition, Goliath National Bank (GNB), where Marshall has accepted a position.

text: Marshall and Lily move to their new apartment and debate over whether or not they are ready to have children. Robin becomes roommates with Ted and gets a job as an anchor for a 4 AM news show after Barney submits her video resume. Ted and Robin decide to sleep together constantly so they will not fight over each other's bad co-living habits. Barney attempts to make them stop fighting to prevent this, revealing to Ted his love for Robin.

text: Ted finds out Lily has sabotaged all of his relationships with anyone she does not approve of and indirectly may have inspired his breakup with Robin. Robin and Ted end up talking about it, causing their friendship to begin moving toward a positive note. After Barney finally sleeps with his 200th woman (and rubs it in the face of the childhood bully who taunted him into pursuing it), he begins to question the purpose of the remainder of his life, leaving him more certain of his feelings for Robin.

text: Ted, while carrying the yellow umbrella, bumps into Stella and Tony. Tony later decides to visit him, sympathizing with Ted over his loss of Stella. Tony offers him a job as a professor of architecture, which Ted initially turns down.

text: In the season finale Robin finds out that Barney loves her, and initially refuses to commit to anything but a sex-only relationship; they seemingly end up together anyway. Ted decides that being an architect is leading nowhere, and finally decides instead to become a college professor. The finale ends with Ted preparing to teach his first class and Future Ted revealing to his children that one of the women in the class is their mother.

text: Season 5[edit]

text: Ted begins his job as a professor of architecture, standing in the middle of a classroom – although the mother was present, it turns out to be an economics class as he's in the wrong lecture hall. Barney and Robin have had a sexual relationship throughout the summer and Lily locks them in a room, forcing them to come to terms with their relationship. After a rough patch they decide to break up. Robin describes it instead as "two friends getting back together." Barney immediately goes back to his old ways, using the playbook to score with women. Throughout the season Barney and Robin show feelings of regret over their break-up.

text: Ted dates a graduate student named Cindy (Rachel Bilson) and it is revealed her roommate is his future wife. Robin meets Don Frank (Benjamin Koldyke), her new co-anchor on her 4 AM TV show. Though she initially dislikes him, the two start dating and eventually she moves in with him. At the end of the season they break up when Don takes a job in Chicago — a job which Robin had previously turned down to stay in New York with Don. Marshall uses his fourth slap on Barney, once again at Thanksgiving. Ted buys a house, which needs to be fixed up badly, but is later revealed to be the future home for Ted and his children.

text: Lily and Marshall are still unsure about having children. After watching four doppelgangers of their group (Lesbian Robin, Moustache Marshall, Stripper Lily and Mexican Wrestler Ted) they decide to leave the big decision to the universe's "infinite wisdom" and start trying when they have seen Barney's Doppelganger.

text: In the season finale, Barney disguises himself to have sex with a girl from every country in the world, and Lily and Marshall mistake him for the final doppelganger. When Marshall finds out, he decides not to tell Lily, fearing she will want to wait even longer to have children. Lily eventually finds out and decides to wait. In the season finale, Lily thinks she sees Barney's doppelganger as a hot dog vendor, which causes the group to realize she is seeing what she wants to see, and play along. Eventually Barney agrees having babies is not a stupid idea and Lily and Marshall should go forth. The season ends with Lily asking Marshall to "put a baby in my belly".

text: Season 6[edit]

text: In the season opening, Ted sees Cindy again with a girl who he thinks to be her roommate, but she turns out to be Cindy's girlfriend whom she later marries. After prodding by Barney, Ted is eventually hired by GNB once more as the architect of the bank's new headquarters, which was originally scrapped in Season 4. However, he encounters opposition when he meets Zoey Pierson (Jennifer Morrison), a woman who is protesting against GNB for selecting a decrepit hotel, the Arcadian, to be torn down for the headquarters. Over the season, Ted's encounters with Zoey eventually blossom into a relationship after she divorces her rich husband, the Captain (Kyle MacLachlan), but they break up as he puts his career and friends over love, leading to the Arcadian's demolition. Ted also resolves not to get back with Zoey.

text: Having agreed to conceive a baby at the end of the previous season, Lily and Marshall keep having sex, hoping she will get pregnant. Around Christmas, they have a false alarm and later seek fertility testing. The fertility specialist, Dr. Stangel, turns out to be Barney's doppelgänger, fulfilling their promise with the universe in regard to their decision to have a child. However, tragedy strikes when Marshall's father passes away, leaving him devastated and the gang comforting him. Marshall tries to get over his father's death and live again. Despite a pledge to Lily to work harder for their future, Marshall resigns from GNB and follows his dream of being an environmental lawyer. Zoey also hires him as her lawyer in what became a futile battle to save the Arcadian. At the end of the season, Lily reveals that she is pregnant.

text: Barney finally admits to the gang that Bob Barker is not his real father, especially when his mother decides to sell the house he grew up in and his brother, James, meets his own father. Loretta offers the identity of Barney's father on a sheet of paper, but Barney tears this up after realizing her efforts as a single mother. At the funeral of Marshall's father, Barney tells Loretta that he wants to see his father at last. The man, Jerry Whittaker (John Lithgow), is eventually revealed to be someone whom Barney thought was his uncle. Barney, who remembers Jerry as a fun-loving man, is disappointed after learning how Jerry has grown out of his free-wheeling ways. Although he tries to bring back Jerry's old behaviors, Barney admits that he wants to settle down someday. He is also introduced to Nora (Nazanin Boniadi), a co-worker of Robin, for whom he develops feelings. After an initial falling out, the two reconcile at the end of the season after Barney asks her for coffee.

text: Robin continues to work at her talk show, Come On, Get Up, New York!, but the presence of a new hyperactive co-host forces her to leave. She is accepted as a researcher in another network, World Wide News. The gang also discovers more of her past as the Canadian pop star Robin Sparkles. Robin also encounters a man (Michael Trucco) she has had a secret crush on since first seeing him when she and Ted were dating, and Future Ted hints that they will see more of him later.

text: Short scenes during the season premiere and finale feature a wedding set sometime in the future, where Ted will meet his future wife. In the final scene of the season, the groom is revealed to be Barney.

text: Season 7[edit]

text: Season seven opens with another flash forward, in which Ted is helping Barney get ready for his wedding to a still-unknown bride. In the present, Marshall gets a job in environmental law while Lily's pregnancy progresses. Barney proves to Nora that he can be a good boyfriend to her, while Robin is revealed to still have feelings for Barney. Robin meets a therapist Kevin (Kal Penn) and they start to date. Meanwhile, after a period of unemployment since leaving GNB, Marshall finally manages to land his dream job at a top environmental law firm. After losing a bet, Barney is forced to wear a tie with a duck pattern on it (nicknamed the 'Ducky Tie') which he hates. Marshall allows him to take it off when meeting Nora's parents on the condition that Barney has three slaps added to the one still remaining from the Slap Bet. Marshall uses two slaps immediately, leaving two left.

text: While reminiscing about Hurricane Irene, Lily and Marshall reveal that they conceived their baby in Barney's apartment, and Barney and Robin end up sleeping together. Barney and Robin decide to break up with their partners, but Robin reneges on the deal, returning to Kevin and leaving Barney alone and heartbroken. Robin has a pregnancy scare at Thanksgiving and tells Barney the child is his, since she and Kevin had not yet slept together. However, Robin's doctor informs her that she cannot have children at all. Kevin, who wants children, proposes to Robin, who decides that they must break up. Ted comforts Robin and reveals he still loves her, but the gesture is unrequited. Eventually, she moves out to give him some space.

text: Marshall and Lily decide they want to move to Long Island, after Lily's paternal grandparents offer them their house there. Eventually, they move back to the old apartment in New York City after realizing suburban life is not for them. Ted gives them his apartment because he believes he cannot move on from Robin while living there, while he and Robin become estranged and do not speak for several weeks. Robin is eventually offered a news anchor job and subsequently achieves recognition after preventing a helicopter she is flying in from crashing.

text: Barney starts dating a stripper named Quinn, to the group's initial apprehension. The gang begins to meddle in their relationship, but Barney and Quinn outsmart their attempts and win their approval. Quinn moves in with Barney, while Ted buys Quinn's old apartment. Lily goes into labor and frantically calls Barney and Marshall, who are out at a casino. After many attempts to escape, Barney helps Marshall arrive in time for Lily's delivery and chooses the middle name for the baby, Marvin Waitforit Eriksen. Ted and Robin's friendship also recovers as a result of Marvin's birth. As the season concludes, Marshall and Lily begin their new family with their baby, Barney proposes to Quinn, and Ted contacts his old girlfriend Victoria. Unhappy with her own impending marriage, she leaves her fiancé for Ted and the pair drive off into the sunset. A final flash forward returns to the day of Barney's wedding, where Robin is revealed as the bride.

text: Season 8[edit]

text: Ted visits Robin on the day of her wedding to Barney, causing him to remember how he and Victoria ran away from her wedding to be together. The summer is spent with Ted, Barney, and Robin enjoying their current relationships; however, all subsequently break up with their partners. Victoria splits up with Ted over his friendship with Robin, Barney and Quinn break up due to their inability to trust each other, and Robin breaks up with Nick realizing his immaturity. Robin and Barney kiss but decide not to get together, despite Barney's wishes. Barney then begins dating Robin's hated co-worker Patrice (Ellen D. Williams), a relationship later exposed as a ruse to make Robin realize her true feelings for him. In a culminating scene Barney proposes to Robin, who says yes.

text: Marshall and Lily attempt to get used to being parents, which causes a brief estrangement from the gang as Baby Marvin takes up the majority of their time. Lily's father Mickey becomes Marvin's nanny, freeing the two up to spend more time with their friends. The Captain, ex-husband of Ted's old girlfriend Zoey, offers Lily a job as an art consultant after she identifies a painting that made a huge profit for him. Lily accepts, happy to finally achieve her dream of having a job in the art industry, while Marshall decides to apply to become a judge. The Captain offers Lily a year's work in Rome, which she accepts with Marshall's blessing. However, just before Barney and Robin's wedding, Marshall is informed that his application to become a judge has been granted, a development that would require them to stay in the US.

text: Ted briefly dates Jeanette (Abby Elliott), a girl who stalked him after he appeared on the cover of New York Magazine for designing GNB headquarters. He quickly realizes he's made a mistake and breaks up with her. Ted's feelings of loneliness grow, especially as he is now the only single member of the group, and he decides he is truly ready to settle down. He argues with Lily over hiring a DJ or a band for Barney and Robin's wedding, but is forced to provide a band at short notice when Lily concedes the argument. During a chance meeting on the subway, Cindy offers the services of her roommate's wedding band. This roommate is Ted's future wife.

text: As the week of the wedding approaches, Robin has doubts about marrying Barney and shares an emotional moment with Ted. Guilty, Ted realizes he cannot be around Barney and Robin after they are married and decides to move to Chicago the day after the wedding. The season concludes with everyone travelling to Barney and Robin's wedding, including the mother of Ted's children (revealed on screen for the first time and portrayed by Cristin Milioti), who is seen buying a train ticket to the venue and holding her yellow umbrella.

text: Season 9[edit]

text: With the exception of the very last episode, the entirety of season nine takes place in the 56 hours leading up to Barney and Robin's wedding.

text: Marshall, who is stuck in Minnesota, desperately tries to find a way to get to the wedding in time. Meanwhile, in Farhampton, the time is slowly counting down to the wedding, with a new problem arising in almost every episode. It is revealed that Lily is pregnant and that she and Marshall will have a daughter. It was also revealed that Ted's children are named Penny and Luke. In addition, the 200th episode detailed the Mother's eight years before meeting Ted, while later episodes gave viewers a glimpse of Ted and the Mother together in flash forward scenes. Also, Marshall uses his final two slaps from the slap bet: the first being used as an apology present for missing the rehearsal dinner, and the second when Barney begins to panic just before the beginning of the wedding ceremony.

text: In the series finale, it was revealed that after three years of marriage, Barney and Robin decide to divorce. Barney ends up fathering a child during a one-night stand. Marshall eventually becomes a judge, and he and Lily have three children. Ted's wife Tracy dies of an unknown illness in 2024, six years prior to Ted telling his children the full story of how they met. Upon finishing the story, at the urging of his kids, Ted decides to ask Robin out. Alluding to the first episode (pilot), the finale ends with Robin looking out her apartment window to see Ted on the street holding the blue French horn.

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: The first season was met with generally favorable reviews from critics, though some compared the series unfavorably to Friends. On Metacritic, a review aggregation site that collected 25 reviews for the series, it scored a 69 out of 100.[50] Michael Abernethy of PopMatters gave the season a negative review, writing that "The comedy that does occur in How I Met Your Mother isn't enough to compensate for its inconsistencies."[51] Tom Shales of The Washington Post gave the season a lukewarm review, saying it's "a little better than most other sitcoms, past and present -- especially those featuring wacky urban friends in their twenties experiencing the bittersweet mysteries of life."[52] On the other hand, Melanie Macfarlane gave the season a positive review, saying the show "may not break any comedic ground, but it's the sort of comfortable, reliable hitter CBS needs on Monday nights."[53]

text: The second season received critical acclaim. Staci Krause of IGN gave the season a positive review,[54] calling it "great".[55]

text: The third season was met with mostly positive reviews.[56] Michelle Zoromski of IGN gave the season a positive review, saying that "the season was fun and clever, a good, consistent flow from the first two seasons".[57]

text: The fourth season received critical acclaim and is generally considered the best season of the series. Michelle Zoromski of IGN gave Season 4 an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10, stating that "This fourth season seemed to settle down the chase for the titular mother. While Ted was busy dating Stella, the gang settled into many stand alone episodes which were every bit as entertaining as episodes devoted to Ted's love life". Zoromski went on to say: "A stellar Robin-Marshall episode, titled 'Little Minnesota', makes it clear that these two do not get enough screen time together. With Robin homesick and unemployed (and at risk of being deported), this pairing brought out the best Robin Sparkles reference of the season, when Marshall leads a rousing karaoke version of 'Let's Go to the Mall!'"[58]

text: The fifth season received mostly positive reviews. Cindy McLennan of Television Without Pity gave the season a mixed 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."[59]

text: The sixth season received generally positive reviews.[60] Justin Fowler of Later Reviews gave the season a positive review, saying that the season was "a pretty good season of television" and better than the "poor" fifth season. He also said that "Seventeen out of the 24 episodes are what I would consider good".[61]

text: The seventh season received mixed reviews. Alan Sepinwall gave the season a mixed review and criticized the flash-forwards throughout the season, saying that "the show is just much, much stronger when its stories dwell on matters of the present or the past, and where the writers don't have to act like magicians trying to keep the audience from figuring out how the trick works. And the finale affirmed that belief for me. The parts that had little or nothing to do with things to come were quite good; the parts that were all about the future made me roll my eyes and ask, for the umpteenth time, 'Really? This is where you're going with this?'"[62]

text: The eighth season was widely criticized, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 40% of critics gave the show a positive review. The consensus reads: "How I Met Your Mother wears out its welcome this season, with an anticlimactic reveal and rote, less-than-fruitful humor."[63]

text: The ninth season received mixed to positive reviews by critics, though fans found it worse than prior seasons.[64] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 80% of critics gave the show a positive review, with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10. Gareth Mitchell at "House of Geekery" responded negatively, mostly criticizing the structure of the season, stating that they are "struggling to come up with stories that last out the 22 minutes".[65] The finale of the show received a polarized reaction from fans. While some complained that the last few seasons had built towards an end game that was discarded within the hour-long episode, others felt that it remained true to both the initial concept of the show and to life itself.[66]

text: Tie-ins[edit]

text: Books[edit]

text:
The Bro Code, cited by Barney many times throughout the series, is a set of written rules for bros to follow, and has been published as a tie-in novel, an audiobook,[67] an iPhone Application and an Android Application. Barney alleges it was written by Barnabus Stinson, a contemporary of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Many of the rules listed in this book also appear in the show's closing vanity cards in syndication.
Bro on the Go, a companion to The Bro Code, released in 2009.[68]
Bro Code for Parents: What to Expect When You're Awesome, released in 2012.[69]
The Playbook, based on the fifth season episode of the same name, by Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn.[70]
How I Met Your Mother and Philosophy, released in 2013.[71]

text: Soundtracks[edit]

text:
A soundtrack album entitled How I Met Your Music: Original Songs from the Hit Series was released digitally to iTunes on September 24, 2012, featuring songs from the first seven seasons[72]
A second soundtrack album entitled How I Met Your Music: Deluxe was released digitally to iTunes on September 23, 2014, featuring songs from the final two seasons.[73]

text: Pineapple Incident Explained[edit]

text: After the end of the series, the officials released a short video, explaining the running mystery of the pineapple in the Pineapple Incident (season 1, episode 10). The extra footage revealed that a character revealed in the 6th season, the Captain, had put a pineapple in front of his door as a tradition and Ted took the pineapple while he was drunk.[74]

text: Proposed spin-offs[edit]

text: How I Met Your Dad[edit]

text: On November 15, 2013, it was announced that CBS and the series' producer 20th Century Fox Television would launch How I Met Your Dad, a woman-centric variation executive-produced by Bays, Thomas, and Emily Spivey.[75] The new series would possibly have featured a new bar and would not have tied into the original series.[76] The primary cast of the series was revealed to be Greta Gerwig, Drew Tarver, Nicholas D'Agosto and Andrew Santino.[77] On April 23, 2014, Meg Ryan was announced to voice future Sally.[78]

text: On May 14, 2014, CBS passed on picking up How I Met Your Dad since show creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays did not want to reshoot the pilot.[79] Nina Tassler, the entertainment president at CBS, stated that "there were elements of the pilot that didn't work out". Talks of the series being "shopped" to other networks emerged.[79][80] Netflix, FOX and NBC were named as possible candidates for picking up the show.[81]

text: Ultimately, nothing came of those talks. It was reported that the options on the cast contracts had expired and they had been released from their contracts and co-creator Carter Bays denied any rumours that the spin-off pilot will be reshot. On July 11, 2014, Bays confirmed that the spin-off project was officially dead.[82] Six days later, Nina Tassler said that CBS would "love the opportunity to take another shot" at the pilot and that she would continue to "hound" Carter Bays and Craig Thomas – even though they shot down the idea of a new version of the project stating that they had both moved on.[83]

text: How I Met Your Father (First attempt)[edit]

text: On December 14, 2016, it was reported that Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger were set to write a new version of the previous spin-off's pilot, re-titled How I Met Your Father, with Bays and Thomas serving as executive producers.[84] On March 6, 2017, it was announced that following signing new contracts with 20th Century Fox Television that would see both Aptaker and Berger being promoted to executive producers and co-showrunners on This Is Us alongside Dan Fogelman, their completed spec script for How I Met Your Father would be placed on the back burner in light of their new duties.[85] The idea was later completely abandoned.

text: How I Met Your Father (Second attempt)[edit]

text: On August 8, 2017, Fox chairman Dana Walden told Deadline that the studio was set to try a third spin-off with different writers. It was also stated that all ideas from the previous two attempts will not be carried over and the new attempt will be created from scratch.[86] On August 11, 2017, Deadline reported that Alison Bennett had been selected to write the spin-off. It was also confirmed that this incarnation would be developed under the title used for the Aptaker and Berger project, and that Bays and Thomas are once again attached as executive producers.[87]

text: Russian adaptation[edit]

text: The GoodStoryMedia, a Russian production company, made a remake of the series which was broadcast on STS and ran for two seasons.[88]

text: Nielsen ratings[edit]

text: The show's highest viewed episode was the series finale, "Last Forever", watched by 13.13 million viewers.[89] Previously, the most viewed episode was the season 1 episode "The Pineapple Incident", watched by 12.3 million viewers. The lowest-viewed episode was the season 6 episode "Landmarks", watched by 6.4 million viewers, approximately 52% of the show's series high.

text: Season nine was the highest watched season overall and among the 18-49 adults, scoring a 4.5 rating in that sector[90] up from the second-highest rating of 4.1 in season seven.[91]

text:
Season
Timeslot (ET)
Season premiere
Season finale
TV season
Rank
Avg. viewers
(in millions)

1
Monday 8:30 P.M.
September 19, 2005
May 15, 2006
2005–2006
54[92]
9.47[92]

2
Monday 8:30 P.M.
(Episodes 1–3)
Monday 8:00 P.M.
(Episodes 4–22)
September 18, 2006
May 14, 2007
2006–2007
61[93]
8.94[93]

3
Monday 8:00 P.M.
(Episodes 1–11)
Monday 8:30 P.M.
(Episodes 12–20)
September 24, 2007
May 19, 2008
2007–2008
70[94]
8.21[94]

4
Monday 8:30 P.M.
September 22, 2008
May 18, 2009
2008–2009
49[95]
9.42[95]

5
Monday 8:00 P.M.
September 21, 2009
May 24, 2010
2009–2010
42[96]
8.60[96]

6
September 20, 2010
May 16, 2011
2010–2011
48
8.79[97]

7
September 19, 2011
May 14, 2012
2011–2012
45[91]
9.67[91]

8
September 24, 2012
May 13, 2013
2012–2013
42
9.02[98]

9
September 23, 2013
March 31, 2014
2013–2014
28[90]
10.51[90]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Awards & nominations

Award
Won
Nominated

ALMA Awards
1
2

Art Directors Guild
0
7

Casting Society of America
0
1

Critics' Choice Television Awards
1
1

Emmy Awards
9
28

EWwy Awards
1
1

GLAAD Media Awards
0
1

Golden Globe Awards
0
2

People's Choice Awards
6
17

PRISM Awards
0
1

Satellite Awards
0
4

TCA Awards
0
2

Teen Choice Awards
0
4

Young Hollywood Awards
0
1

Totals
18
72

text: The show has been nominated for 72 awards, winning 18. The show has been nominated for 28 Emmy Awards, including a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Stars Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris have each received acting accolades, with both receiving People's Choice Awards, and Harris receiving Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. In 2012, seven years after its premiere, the series won the People's Choice for Favorite Network TV Comedy. The show's art direction, editing and cinematography have also been awarded.

text: Home media[edit]

text:
DVD season
Release dates
Episodes
Additional information

Region 1
Region 2
Region 4

Season 1
November 21, 2006
May 7, 2007
January 10, 2007
22

Includes:

commentaries on six episodes
a video yearbook
2 music videos ("First Round" and "Last Call")
a gag reel

Episodes have been cropped from the broadcast widescreen to a full frame 4:3 format

Season 2
October 2, 2007
February 8, 2010
April 8, 2008
22

Includes:

commentaries on seven episodes
How We Make Your Mother
2 music videos ("Let's Go To The Mall" and "Hey Beautiful")
3 "How It Really Happened" scenes
a gag reel
an Easter Egg.

The Legendary Season 3
October 7, 2008
May 10, 2010
February 11, 2009
20

Includes:

commentaries on 7 episodes
a series retrospective
Lily & Marshall's honeymoon videos
cast favorites
a behind the scenes of "We're Not From Here"
6 "How It Really Happened" scenes
2 music videos ("You Just Got Slapped" and "Sandcastles in the Sand")
"Ted Mosby Is A Jerk" audio track
a gag reel.

The Awesome Season 4
September 29, 2009
July 19, 2010
October 27, 2009
24

Includes:

commentaries on 4 episodes
A Night With Your Mother: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Panel Discussion
season recap
Eriksen's Fight Club
a music video ("That Guy's Awesome")
a gag reel

Also available on Blu-Ray, and is the only season to have a subsequent Blu Ray release.

The Complete Season 5. The Suited-Up Edition
September 21, 2010
November 8, 2010
October 27, 2010
24

Includes:

a gag reel
music videos for "Super Date", "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit", and "Best Night Ever"
2 behind the scenes features
making of "Super Date"
behind the scenes of the 100th episode
an extended version of the "Wedding Bride" trailer
a musical series recap.

The Complete Season 6. The New Is Always Better Edition
September 27, 2011
October 3, 2011
October 5, 2011
24

Includes:

a gag reel
making of "Subway Wars"
behind the scenes of "Glitter"
commentaries on 3 episodes
an extended performance of "Stand By Me"
a season recap[99]

The Complete Season 7. The Ducky Tie Edition
October 2, 2012
October 15, 2012
October 10, 2012
24

Includes:

a gag reel
2 behind the scenes featurettes
deleted scenes
audio commentaries on 3 episodes
a feature on Neil Patrick Harris' Hollywood Walk of Fame star.[100]

The Complete Season 8. The Yellow Umbrella Edition
October 1, 2013
September 30, 2013
November 9, 2013
24

Includes:

deleted scenes
audio commentary on "Farmhampton" and "The Final Page"
music video for "PS I Love You"
making of "PS I Love You"
Where We Make Your Mother: Set Tour
a gag reel.

The 9th and Legendary Final Season. The Rest of Your Life Edition[101]
September 23, 2014
October 13, 2014
October 22, 2014
24

Includes:

Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary on "The Locket"
Audio Commentary on "The Rehearsal Dinner"
Audio Commentary on "How Your Mother Met Me"
Last Forever Alternate Ending
How It All Ends
Cristin Milioti Audition
Behind the Scenes of "Gary Blauman"
Gag Reel[101]

The Whole Story Seasons 1–9[101]
September 23, 2014
October 13, 2014
October 22, 2014
208

Includes:

All Out of Spoilers: Looking Back at Your Mother – A Retrospective
Table Read of the Series Finale with the Entire Cast
The Secret of the Pineapple Incident Revealed
Meeting the Mother
How I Met Your Mother at Comic-Con 2013-2014
The Mosby Kids: 8 Years on the Couch
How We Filmed the Kids
Plus All the Special Features from Every Previous Season[101]

text: Seasons 1 through 9 are available to stream on Netflix in Austria, Australia, Latin America, The Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Ireland, and Canada; season 9 was released on September 26, 2014.[102][103] Seasons 1-9 were removed from Netflix in the United States as of November 13, 2017, and are now available on Hulu.[104] Seasons 1 through 9 are available to stream on Hotstar in India.

text: Note: The whole story DVD had a different package in Region 1 as opposed to Region 2 + 4


document_title: The Flash (season 4)

question_text: the flash season four episode 10 release date

root

text: The Flash (season 4)

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.overallNo. inseasonTitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.codeU.S. viewers(millions)701"The Flash Reborn"Glen WinterStory by : Andrew Kreisberg Teleplay by : Todd Helbing & Eric WallaceOctober 10, 2017 (2017-10-10)T27.134012.84[2]
Iris has been aiding Team Flash in Central City for six months, but refuses to grieve Barry. A flying samurai with superpowers appears in Central City, threatening to destroy the city if the real Flash does not face him. Cisco reveals he has formulated a way to bring back Barry without destabilizing the Speed Force and tracks down Caitlin for help, but is forbidden by Iris to bring Barry back. Against Iris' orders, Team Flash successfully returns Barry, who rambles random statements and continually writes symbols on the walls. Wally engages the samurai, but is defeated. Cisco deciphers Barry's writings and finds an apparently meaningless sentence. In an attempt to recover Barry's memories, Iris gives herself up to the samurai. The plan works and Barry speeds away, rescuing Iris and defeating the samurai, who is revealed to be an android. Caitlin rejoins Team Flash, but is revealed to have been working for a mobster called Amunet, while also continuing to prevent the Killer Frost personality from emerging. The "Samuroid" is revealed to have been controlled by the Thinker, whose plan was to draw out the Flash for his next schemes.
712"Mixed Signals"Alexandra La RocheJonathan Butler & Gabriel GarzaOctober 17, 2017 (2017-10-17)T27.134022.54[3]
When Barry, Joe, and Cisco report to a crime scene, they discover remnants of a mysterious code. Cisco presents Barry with a technologically advanced suit, intended to facilitate his activities. He tests it out, trying to save someone from a haywire car controlled by metahuman Ramsey Deacon. Gypsy arrives on Earth-1 for a date with Cisco, who is forced to cancel it so as to focus on Deacon. Acting on a suggestion from Caitlin, Iris signs her and Barry up for couples therapy to sort out their relationship. Deacon kidnaps a witness, a former member of a tech team that stole his idea for profit. Barry and Wally go to save him, but Deacon uses his abilities to send Barry's suit haywire. On Iris' instruction, Barry throws lightning at himself, shorting out his suit. He then incapacitates Deacon, who is locked up in the meta wing of Iron Heights, revealed to be part of the Thinker's plan. Cisco finally goes out with Gypsy. Wondering how Deacon gained his powers being absent during the particle accelerator incident, Barry and Joe learn from Deacon that there are "others."
723"Luck Be a Lady"Armen V. KevorkianSam Chalsen & Judalina NeiraOctober 24, 2017 (2017-10-24)T27.134032.62[4]
In flashbacks, the Thinker observes Becky Sharpe, a woman with seemingly unending bad luck, and determines that she will be easily manipulated. In the present, Becky robs a bank and gets away when Barry slips on marbles. Harry arrives from Earth-2 and tells Wally that Jesse has decided to break up with him in order to focus on her vigilantism. Cisco deduces that Becky is a metahuman with the power of favorable luck while inducing misfortune to others. Barry realizes that the portal he used to escape the Speed Force exposed an entire busload of people, including Becky and Deacon, to transformative dark matter. Harry informs Cisco that Jesse has expelled him from her crime-fighting team due to his attitude. Becky's powers expand out of control, reactivating the particle accelerator, which Harry deliberately allows, nullifying Becky's powers and leading to her incarceration. Cisco and Harry identify twelve new metahumans created on the bus and the latter suspects that an unknown party has manipulated the events surrounding Barry's return. Wally decides to leave on a journey to find himself. The Thinker is revealed to be spying on S.T.A.R. Labs through the "Samuroid" helmet. Joe learns Cecile is pregnant.
734"Elongated Journey Into Night"Tom CavanaghSterling Gates & Thomas PoundOctober 31, 2017 (2017-10-31)T27.134041.99[5]
Gypsy's father, Breacher, attacks Cisco, vowing to hunt and kill him in 24 hours, allowing the romance should he survive. Team Flash learns that the bus driver was murdered and tracks down another passenger, Ralph Dibny, former corrupt CCPD detective exposed by Barry and currently an infamous private investigator. As two thugs attack Dibny, he is revealed to have the power to stretch. Caitlin stabilizes his powers with a serum. The team learns that Ralph has been blackmailing Mayor Bellows for adultery, with the latter revealed to have hired the thugs. Barry confronts Ralph for his actions while the latter scolds him, claiming to have been a "good cop". He later stops blackmailing Bellows, who still attempts to kill him while Breacher mistakes the former for a Plastoid, the species that invaded Earth-19 previously, and attacks him. Cisco intervenes and saves Ralph, whom Barry, having revealed his alter-ego, convinces to help arrest an escaping Bellows. Admiring Cisco's gallantry, Breacher allows the relationship. Barry recruits Ralph for Team Flash and learns that someone named DeVoe instructed Ralph to watch Bellows. Barry remembers that Abra Kadabra and Savitar both mentioned DeVoe. Meanwhile, Caitlin finds a message on her apartment door.
745"Girls Night Out"Laura BelseyLauren Certo & Kristen KimNovember 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)T27.134052.38[6]
While failing to track DeVoe, Team Flash is visited by Felicity, who joins Iris's bachelorette party. Mocking Cisco's plans for Barry's bachelor party, Ralph takes the men to a strip club, where they learn that Cecile's daughter, Joanie, is working. Joe confronts her, who states she is only doing feminist research. Ralph incites a brawl, leading to the men's arrest until Harry posts bail. Meanwhile, Amunet's enforcer, Norvock, demands Caitlin's return and attacks the women when she refuses. Killer Frost emerges and repels him, later telling Iris that Caitlin accepted Amunet's employment in exchange for the means to control Frost. Learning that Amunet is holding a metahuman she calls "the Weeper", whose tears are a strong narcotic, prisoner and intends to sell him, Iris's party decides to stop her. Though Caitlin refuses to join, she attacks Amunet when seeing her friends in danger. Using a strong magnet, the team robs Amunet's metal shards, leaving her powerless. Iris dissuades Frost from killing Amunet, who promises revenge. Both parties refuse to tell each other about their adventures. Iris asks Caitlin to be her maid of honor while Joe convinces Joanie to tell Cecile about her research. DeVoe captures the Weeper.
756"When Harry Met Harry..."Brent CrowellJonathan Butler & Gabriel GarzaNovember 14, 2017 (2017-11-14)T27.134062.46[7]
Barry trains Ralph to use his abilities, with Cisco making a stretchable suit for him. Another bus metahuman, a Lakota Sioux Native named Mina Chayton, who can animate statues, starts attacking Central City & stealing pieces of a Black Bison necklace, which she claims belongs to her tribe. When Barry and Ralph catch up to her, she attacks Barry with a caveman statue and attempts a getaway. Ralph chooses to stop her, but a little girl is injured in the process. Ralph regrets his actions, but is comforted by Barry. Chayton escapes CCPD, going after the last necklace piece held at the museum. When Barry and Ralph confront her, she brings a dinosaur skeleton to life. Barry arrests Chayton while Ralph saves a security guard from the skeleton. Later, Ralph reveals he mailed the necklace back to Chayton's tribe, before visiting the little girl in the hospital, using his abilities to entertain her. Meanwhile, Harry, trying to make friends, works with his doppelgangers of alternate Earths, The Council of Wells. They figure out that DeVoe is a man named Clifford DeVoe. Barry and Joe head to DeVoe's house, to find out that he is a middle-aged man in a wheelchair.
767"Therefore I Am"David McWhirterEric Wallace & Thomas PoundNovember 21, 2017 (2017-11-21)T27.134072.20[8]
Barry and Joe interrogate DeVoe and his wife to try and get more information. In flashbacks, DeVoe and his wife build a thinking cap to improve his brain capacity, powering it through the particle accelerator explosion. DeVoe's increased brain power accelerates his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, forcing his wife to build him a special chair to keep him alive. Barry discovers the camera in the Samuroid head and goes to DeVoe's house, narrowly avoiding being caught by DeVoe's wife. Barry later confronts DeVoe, who reveals his true identity, leading to Cisco dubbing him "The Thinker". Wally returns to Team Flash from Blue Valley.
778"Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3"Dermott DownsStory by : Andrew Kreisberg & Marc Guggenheim Teleplay by : Todd HelbingNovember 28, 2017 (2017-11-28)T27.134082.82[9]
Barry, Oliver, Sara, Alex, Martin and Jax wake up in a Nazi concentration camp on Earth-X wearing power dampeners. The arriving SS Sturmbannführer is revealed to be the Earth-X doppelgänger of Quentin Lance, who plans to execute them, but they are saved by Citizen Cold (the Earth-X doppelgänger of Leonard Snart) and Ray Terrill. Snart and Terrill take them to the headquarters of the Freedom Fighters, where the team meets the resistance movement's leader, General Schott (Winn Schott's Earth-X doppelgänger). They learn that the only way back to Earth-1 is through a temporal gateway in a research facility, which Schott plans to blow up to strand Dark Arrow (Oliver's Earth-X doppelgänger) on Earth-1. Oliver disguises himself as Dark Arrow to infiltrate the facility and discovers the Nazi doomsday device against parallel Earths is a militarized timeship called Wellenreiter. Barry and Ray battle the Freedom Fighters' Red Tornado to stop it from destroying the gateway while the rest of the team enters the facility to reactivate its portal, during which Stein is shot and gravely wounded. On Earth-1, Eobard Thawne prepares to perform surgery on Kara to save Overgirl. Felicity and Iris try to stop him, but are captured.

This episode continues a crossover event that begins on Supergirl season 3 episode 8 and Arrow season 6 episode 8, and concludes on   Legends of Tomorrow season 3 episode 8.
789"Don't Run"Stefan PleszczynskiSam Chalsen & Judalina NeiraDecember 5, 2017 (2017-12-05)T27.134092.22[10]
While out Christmas shopping, Barry is ambushed and kidnapped by DeVoe while Caitlin is kidnapped from Jitters by Amunet. Iris claims they have to look for both of them, despite Harry's claim that they have insufficient time and resources and that they can only afford to search for one. Barry is held in DeVoe's lair. Caitlin is forced by Amunet to perform surgery on a metahuman named Dominic Lanse, who can read minds. They try to escape, but Amunet blocks their exit. Caitlin manages to briefly incapacitate Amunet, and she and Dominic flee the building they are being held in. Once outside, they are rescued by Cisco and Ralph, as Iris has chosen to focus on finding Caitlin. Barry manages to escape from DeVoe. Team Flash celebrates Christmas at the West house and Dominic joins them. Barry gets a security alert from his apartment. When he arrives, he receives a phone call from Dominic, who reveals that Amunet re-kidnapped Dominic and DeVoe has transferred his consciousness into Dominic's body. Barry discovers DeVoe's original body dead on his apartment floor and he realizes DeVoe has framed him for his "murder"; the police arrive, and Barry lets himself get arrested, not wanting to leave Iris again.
7910"The Trial of The Flash"Philip ChiperaLauren Certo & Kristen KimJanuary 16, 2018 (2018-01-16)T27.134102.51[11]
Barry stands trial for the murder of Clifford DeVoe, with Cecile representing him. Cisco and Joe have to leave during the trial for a meta investigation, in which a meta caused people to collapse. Singh reveals to Joe he is appearing as a witness for the prosecution against Barry. The meta is eventually discovered as Neil Borman, who is a meta who produces radiation, which is causing the illness and collapsing. Barry takes him on, but is ill equipped to deal with the situation. Cisco and Killer Frost travel to the scene where Caitlin tries to freeze Borman, who quickly defrosts and incapacitates Caitlin. Barry creates a vacuum seal around Borman to contain the radiation, with Cisco transporting the radiation to the dead Earth-15, draining the meta and defeating him. Barry is eventually found guilty by the jury and is sentenced to life in prison.
8011"The Elongated Knight Rises"Alexandra La RocheSterling Gates & Thomas PoundJanuary 23, 2018 (2018-01-23)T27.134112.12[12]
Barry uses his speed to secretly help the guards contain the other inmates during a prison riot. He also befriends Dave Ratchet, his father's former cellmate. The next day, Barry meets Axel Walker who was later broken out of prison by his mother Zoey Clark, his father's one-time partner Prank. Axel challenges Ralph by threatening to cause chaos in the city. Ralph attempts to stop him but is wounded by Axel and is evacuated by Cisco. Ralph sneaks into the prison to talk to Barry about how scared he is. Barry reassures him that being a hero isn't about not being scared, but about having the ability to rise above your fear. Cisco and Caitlin go to rescue the hostages, but get captured by Axel and Zoey, who intend to kill them. Ralph arrives, and attempts to shield the two from an acid shower, until Wells manages to hack into the shower system to neutralize its acidity. Iris visits Barry in prison, where they reaffirm their love for each other. Ralph and Cisco go to get coffee, where they meet the excitable girl from the wedding. The girl writes in her journal, where she appears to be writing in the language Barry was using when he came out of the Speed Force.
8112"Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash"Chris PeppeSam Chalsen & Judalina NeiraJanuary 30, 2018 (2018-01-30)T27.134122.60[13]
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)Cecile develops telepathic abilities as a result of her pregnancy, combined with dormant dark matter in her cells, which Caitlin assures her should be temporary. In prison, Barry learns that Ratchet is innocent of a robbery-homicide that was actually committed by Sylbert Rundine fifteen years prior. Barry asks the team to look into the case. Rundine turns out to be a bus meta with the ability to shrink and enlarge objects, and he shrinks Cisco and Ralph while escaping. Harry's attempted cure backfires, and Caitlin determines that if they are not re-enlarged within a certain period of time, their bodies will explode. The team confronts Rundine at a warehouse, where Harry tricks him into re-enlarging Ralph and Cisco. Rundine is arrested, but refuses to confess to the earlier crime. Barry gathers that even if Ratchet went free, he would be as unhappy in the city as he is in prison; he wishes to live in a secluded Chinese village called Jiaju, but fears he will never get there. After Joe assures him that he will always do his best, Barry uses his speed to take Ratchet to Jiaju, where he can live out his dream. After discovering Barry is the Flash, the prison's warden, Gregory Wolfe, locks Barry in his private metahuman wing, intending to sell him to Amunet.
8213"True Colors"Tara Nicole WeyrJonathan Butler & Gabriel GarzaFebruary 6, 2018 (2018-02-06)T27.134132.28[14]
Wolfe plans to sell Barry and the imprisoned bus metas (Ramsey Deacon, Becky Sharpe, Mina Chaytan, and Sylbert Rundine) to Amunet, so they plan to escape. Cecile discovers Wolfe's plans after reading his mind. Ralph encounters a former colleague and his negative interaction with him prompts the discovery that he can shapeshift. His lack of mastery of the new ability prevents his attempt to foil Amunet's deal with Wolfe. Barry helps the metas escape the power dampeners, but they are cornered by Wolfe and Amunet. DeVoe arrives and again uses his chair to extract the metas' abilities, before transferring his mind into Sharpe's body. He then crushes Wolfe's skull as Marlize looks on in horror; Amunet flees. Ralph uses his shapeshifting ability to appear as the original DeVoe at Barry's appeal, claiming that he was unconscious at Barry's loft but not dead, which clears Barry's name. Team Flash realizes that DeVoe is only stealing powers from metahumans who were on the bus when the dark matter wave was unleashed, which means he will likely target Ralph as well. Back at the DeVoes' house, their marriage continues to deteriorate, and DeVoe drugs his wife with the Weeper's tears to maintain her devotion towards him.
8314"Subject 9"Ralph HemeckerMike Alber & Gabe SnyderFebruary 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)T27.134142.12[15]
Barry is put on indefinite leave at the CCPD due to his connection with the DeVoe case. The team encounter another bus metahuman named Izzy with sound wave abilities, amplified by her violin. She manages to use her abilities when DeVoe (inside Sharpe's body) comes to claim her. Barry and Ralph help to train Izzy to refine her abilities, which proves difficult when she gets hurt. Eventually DeVoe shows up once again, using Dominic's and Becky's abilities to make Barry experience a brain aneurysm, while using Rundine's abilities to incapacitate Ralph. DeVoe then once again uses the chair to transfer his mind into Izzy's body and escapes. Both Ralph and Barry comfort each other over their respective losses: Barry being let go from the police force and Ralph losing Izzy to DeVoe. These losses enforce both Barry's and Ralph's determination to bring DeVoe down and save the three remaining metas.
8415"Enter Flashtime"Gregory SmithTodd Helbing & Sterling GatesMarch 6, 2018 (2018-03-06)T27.134152.04[16]
Jesse comes to Earth-1 to have a talk with her dad. Eco-terrorist Veronica Dale sets off a nuclear bomb, which Barry tries to stop, entering a form of superspeed known as Flashtime, where everything is frozen. However, the bomb has already detonated, and he and Jesse cannot stop it or save everyone with superspeed. Jay Garrick comes from Earth-3 to help, but they are still unable to stop it. Barry remains in Flashtime for hours, bringing each of his friends into it, in an attempt to find a solution; they discuss options such as freezing it or sending it to another Earth, but none of those solutions prove to be viable. Eventually, Iris gives him the idea to retrieve the Quark Sphere from the Speed Force to send a blast lightning through the bomb, enough to disable it. Barry does so, and throws the Sphere back into the Speed Force, saving Central City. Jay admits he is retiring and going to train a new "female" speedster. Jesse and Jay return to their Earths, and Caitlin and Wells go for a coffee, where they encounter the mysterious girl.
8516"Run, Iris, Run"Harry JierjianEric WallaceMarch 13, 2018 (2018-03-13)T27.134162.09[17]
A metahuman with fire powers tries to rob Central City bank. Another bus meta named Matthew Kim touches the metahuman, which causes his powers to transfer to another individual. When Joe, Iris and Barry turn up to ask Kim a few questions, Barry and Iris come into contact with Kim, causing Barry to lose his speed and Iris to gain superspeed. Inspired by Thawne, Harry plans to build his own thinking cap to outwit DeVoe. With their roles reversed, Iris becomes Central City's hero speedster, while Barry must learn to act as team leader. The new metahuman demands money and terrorizes the city with his fire powers. Using Wells' thinking cap, the Team comes up with the idea for Iris to create a tidal wave, negating the flames and defeating the meta. Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Kim touches Iris and Barry again, restoring the Flash's speed. At home, Iris admits that while she did enjoy having superspeed, Central City needs the light that Barry was, and she is happy being team leader. Wells uses his thinking cap once more, determining the final two bus metas are Janet Petty and Edwin Gauss.
8617"Null and Annoyed"Kevin SmithLauren Certo & Kristen KimApril 10, 2018 (2018-04-10)T27.134171.82[18]
Barry and Ralph train to defeat DeVoe, with Barry becoming annoyed at Ralph's apparent inability to be serious. The team manages to locate another bus meta, Janet Petty. When Barry and Ralph confront her, it is revealed that Petty can manipulate a person's gravitational pull, which she demonstrates on Barry. Fearing once again that Ralph is not taking things seriously, Barry refuses to work with him. Ralph reveals his comedic attitude is due to a difficult childhood where his father abandoned him, causing him to make jokes whenever he is scared or under pressure. Barry relents and they go to stop Janet at a gala event. Janet uses her powers on Barry, causing him to float into the atmosphere. Barry tells the team to trust Ralph to improvise. Ralph detains Janet, then becomes a giant airbag to allow Barry to land safely. DeVoe's wife discovers he has been drugging her, so she will continue to assist him. Breacher comes to Earth-1 to ask Cisco for help as some of his powers have failed. Harry takes the thinking cap to Thawne's time vault to recharge it and activates Gideon.
8718"Lose Yourself"Hanelle CulpepperJonathan Butler & Gabriel GarzaApril 17, 2018 (2018-04-17)T27.134181.88[19]
Team Flash track down the final bus meta Edwin Gauss, but are followed by the Samuroid, who injures Caitlin. The team rush back to Star Labs to regroup and heal. Caitlin reveals to Iris that Killer Frost is activated by her adrenal gland, and she is working on a way to separate them. Harry comes up with a tuning fork weapon that mimics Izzy's abilities in order to defeat DeVoe. Ralph reveals to Barry that he isn't afraid of losing his own life, but of Team Flash losing theirs, as he considers them family. Wells is shown to be addicted to the Thinking Cap, which Joe helps him deal with. Ralph takes the fork, with the intent to go with Edwin to kill DeVoe, which Barry argues against. Eventually, DeVoe manages to take over Edwin's mind, and as well takes the abilities of Janet Petty and Matthew Kim, before transferring his mind into Ralph's body. The team try to stop him, but DeVoe incapacitates them, and seemingly removes Killer Frost from Caitlin, curing her before leaving. Back at the lair, DeVoe uses Ralph's morphing abilities to morph back into his original form, while he and Marlize plan their next move to destroy Team Flash.
8819"Fury Rogue"[20]Rachel TalalayJoshua V. Gilbert & Jeff HershApril 24, 2018 (2018-04-24)TBATBD
8920"Therefore She Is"[21]Rob J. GreenleaSterling Gates & Thomas PoundMay 1, 2018 (2018-05-01)TBATBD

tag: table

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash[22]
Candice Patton as Iris West[22]
Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost[23]
Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe[22]
Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West / Kid Flash[22]
Neil Sandilands as Clifford DeVoe / Thinker[24]
Tom Cavanagh as Harrison "Harry" Wells[22]
Jesse L. Martin as Joe West[22]

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton[25]
Kim Engelbrecht as Marlize DeVoe / Mechanic[24]
Jessica Camacho as Cynthia / Gypsy[26][27]
Patrick Sabongui as David Singh[28]
Richard Brooks as Gregory Wolfe[29]
Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man[30]
Katee Sackhoff as Amunet Black / Blacksmith[31]
Sugar Lyn Beard as Rebecca Sharpe / Hazard[32] and Clifford DeVoe / Thinker
Kendrick Sampson as Dominic Lanse / Brainstorm[33] and Clifford DeVoe / Thinker

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Britne Oldford as Shawna Baez / Peek-a-Boo[34]
Mark Sweatman as Norvok[35]
Dominic Burgess as Ramsey Deacon / Kilg%re[36]
Donna Pescow as Sharon Finkle
Chelsea Kurtz as Mina Chayton / Black Bison[37]
Violett Beane as Jesse Chambers Wells / Jesse Quick[38]
Danny Trejo as Josh / Breacher[24][27]
Vito D'Ambrosio as Anthony Bellows
Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak[31]
Riley Jade Berglund as Joanie[39]
Matt Afonso as Weeper[40]
Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow and Dark Arrow[41]
Victor Garber as Martin Stein / Firestorm[41]
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary[41]
Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers[41]
Franz Drameh as Jefferson Jackson / Firestorm[41]
Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance / Sturmbannführer
Jeremy Jordan as General Schott[41]
Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake / Black Canary
Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl and Overgirl[41]
Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart / Citizen Cold[42]
Russell Tovey as Ray Terrill / The Ray[41]
Frederick Schmidt voices Metallo-X
Mark Valley as Anton Slater[43]
Ryan Alexander McDonald as Neil Borman / Fallout
Devon Graye as Axel Walker / Trickster[44]
Corinne Bohrer as Zoey Clark / Prank[44]
Bill Goldberg as Dave Ratchet / Big Sir[44]
Derek Mears as Sylbert Rundine / Dwarfstar[45]
Paul McGillion as Earl Cox
Miranda MacDougall as Izzy Bowin / Fiddler[46]  and Clifford DeVoe / Thinker
John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick[47]
Leonardo Nam as Matthew Kim / Melting Point[48]
Max Adler as Jaco Birch / Pyro[49]
Bethany Brown as Janet Petty / Null
Arturo Del Puerto as Edwin Gauss / Folded Man
Katie Cassidy as Siren (Earth-X)
Anne Dudek as Tracy Brand[50]
Victoria Askounis as young Caitlin Snow[51]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: The series was renewed for a fourth season on January 8, 2017,[52] earlier than usual for the series. Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said on this, "The great thing about our dear friends at The CW and Mark Pedowitz picking the shows up as early as they did has allowed us to start building the schedules for next season."[53] In May 2017, it was announced that Aaron Helbing would not return as an executive producer for season four, with only Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Sarah Schechter, and Todd Helbing returning from previous seasons.[54] Todd Helbing and Kreisberg were slated to serve as the season's showrunners.[55][56] In November 2017, Kreisberg was suspended from his role as executive producer and showrunner on The Flash over allegations of sexual harassment.[57][58] By the end of the month, he had been fired, with his name eventually being removed from the credits from all shows he worked on. In addition, Berlanti would take additional responsibilities working with Helbing to co-showrun the season.[59]

tag: p

text: Writing[edit]

text:
The way I see it is, time is non-linear and everything is happening at once in the Speed Force. In some ways he's had an awakening and he's had a rebirth. Our first episode is called 'Reborn,' and it is a rebirth for Barry, but he's kind of scrambled, too, because he's experienced so much so quick over the course of six months, even though for him it was an eternity. He's not Barry when we see him for the first time.

—Grant Gustin on the rebirth of Barry in season four.[60]

tag: div

text: In March 2017, Kreisberg  confirmed that the main villain for the fourth season would not be a speedster, like the previous three seasons.[61] Executive producers Aaron and Todd Helbing also mentioned that there would be less time travel in the season, with Aaron saying, "We like playing with the timelines and the different time periods and future and past. For now, I think we're going to focus on the present."[62]  In June 2017, Clifford DeVoe / Thinker was reported to be the main antagonist of the season. He was first hinted in the third season episode "Abra Kadabra" when the titular villain mentions him among the Flash's greatest enemies, and again in the season finale "Finish Line" when Savitar mentions facing DeVoe but states that the Flash has not dealt with him yet.[63] At the series' San Diego Comic-Con panel, the speculation was confirmed, with Todd Helbing saying, "With three Speedsters in a row, this year it's the fastest man alive against the fastest mind alive."[25] He added that the writers were "making a conscious effort this year to get the fun quotient back up".[64]

text:
Regarding the possibility of Wally West taking on the mantle of the Flash in Barry's absence, Keiynan Lonsdale said that "It's not something that's on my radar. I feel as though there is so much story to tell and Wally has so much growing to do... We need to see how these character realistically get to where they are headed for."[65] With the action picking up six months after season three, Kid Flash and Vibe are left to protect Central City, with Carlos Valdes saying "the team is sort of clutching at straws to keep the city together,... there is a unanimous feeling amongst the remaining members that it's just not the same without Barry... So in light of that, Cisco does whatever it takes to get his friends back."[66] Valdes also confirmed the return of Cisco's more lighthearted joking manner.[66]
Candice Patton explained Iris West's larger role within Team Flash as "a way of distracting herself,"[66] adding that "[Iris] is forced to deal with that anger and resentment and abandonment by kind of focusing on protecting Central City... We're seeing a very different Iris, almost a very hardened Iris."[67] Kreisberg also hinted at some major growth for Iris this season, and noted that "the season premiere is all about Iris and Cisco, not Barry".[68]

text: In July 2017, Sterling Gates, DC Comics comic book writer, joined as a member of the fourth season's writing staff.[69] At the Television Critics Association press tour in August 2017, Pedowitz stated that the fourth season of The Flash is "going to try to find the lightness... of the Barry Allen of the first two seasons,"[70] and said that the show was likely "done with Speedster villains".[71] Later in the month, Kreisberg confirmed the return of Harry Wells from Earth-2, saying that "season 4 for Harry is really realizing what he's missing in his life and what it is he needs to become a better, more complete person, and so he's going to be going on a fairly epic emotional journey this season that is tied to the Thinker's plan," in addition to confirming the introduction of a new version of the Wells character.[72]

text: In September 2017, Helbing noted "There's a lot of love in the air this season," and compared Barry and Iris' reunion to "somebody going off to war for six months and coming back. There's a lot that Iris experienced that Barry didn't when he was gone, and it's really [about] the fun and the emotional component of making up that time when they weren't together." Helbing also explained that the Speed Force "let [Barry] deal with all of the baggage [from the past three seasons]. When he comes out, he's sort of left that all behind."[73] That month, Kreisberg also confirmed that Barry and Iris will be getting married this season,[74] while also revealing that the pair will be going to couples therapy since "[they] keep comically clashing inadvertently because [both are] used to being in charge, and so they wind up going... to work through it." He added, "The two of them with the therapist is some of the funniest stuff we have ever done on this show, but it also leads to a deepening of their relationship."[75]

text: Casting[edit]

text: Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Keiynan Lonsdale, Tom Cavanagh, and Jesse L. Martin return from previous seasons as Barry Allen / The Flash, Iris West, Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, Cisco Ramon / Vibe, Wally West / Kid Flash, Harrison Wells, and Joe West, respectively.[22] Cavanagh will portray Harry Wells from Earth-2 at the start of the season, without ruling out the possibility of introducing another incarnation of the Wells character later on.[66] Teasing the arrival of a new Harrison Wells, Cavanagh said, "We're going to start with Harry and then find a way, I think, to try and get a different version of Wells in there, be it some version of Harry or whatnot as the season's gaps present themselves."[76] Also returning from earlier in the series are Jessica Camacho as Gypsy,[26] and Anne Dudek as Tracy Brand.[50] It was revealed that Tom Felton, who joined the cast as Julian Albert in the third season, would not be a series regular in the fourth season, and that there were no plans for him to appear.[77] Julian's absence will be addressed "pretty quickly — there's a reason why he's no longer with the team," said Helbing.[78] In the season premiere, it is revealed that Julian has returned to London.[79] Kreisberg also confirmed that he had put on hold the planned return of Violett Beane as Jesse Quick due to the high number of speedsters on the show, but did not rule out a possible return in the future.[80] Beane eventually appeared as Jesse on the episode "Luck Be a Lady".[38] Britne Oldford, who previously appeared as Shawna Baez / Peek-a-Boo in the first season and the web series The Chronicles of Cisco, reprised her role in the season premiere.[34]

text: In July 2017, Neil Sandilands was announced to be cast as Clifford DeVoe, a metahuman genius who embarks on a seasonlong battle with the Flash in order to fix all that he deems wrong with humanity; while Kim Engelbrecht was announced as The Mechanic, Devoe's right hand and a highly intelligent engineer who designs devices for him; and Danny Trejo as Breacher, a bounty hunter from Earth-19 and the father of Gypsy.[24] Also in June, the series was looking to cast a role that "should put the visual effects department to the test",[81] with the role later revealed to be Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man, a metahuman with the ability to stretch his body to superhuman lengths and sizes.[82] Hartley Sawyer was cast in the recurring role that July as the fast-talking private investigator who after discovering his abilities will help Team Flash solve one of Central City's greatest mysteries.[30] The character was previously mentioned in the first season, as one of the fourteen people who seemingly died as a result of the particle accelerator explosion.[83] The next month, Katee Sackhoff was announced in the recurring role of Amunet Black / Blacksmith, who operates an underground black market of metahuman supervillains.[31]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Filming for the season began on July 4, 2017,[84] in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is set to conclude on April 21, 2018.[85] Kevin Smith will return to direct an episode in January 2018.[86]

text: Music[edit]

text: In August 2017, series composer Blake Neely and Nathaniel Blume began to compose the music for the fourth season.[87]

text: Arrowverse tie-ins[edit]

text: In May 2017, The CW president Mark Pedowitz officially announced plans for a four-show Arrowverse crossover event, crossing over episodes of the television series Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow.[88] The crossover, Crisis on Earth-X, began with Supergirl and a special airing of Arrow on November 27, 2017, and concluded on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow on November 28.[89] In August 2017, Berlanti noted that it would be "a big life event for a few different people" that would bring them all together for the crossover, adding "There are many life events that happen."[90] Prior to that, Arrow actress Emily Bett Rickards appears as Felicity Smoak in the fifth episode of the season.[31]

text: Release[edit]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: The season began airing on October 10, 2017, on The CW in the United States,[91] and on CTV in Canada.[92] Sky One acquired the rights to air the season in the UK & Ireland, airing it alongside the other Arrowverse shows. The season premiered October 17.[93][94]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: In July 2017, cast from the series appeared at San Diego Comic-Con International to promote the season, where exclusive footage was shown.[95] During the panel, a trailer for the season was shown, with James Whitbrook at io9 feeling that despite the "grim" tone, there was "some fun signs of the team coming together to protect the city without [Barry],... Sprinkle in a few wacky things, like, say a goddamn Samuroid ripped straight from the comics, and ladies and gents, you've got a good season of The Flash lined up."[96] Ben Pearson with /Film felt seeing Iris West deal with the absence of Barry was "a nice change of pace for that character", but anticipated that "Barry [would] be back two or three episodes in at the latest."[97] Collider.com's Allison Keene also noted Iris "getting an actual storyline" with Barry gone, and similarly presumed that he "[would] be back in the fold by the end of the first episode" alike to Flashpoint in the third season. She added, "There are some new foes, lots of action, plenty of tech — it's great!"[98]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
No.

Title

Air date
Rating/share(18–49)
Viewers(millions)
DVR(18–49)
DVR viewers(millions)
Total(18–49)
Total viewers(millions)

1

"The Flash Reborn"

October 10, 2017
1.1/4
2.84[2]
0.7
1.92
1.8
4.77[99]

2

"Mixed Signals"

October 17, 2017
0.9/4
2.54[3]
0.8
1.82
1.7
4.36[100]

3

"Luck Be a Lady"

October 24, 2017
1.0/4
2.62[4]
0.8
1.84
1.8
4.46[101]

4

"Elongated Journey Into Night"

October 31, 2017
0.7/3
1.99[5]
0.7
1.79
1.4
3.79[102]

5

"Girls Night Out"

November 7, 2017
0.9/4
2.38[6]
0.8
1.84
1.7
4.22[103]

6

"When Harry Met Harry..."

November 14, 2017
1.0/4
2.46[7]
0.7
1.83
1.7
4.29[104]

7

"Therefore I Am"

November 21, 2017
0.8/3
2.20[8]
0.8
2.08
1.6
4.28[105]

8

"Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3"

November 28, 2017
1.0/4
2.82[9]
0.7
1.83
1.7
4.64[106]

9

"Don't Run"

December 5, 2017
0.8/3
2.22[10]
0.6
1.45
1.4
3.67[107]

10

"The Trial of The Flash"

January 16, 2018
0.8/3
2.51[11]
0.7
1.55
1.5
4.06[108]

11

"The Elongated Knight Rises"

January 23, 2018
0.7/3
2.12[12]
0.7
1.69
1.4
3.81[109]

12

"Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash"

January 30, 2018
0.9/3
2.60[13]
0.8
1.84
1.7
4.43[110]

13

"True Colors"

February 6, 2018
0.8/3
2.28[14]
0.9
2.00
1.7
4.28[111]

14

"Subject 9"

February 27, 2018
0.7/3
2.12[15]
0.8
1.86
1.5
3.98[112]

15

"Enter Flashtime"

March 6, 2018
0.7/3
2.04[16]
0.8
1.83
1.5
3.87[113]

16

"Run, Iris, Run"

March 13, 2018
0.7/3
2.09[17]
0.7
1.58
1.4
3.67[114]

17

"Null and Annoyed"

April 10, 2018
0.6/2
1.82[18]
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

18

"Lose Yourself"

April 17, 2018
0.7/3
1.88[19]
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.36/10 based on 14 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "After an unsteady turn in season three, The Flash returns to its roots with a fourth season packed with humor, spectacle, and a whole lot of heart."[115]

text: Reviewing the first two episodes of the season, Allison Keene writing for Collider.com, felt the premiere "wipes the slate clean, fixing a lot of the issues that plagued the end of the last season, and setting up a much more toned-down storyline. Most importantly, it's brought back some fun." She added that with a "streamlined team," the core characters now have time to interact and have meaningful plot lines. On the second episode, Keene described it as "truly a delight" with the show taking "the time to focus on character relationships, and not just romantic relationships" and each character "feeling like a refreshed version of themselves, with new narrative purpose". She also highlighted the setup of the Thinker "as an Alchemy-like villain who manipulates evil metas into the Flash's path as part of some kind of masterplan", saying "The Flash is a series that truly works best as a procedural, with the team finding creative ways to bring down Villains of the Week."[116]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee(s)

Result

Ref.

2018

Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite TV Actor

Grant Gustin

Nominated

[117]

Favorite TV Show

The Flash

Nominated

Saturn Awards

Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television

Hartley Sawyer

Pending

[118]

Best Superhero Television Series

The Flash

Pending

Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series

Candice Patton

Pending