# How I Met Your Mother season 6

The sixth season of the American television comedy series How I Met Your Mother premiered on September 20, 2010, and concluded on May 16, 2011, on CBS.

## Cast
### Main cast

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

### Recurring cast

* Lyndsy Fonseca as Penny, Ted's Daughter
* David Henrie as Luke, Ted's Son
* Marshall Manesh as Ranjit
* Bob Odenkirk as Arthur Hobbs
* Jennifer Morrison as Zoey Pierson
* Laura Bell Bundy as Becky
* Kyle MacLachlan as The Captain
* Bill Fagerbakke as Marvin Eriksen Sr.
* Ned Rolsma as Marcus Eriksen
* Suzie Plakson as Judy Eriksen
* Chris Romano as Punchy
* Nazanin Boniadi as Nora

### Guest cast
## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
| 113 | 1 | "Big Days" | Pamela Fryman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | September 20, 2010 (2010-09-20) | 6ALH01 | 8.79 |
| Ted and Barney argue about who has "dibs" on a hot girl at the bar while Marshall's closeness with his father and desire to start a family gets him into trouble with Lily. ||||||||
| 114 | 2 | "Cleaning House" | Pamela Fryman | Stephen Lloyd | September 27, 2010 (2010-09-27) | 6ALH02 | 9.00 |
| The gang comes to help Barney's mom move out of her home, so unravel startling revelations about him. Meanwhile, Ted gets upset when Robin oversells him to a blind date. ||||||||
| 115 | 3 | "Unfinished" | Pamela Fryman | Jamie Rhonheimer | October 4, 2010 (2010-10-04) | 6ALH03 | 8.60 |
| Goliath National Bank revives its headquarters project but Ted wants no part of it after what happened to him the last time. Barney tries to convince him of giving it a second chance by using all of his best womanizing tactics. Robin's post-breakup depression leads her to drunk-dial Don. ||||||||
| 116 | 4 | "Subway Wars" | Pamela Fryman | Chris Harris | October 11, 2010 (2010-10-11) | 6ALH04 | 8.48 |
| Robin vows to convince the gang she is a "real" New Yorker, despite their teasing to the contrary, since she hails from Canada. When Woody Allen is spotted in a downtown restaurant, Robin and the gang rush to see the quintessential New Yorker. ||||||||
| 117 | 5 | "Architect of Destruction" | Pamela Fryman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | October 18, 2010 (2010-10-18) | 6ALH05 | 8.05 |
| Ted is confronted by a beautiful girl named Zoey (Jennifer Morrison) who's upset about the landmark to be torn down to make way for the new GNB headquarters he's designing. ||||||||
| 118 | 6 | "Baby Talk" | Pamela Fryman | Joe Kelly | October 25, 2010 (2010-10-25) | 6ALH07 | 8.29 |
| Marshall and Lily study the ways of conception. Robin's frustration with her overbearing co-anchor, Becky, continues to grow. ||||||||
| 119 | 7 | "Canning Randy" | Pamela Fryman | Chuck Tatham | November 1, 2010 (2010-11-01) | 6ALH06 | 8.88 |
| Zoey sits in at Ted's class and gets his students on her side of the fight to save the hotel being torn down for the new GNB headquarters. Ted, Marshall and Barney see Robin in a Halloween "parade". Marshall has problems with his assistant Randy and how GNB treats people. ||||||||
| 120 | 8 | "Natural History" | Pamela Fryman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | November 8, 2010 (2010-11-08) | 6ALH09 | 8.87 |
| When the gang goes to a black-tie event at the Natural History Museum, Ted gets introduced to Zoey's husband, The Captain. Barney and Robin dare each other to break the laws of the museum by touching all of the exhibits. ||||||||
| 121 | 9 | "Glitter" | Pamela Fryman | Kourtney Kang | November 15, 2010 (2010-11-15) | 6ALH08 | 8.87 |
| The gang learns about Jessica Glitter (Nicole Scherzinger), a friend of Robin's from her pop-star days as Robin Sparkles, thanks to a new tape Barney discovers about a Canadian children's show. ||||||||
| 122 | 10 | "Blitzgiving" | Pamela Fryman | Theresa Mulligan Rosenthal | November 22, 2010 (2010-11-22) | 6ALH10 | 8.73 |
| An old college friend (Jorge Garcia) with a mean streak of bad luck celebrates Thanksgiving with Lily, Robin, Marshall, and Barney. Ted, who cooked a surprise feast for the gang, celebrates the occasion instead with Zoey. ||||||||
| 123 | 11 | "The Mermaid Theory" | Pamela Fryman | Robia Rashid | December 6, 2010 (2010-12-06) | 6ALH11 | 9.26 |
| When Ted's new friendship with Zoey tests the theory that single men and married women can't be friends, he invites her husband, "The Captain," to hang out with them. Meanwhile, Marshall and Robin decide to spend alone time together, and Barney and Lily possibly have a fight. ||||||||
| 124 | 12 | "False Positive" | Pamela Fryman | Craig Gerard & Matthew Zinman | December 13, 2010 (2010-12-13) | 6ALH12 | 9.70 |
| After hearing startling news of Lily being pregnant, everyone must reflect on their lives. Robin becomes newly employed and Ted must do a few things because he is Punchy's best man. Meanwhile, Barney tries to get into the Christmas spirit. ||||||||
| 125 | 13 | "Bad News" | Pamela Fryman | Jennifer Hendriks | January 3, 2011 (2011-01-03) | 6ALH13 | 10.15 |
| Marshall and Lily see a reproduction specialist out of fear she will never get pregnant while Marshall's parents pay him a surprise visit. Their quest results in both good and bad news. Robin is made a laughing stock at her new job. ||||||||
| 126 | 14 | "Last Words" | Pamela Fryman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | January 17, 2011 (2011-01-17) | 6ALH14 | 10.54 |
| The gang consoles Marshall as they all return to Minnesota upon learning of his bad news. Marshall's experiences inspire everyone, causing Barney to muster the courage to find his father. ||||||||
| 127 | 15 | "Oh Honey" | Pamela Fryman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | February 7, 2011 (2011-02-07) | 6ALH15 | 10.00 |
| Barney opens up about himself and his father to Zoey's cousin, Honey (Katy Perry). Ted, whom Zoey had tried to pair up with Honey, confesses to the group his feelings for Zoey. ||||||||
| 128 | 16 | "Desperation Day" | Pamela Fryman | Tami Sagher | February 14, 2011 (2011-02-14) | 6ALH16 | 9.51 |
| The gang tries to finalize their plans for Valentine's Day with less than 24 hours to go. Lily faces the prospect of spending the day without Marshall. Robin spends the holiday with her co-workers while Barney tries to take advantage of dateless women. ||||||||
| 129 | 17 | "Garbage Island" | Michael Shea | Tom Ruprecht | February 21, 2011 (2011-02-21) | 6ALH17 | 9.33 |
| Marshall becomes obsessed with saving the environment, and The Captain returns. ||||||||
| 130 | 18 | "A Change of Heart" | Pamela Fryman | Matt Kuhn | February 28, 2011 (2011-02-28) | 6ALH19 | 9.24 |
| Barney realizes he has heartfelt attraction for Nora (Nazanin Boniadi) and he thinks that something is wrong with him. Robin dates a guy who acts like a dog. ||||||||
| 131 | 19 | "Legendaddy" | Pamela Fryman | Dan Gregor & Doug Mand | March 21, 2011 (2011-03-21) | 6ALH18 | 8.03 |
| Barney and his father, Jerome Whittaker (John Lithgow), meet for the first time as father and son. The rest of the gang are struggling with certain issues. ||||||||
| 132 | 20 | "The Exploding Meatball Sub" | Pamela Fryman | Stephen Lloyd | April 11, 2011 (2011-04-11) | 6ALH20 | 6.87 |
| Marshall finally leaves GNB to join an environmental organization – which does not sit well with Barney and Lily. The GNB headquarters project drives another wedge between Ted and Zoey. ||||||||
| 133 | 21 | "Hopeless" | Pamela Fryman | Chris Harris | April 18, 2011 (2011-04-18) | 6ALH22 | 6.49 |
| In an attempt to bond with his father, Barney asks the gang to embellish their histories with him by adding fake details to their lives. Robin runs into a guy she had a crush on when she and Ted were dating. ||||||||
| 134 | 22 | "The Perfect Cocktail" | Pamela Fryman | Joe Kelly | May 2, 2011 (2011-05-02) | 6ALH21 | 6.77 |
| Marshall and Barney begin to argue over GNB's demolition of the Arcadian Hotel, and it's up to Robin and Lily to help them make up using cocktails. Ted plans a romantic weekend away for him and Zoey. ||||||||
| 135 | 23 | "Landmarks" | Pamela Fryman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | May 9, 2011 (2011-05-09) | 6ALH24 | 6.41 |
| The gang finally tells Ted what they really feel about Zoey, which drives him to make an important decision. ||||||||
| 136 | 24 | "Challenge Accepted" | Pamela Fryman | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas | May 16, 2011 (2011-05-16) | 6ALH23 | 7.15 |
| Robin and Barney meddle in Ted's relationship but things get more complicated when Barney sees Nora again. An incident makes Marshall think he could get sick with food poisoning. Ted pushes ahead with being best man at a very important wedding. Lily discovers that she is pregnant. ||||||||

## Production
### Casting

Jennifer Morrison revelead in an interview that she was contracted for 10 episodes but felt that it was likely she would appear in more.
Co-executive producer Craig Thomas said the issue about the identity of Barney's real father was already a plot point in the initial conceptualization of the series. John Lithgow was the first choice to play Jerome Whittaker and the producers gave him a collection of specific episodes detailing Barney's father issues (including "Showdown") to help him get acquainted with the role. Thomas said Lithgow will still appear in future episodes, as the role would complicate Barney's connection with Nora.

## Release
### Ratings
#### U.S. Nielsen Ratings

| Order | Title | Air Date | Rating | Share | 18–49 | Viewers |
| 1 | "Big Days" | September 20, 2010 | 5.3 | 8 | 3.6/10 | 8.79 million |
| 2 | "Cleaning House" | September 27, 2010 | 5.3 | 8 | 3.9/11 | 9.00 million |
| 3 | "Unfinished" | October 4, 2010 | 5.3 | 8 | 3.5/10 | 8.60 million |
| 4 | "Subway Wars" | October 11, 2010 | 5.1 | 8 | 3.5/10 | 8.48 million |
| 5 | "Architect of Destruction" | October 18, 2010 | 5.0 | 8 | 3.3/9 | 8.05 million |
| 6 | "Baby Talk" | October 25, 2010 | 5.0 | 8 | 3.2/9 | 8.29 million |
| 7 | "Canning Randy" | November 1, 2010 | 5.4 | 8 | 3.7/10 | 8.88 million |
| 8 | "Natural History" | November 8, 2010 | 5.5 | 8 | 3.5/9 | 8.87 million |
| 9 | "Glitter" | November 15, 2010 | 5.4 | 8 | 3.6/10 | 8.87 million |
| 10 | "Blitzgiving" | November 22, 2010 | 5.2 | 8 | 3.5/10 | 8.73 million |
| 11 | "The Mermaid Theory" | December 6, 2010 | 5.6 | 9 | 3.6/10 | 9.26 million |
| 12 | "False Positive" | December 13, 2010 | 6.0 | 9 | 3.6/10 | 9.70 million |
| 13 | "Bad News" | January 3, 2011 | 6.3 | 10 | 3.9/11 | 10.15 million |
| 14 | "Last Words" | January 17, 2011 | 6.3 | 10 | 3.9/10 | 10.54 million |
| 15 | "Oh Honey" | February 7, 2011 | 6.1 | 9 | 3.8/11 | 10.00 million |
| 16 | "Desperation Day" | February 14, 2011 | 5.9 | 10 | 3.7/11 | 9.51 million |
| 17 | "Garbage Island" | February 21, 2011 | 5.6 | 9 | 3.5/10 | 9.33 million |
| 18 | "A Change of Heart" | February 28, 2011 | 5.6 | 9 | 3.4/10 | 9.24 million |
| 19 | "Legendaddy" | March 21, 2011 | 4.9 | 8 | 3.0/9 | 8.03 million |
| 20 | "The Exploding Meatball Sub" | April 11, 2011 | 4.3 | 7 | 2.7/8 | 6.87 million |
| 21 | "Hopeless" | April 18, 2011 | 4.1 | 7 | 2.5/8 | 6.49 million |
| 22 | "The Perfect Cocktail" | May 2, 2011 | 4.2 | 7 | 2.8/8 | 6.77 million |
| 23 | "Landmarks" | May 9, 2011 | 4.1 | 7 | 2.6/8 | 6.41 million |
| 24 | "Challenge Accepted" | May 16, 2011 | 7 | 11 | 3.1/9 | 7.15 million |

#### Australian ratings

| Order | Episode | Original airdate | Timeslot | Viewers (millions) | Nightly rank | Weekly rank |
| 1 | "Big Days" | 3 February 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.919 | #7 | #38 |
| 2 | "Cleaning House" | 3 February 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.995 | #5 | #32 |
| 3 | "Unfinished" | 10 February 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.710 | #17 | #62 |
| 4 | "Subway Wars" | 10 February 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.874 | #11 | #46 |
| 5 | "Architect of Destruction" | 17 February 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.762 | #14 | #56 |
| 6 | "Baby Talk" | 17 February 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.898 | #9 | #34 |
| 7 | "Canning Randy" | 24 February 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.797 | #11 | #51 |
| 8 | "Natural History" | 3 March 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.810 | #11 | #51 |
| 9 | "Glitter" | 3 March 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.899 | #8 | #40 |
| 10 | "Blitzgiving" | 10 March 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.811 | #13 | #50 |
| 11 | "The Mermaid Theory" | 10 March 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.904 | #8 | #35 |
| 12 | "False Positive" | 17 March 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.761 | #12 | #52 |
| 13 | "Bad News" | 17 March 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.884 | #7 | #39 |
| 14 | "Last Words" | 24 March 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.835 | #9 | #44 |
| 15 | "Oh Honey" | 24 March 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.959 | #5 | #31 |
| 16 | "Desperation Day" | 31 March 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.845 | #10 | #43 |
| 17 | "Garbage Island" | 31 March 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.985 | #5 | #24 |
| 18 | "A Change of Heart" | 5 May 2011 | Thursday 8:00 pm–8:30 pm | 0.671 | #17 | #63 |
| 19 | "Legendaddy" | 12 May 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.712 | #14 | #50 |
| 20 | "The Exploding Meatball Sub" | 19 May 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.627 | #17 | #74 |
| 21 | "Hopeless" | 26 May 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.676 | #16 | #60 |
| 22 | "The Perfect Cocktail" | 2 June 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.721 | #13 | #54 |
| 23 | "Landmarks" | 9 June 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.740 | #14 | #53 |
| 24 | "Challenge Accepted" | 16 June 2011 | Thursday 7:30 pm–8:00 pm | 0.916 | #9 | #34 |