Office Ladies The Office & HIMYM: Favorite Cold Opens!
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Apr 15, 2026 Craig Thomas, writer-producer who co-created How I Met Your Mother, brings a showrunner's eye. Josh Radnor, actor known for Ted Mosby, shares storytelling perspective. They swap favorite cold opens from The Office and HIMYM. Conversations cover the craft of memorable two-minute openings, iconic scenes like the yellow umbrella, and behind-the-scenes production tales.
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Two Distinct Cold Open Strategies
- Cold opens serve two main purposes on sitcoms: a standalone comedic mini-film or a plot kickstarter that propels the episode.
- Craig Thomas explains The Office favored modular standalone sketches while How I Met Your Mother usually used cold opens to start the story and plant mysteries.
Standalone Cold Opens Are Harder
- Standalone cold opens are often harder to pull off than plot-starting ones because they must deliver a complete comedic mini-story in two minutes.
- Craig notes that starting a story gives momentum, whereas a freestanding gem demands tighter invention.
Use Theme Music As A Cold Open Button
- Use the theme song as a structural button by cold-cutting into it to heighten impact and signal a tonal shift.
- Craig explains both shows realized their strong theme songs made the cut to titles a powerful comedic punctuation.