How I Met Your Father: Everything We Know About Hulu’s HIMYM Offshoot
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Haaaaaave you heard about How I Met Your Father?
Seven years after How I Met Your Mother‘s divisive series finale — and 16 years after audiences first met Ted Mosby, Robin Scherbatsky, Marshall Eriksen, Lily Aldrin and Barney Stinson — Hulu has
commissioned an offshoot. Hilary Duff is attached as its leading lady, and several key members of HIMYM‘s creative team are back as executive producers, including original series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.
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“Kids, I’m going to tell you an incredible story: It’s the story of how two writers got lucky enough to make their dream TV show for nine seasons, and now get to pass the torch to an inspired new creative team with their own incredible story to tell, the story of How I Met Your Father,” Bays and Thomas said in a joint statement. “We are honored by their passion and vision, and look forward to helping them tell a legendary new story.”
So, what does this “legendary new story” entail? And who are these new writers looking to put their touch on the romantic comedy?
The following list assembles every piece of information about HIMYF that has trickled out so far, and debunks any unproven theories about the titular father’s identity. Keep scrolling for all the latest — we’ll continue to update as we inch closer to the 2022 premiere — then hit the comments with your hopes for HIMYF.
THE PREMISE
In the near future, new protagonist Sophie is telling her son the story of how she met his father — “a story that catapults us back to the year 2022, where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options,” per Hulu.
HIMYF will blend multi- and single-camera elements to give it a similar look and feel to HIMYM. Season 1 will consist of 10 half-hour episodes.
HILARY DUFF IS… SOPHIE
Duff (Lizzie McGuire, Younger) plays Sophie, an aspiring photographer who lives in NYC with her best friend Valentina.
FRANCIA RAISA IS… VALENTINA
Raisa (grown-ish) plays Sophie’s roommate, aspiring stylist Valentina. Impulsive and adventurous, Sophie relies on Valentina’s ability to cheer her up when she gets down. In the pilot, Valentina returns from London Fashion Week with the gorgeous, British Charlie.
TOM AINSLEY IS… CHARLIE
Ainsley (The Royals) plays Charlie, an aspiring model who falls in love with Valentina at London Fashion Week and follows her to New York. The son of conservative aristocrats, Charlie is a great guy but he’s been living in a rich person’s bubble his whole life.
CHRIS LOWELL IS… JESSE
Lowell (Veronica Mars, GLOW) plays Jesse. He’s smart with a bit of an edge, and cynical about love. He’s an aspiring musician who works as an Uber driver to make ends meet and lives with his best friend Sid.
SURAJ SHARMA IS… SID
Sharma (God Friended Me) plays bar owner Sid, Jesse’s roommate and best friend. He is currently in a long-distance relationship with his fiancée Hannah (recurring guest star Ashley Reyes), a surgical resident in Los Angeles.
TIEN TRAN IS… ELLEN
Tran (Space Force) plays Jesse’s adopted sister Ellen. She just moved to New York from a small farming town after separating from her wife. Ellen is more comfortable on an organic lettuce field than in a Brooklyn dive bar.
KIM CATTRALL IS… ALSO SOPHIE
Whereas Bob Saget in his role as HIMYM narrator never appeared on screen, HIMYF‘s narrator appears in the flesh as the older version of Duff’s character.
SOPHIE’S SEASON 1 SUITORS
Daniel Augustin (David Makes Man) recurs as Ian. Handsome, smart and funny, Ian is Sophie’s Tinder match who finally meets her in person for the first time. (Augustin replaced God Friended Me‘s Brandon Micheal Hall, who was originally cast as Ian, but left the role due to a scheduling conflict.)
Josh Peck (Drake & Josh) recurs as Drew, a handsome elementary school vice principal.
THE CREATORS
This Is Us co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, whose credits also include Hulu’s Love, Victor, are shepherding the offshoot. They were first attached to develop HIMYF in 2016, but their commitment to the aforementioned NBC drama forced 20th Century Fox to put the kibosh on the duo’s planned pilot for the time being.
WHO’S RETURNING?
Aptaker and Berger will executive-produce alongside original series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Meanwhile, Pam Fryman, who directed all but 12 of HIMYM‘s 208 episodes, will return to direct the pilot and serve as an EP.
IS BARNEY THE FATHER?
On the heels of April’s pickup, fans began speculating how the new show would be tied to its predecessor — if at all. One connective tissue could involve the titular dad. Because as many a fan has pointed out, Barney welcomed a child into the world in HIMYM‘s time-hopping series finale — and the mother’s identity was never revealed.
There’s just one problem with that theory: Barney had a daughter named Ellie. HIMYF, we’re told, takes place in the near future, as Sophie tells her son the story of show she met his father. (Of course, there is wiggle room…)
IS IT A REBOOT? A REVIVAL? A FLIM-FLAM? A STRATEGEM? A BAMBOOZLE?
Don’t call it a reboot.
That was the plea from Aptaker during the Hulu comedy’s virtual appearance at Television Critics Association winter press tour. “People keep referring to the show as a ‘reboot,’ and it’s not a reboot,” he said, before referring to HIMYF as a “standalone sequel.”
“It’s set in the world of the previous show, but it’s really its own thing,” the executive producer clarified, before adding: “There are going to be lots of little rewards for people who love the original if they stick with us.”
IS IT DIFFERENT FROM HOW I MET YOUR DAD?
Yes. HIMYD was an entirely separate spinoff, which was piloted by CBS in 2014 and declared dead upon arrival. HIMYD was to be narrated by rom-com queen Meg Ryan, and starred future Oscar-nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig. The cast also included Nicholas D’Agosto (Trial & Error), Tiya Sircar (The Good Place), Drew Tarver (The Other Two), Andrew Santino (Dave) and Anders Holm (Workaholics). A script was eventually leaked online — which we recapped here.
Two years later, Aptaker and Berger were brought in to develop HIMYF, and the rest is history.
IS THERE A PREMIERE DATE?
Yes! How I Met Your Father will premiere Tuesday, Jan. 18 with its first two episodes, TVLine has confirmed. The remaining eight episodes will unspool on a weekly basis. Watch a trailer here.
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