‘How I Met Your Mother’ reboot ‘How I Met Your Father’ is a go at Hulu with Hilary Duff

Sure, we all know by now the story of how Ted Mosby met his kids’ mother. But are you ready for the story of how some other lady met her kids’ father?

Hulu hopes so. The streaming service has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order to How I Met Your Father, which will star Hilary Duff as the new protagonist. 

HIMYM creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas will return as executive producers, with Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker (both of This Is Us and Love, Victor) serving as showrunners. Duff is also onboard as producer. 

Here’s the plot synopsis, per Hulu:

In the near future, Sophie (Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 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. 

The basic premise hews pretty closely to that of the original How I Met Your Mother, which starred Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby, a young man looking for love in 2000s and 2010s New York City. His story is framed by voiceover from an older Ted (Bob Saget) who recounts his exploits to his teenage kids in the future. Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, and Neil Patrick Harris also starred.

Duff, who also posted about How I Met Your Father on Instagram, commented on the news in a statement:

I’ve been incredibly lucky in my career to play some wonderful characters and I’m looking forward to taking on the role of Sophie,” said Duff. “As a huge fan of ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ I’m honored and even a little nervous that Carter and Craig would trust me with the sequel of their baby. Isaac and Elizabeth are brilliant, and I can’t wait to work alongside them and all of their genius. Just fangirling over here getting to join the Hulu Originals and 20th families. I realize these are big shoes to fill and I’m excited to slip my 6 ½’s in there!

The original How I Met Your Mother wrapped up in 2014 after nine seasons on CBS. Its finale was — how do we put this politely — divisive, but the show’s overall popularity means it’s been inspiring attempts at How I Met Your Father reboots ever since. 

The first was a 2014 pilot starring Greta Gerwig and produced by Emily Spivey that did not get picked up to series. Aptaker and Berger started working on their HIMYF in 2016, but their initial effort stalled. After that, Alison Bennett of You’re the Worst tried to get a version off the ground that also stalled. The Hulu series represents at least the fourth try at making How I Met Your Father happen.

There’s no word yet on when How I Met Your Father will start shooting, or when it might premiere on Hulu. But hey, if there’s one thing HIMYM fans are good at, it’s waiting for it.

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