In the era of reboots and spinoffs, one premise that is finally getting a second chance is How I Met Your Mother. Following some failed attempts at a spinoff, How I Met Your Father will the light of day on Hulu as production is currently ongoing. Though how does the original cast feel about the reboot? Neil Patrick Harris shares his thoughts.
How I Met Your Father stars Hilary Duff and follows a similar concept to How I Met Your Mother, with Duff’s character in the future telling her own kids the story of how she met their father going back to the year 2021. HIMYM’s Neil Patrick Harris, who played serial playboy Barney Stinson, spoke to Insider about his hopes for the new series as he brought up the previous attempts at a spinoff or reboot:
We're kind of in an interesting sort of spin-off world or redo worlds, right? There's Wonder Years that's happening again. And there's lots of different shows that are sort of remounting in different iterations. They had tried to make a How I Met Your Father a couple of times before and so It's nice to see that this one's sticking. I hope it lands.
It’s nice knowing that Neil Patrick Harris supports the reboot, considering he wasn’t too fond of at least a revival idea a few years ago. In March 2018, the actor admitted that while he looks “back on that chapter with great fondness” he didn’t feel like there was anything else needed with the characters. How I Met Your Father includes all new characters, but maybe there’s still a chance that How I Met Your Mother characters could make an appearance since the spinoff is set in New York.
How I Met Your Father was first announced in April 2021 with Hilary Duff set to lead. Hulu ordered ten episodes of the reboot and filming started in August. While things did take a bit of a turn when Duff tested positive for COVID, production started back up once the former Disney star recovered. There is no set date for HIMYF as of yet but as long as the series keeps going and Hulu is ready to go, original series fans won’t have to worry about this one not sticking.
Maybe since Neil Patrick Harris supports the reboot, he would also be on board for a possible appearance, even as just a cameo? Seeing Barney once again would be legendary, as he would say. But in the meantime, fans can rewatch How I Met Your Mother in full on Hulu in anticipation for How I Met Your Father. Hopefully more information will come out about the new series soon to whet the appetites of excited subscribers.
