The sitcom has got an unexpected gender flipped twist, but is it likely to improve on the original long-running comedy series?
How I Met Your Mother was a huge comedy hit – until it wasn’t. Much like Game of Thrones, the lacklustre finale soured its reputation among fans, seemingly undoing all the good work laid out by the series until that point. Maybe that’s one reason why the concept merits a do-over, and there’s one in the works already.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a 10-episode season of How I Met Your Father has been commissioned by streaming service Hulu, starring Hillary Duff in the Ted Mosby role (Tina Mosby? Tanya Mosby? We’ll leave that to them). As Hulu belongs to Disney, it’s like that the show will come to the Star channel on Disney Plus here in the UK.
Although actors will of course be changed from the original series (barring the odd cameo or two), there’s some continuity too, as the creators of the original (Carter Bays and Craig Thomas) will executively produce this spin-off. Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger will be the showrunners, fresh from their success on This Is Us and Love, Victor. Hopefully these guys know how to write an ending.
I can't wait for you all to see the amazing brilliant stuff @iaptaker and @bergernight have cooked up. And @HilaryDuff is a treasure. I am TANTRUM level excited. #himyf https://t.co/6P3lelzBys
— Carter Bays (@CarterBays) April 21, 2021
However those fans with long memories, and poor abilities to suppress particularly painful ones, may remember that it’s not the first time that gender-flipped version of the show has been tried.
A spin-off named How I Met Your Dad was released back in 2014, and if you take a look at this “highlights” video, you can probably work out why it wasn’t picked up:
Thankfully for everyone involved, the lead actor Greta Gerwig went on to direct well-received films Lady Bird and Little Women, and this pilot episode and the entire proposed spin-off were all forgotten. Well, until I just brought it up again. Sorry for that.
Will How I Met Your Father be the hit that not only makes us laugh but also avenges its ill-fated parent series? Much like its paternity question conceit, we’ll just have to watch it to find out.
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