'How I Met Your Mother' spinoff gets series order at Hulu with Hilary Duff as the lead

How I Met Your Mother is one of the most popular sitcoms, which ran nearly for a decade from 2005 to 2014, consisting of more than 200 episodes. A spinoff to the long-running CBS comedy has been in talks for quite a long time. Now it is finally set to air on Hulu. According to Deadline, Hulu has given a straight-to-series order to How I Met Your Father from creators Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. Hilary Duff will feature as the lead character. More actors will be joining the team as the development moves forward. The first season of the sequel series will have 10 episodes.

'How I Met Your Father' 

Back in 2014, HIMYM creators Craig Thomas & Carter Bays and Emily Spivey wrote a pilot for CBS that starred Greta Gerwig and Drew Tarver, but it wasn’t picked up. Two and a half years later, a new take was created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, but as the pair became the co-showrunners of NBC's This Is Us they were no longer available. Then in 2017-18, Studio 20th Television tried to get How I Met Your Mother spinoff with You're the Worst writer Alison Bennet, but it did not work again.

Now, Hulu came onboard and is finally moving ahead with the project as they bought back Aptaker and Baker as creators, writers, and executive producers. Hilary Duff will also produce the series, which will use a multi- and single-camera approach similar to its predecessor. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas will also exec produce, which is produced by 20th Television. Adam Londy will serve as co-executive producer. 

How I Met Your Mother spinoff has Hilary Duff as Sophie, who is telling her son the story of how she met his father, much like Josh Radnor (and Bob Saget’s) Ted Mosby did in the original series. The story begins in 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. More actors will join the team. 

Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger asserted that they are "beyond excited" to be bringing How I Met Your Father to Hulu. They stated that Carter and Craig’s "iconic" original series revolutionized the half-hour comedy, and they are so honored to be carrying the torch forward for the next generation. They can’t wait for audiences to meet Sophie and her crew and watch them come into their own and find love in modern-day New York City. The creators joked that they hope nobody thinks it’s weird that Bob Saget will be playing old Hilary Duff’s voice.

Hilary Duff said that she has been "incredibly lucky" in her career to play some wonderful characters and she is looking forward to taking on the role of Sophie. As a huge fan of How I Met Your Mother, she is "honored and even a little nervous" that Carter and Craig would trust her with the sequel of their project. The actor called Isaac and Elizabeth brilliant and stated that she can’t wait to work alongside them and all of their genius. She mentioned that she is just fangirling over getting to join the Hulu Originals and 20th families. Duff realizes these are big shoes to fill and she is excited to slip her 6 ½’s in there. 

Promo Image Source: A still from How I Met Your Mother And hilaryduff Instagram