How I Met Your Father: Hulu Orders How I Met Your Mother Sequel Starring Hilary Duff

(CBS)

It’s taken a while but the How I Met Your Father TV series is finally being produced. Hulu has given the project a straight-to-series order and it will star Hilary Duff. The show comes from Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.

How I Met Your Mother creators Craig Thomas & Carter Bays and Emily Spivey wrote a pilot for CBS back in 2014 but the project wasn’t picked up. More than two years later, Aptaker and Berger took a try at it but the pair became unavailable when they were hired as This Is Us’ showrunners. Alison Bennett wrote another version but it didn’t make the cut either. Now, Hulu has revived the project with Aptaker and Berger as creators, writers, and executive producers. Bays and Thomas will also executive produce and Adam Londy will see as co-executive producer.

While How I Met Your Father is being billed as a spin-off HIMYM, it’s unclear if the two series will share anything but the conceit. In the new series, Sophie (Duff) will tell the story to her son of how she met his father via flashbacks, much as How I Met Your Father’s Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor and Bob Saget) told his kids how he met their mom.

Here’s the series order announcement from Hulu:

HULU ORIGINALS’ SERIES “HOW I MET YOUR FATHER,” STARRING HILARY DUFF, FROM 20TH TELEVISION RECEIVES STRAIGHT-TO-SERIES ORDER

A Sequel to the Beloved Emmy(R) Award-Winning Series ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ New Series to Be Helmed by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger

Today it was announced that the Hulu Originals comedy series “How I Met Your Father” from Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger (“This Is Us,” “Love, Victor”) has received a straight-to-series order to stream exclusively on Hulu in the United States. The 10-episode comedy will star Hilary Duff (“Younger”) as Sophie, with Duff also serving as a producer. The sequel will use a multi- and single-camera approach similar to its predecessor. “How I Met Your Mother” creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas will executive produce alongside Aptaker and Berger. 20th Television, which produced the original, will again serve as the studio.

“‘How I Met Your Mother’ continues to be one of the most innovative and beloved comedies on television,” said Craig Erwich, president, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment. “Isaac and Elizabeth have an inspired take on this new version that honors what Carter and Craig created with the original and moves the franchise forward. Isaac and Elizabeth have proven to be rich storytellers and great partners to us at Hulu Originals and across The Walt Disney Company family. Coupled with the passion and infectious energy Hilary brings to every role she takes on, we can’t wait to suit up and bring audiences ‘How I Met Your Father.'”

“‘How I Met Your Mother’ is a crown jewel in the 20th library and its fans have clamored for more ever since our final broadcast seven years ago,” said Karey Burke, president, 20th Television. “Our genius producers Isaac and Elizabeth who are – wait for it – legendary within our halls, have created a spectacular new take which both honors the original and is entirely their own. Carter and Craig will return as executive producers, and who better to star as the central character than the incredible Hilary Duff? Many thanks to Craig Erwich and everyone at Hulu Originals for loving the script as much as we did and to our fantastic team who helped put this all together. I could not be more excited. Let the speculation as to who the father is commence!”

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.

Remarked original series creators Bays and Thomas, “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.’ We are honored by their passion and vision, and look forward to helping them tell a legendary new story. (Thanks to all the ‘HIMYM’ fans out there who waited for it.)”

Commented Aptaker and Berger, who are creating the sequel, “We are beyond excited to be bringing ‘How I Met Your Father’ to Hulu. Carter and Craig’s iconic original series revolutionized the half-hour comedy, and we are so honored to be carrying the torch forward for the next generation – and with Hilary Duff no less! We 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. And we hope nobody thinks it’s weird that Bob Saget will be playing old Hilary Duff’s voice.”

With a distinguished career spanning over two decades in film, television and music, Duff returns to the small screen following her starring role in TV Land’s breakout series, “Younger.” A pop-culture icon, Duff has had a renowned career as an actor/musician and has more than 20 million followers across Instagram and Twitter.

“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!”

“How I Met Your Father” will be the latest blockbuster title joining Hulu Originals’ upcoming slate of highly anticipated and star-studded series such as “Only Murders in the Building,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “Pam & Tommy” and “The Dropout.” “How I Met Your Father” also joins Hulu Originals’ commercial and critically successful Original comedy slate including “Pen15,” “The Great,” “Ramy,” “Woke” and “Dollface.”

“How I Met Your Father” is written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. Executive producers for “How I Met Your Father” include Aptaker, Berger, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Adam Londy will serve as co-executive producer, and Hilary Duff will serve as a producer. “How I Met Your Father” is a production of 20th Television.

About Hulu
Hulu is the leading premium streaming service offering live and on-demand TV and movies, with and without commercials, both in and outside the home. As part of Disney’s Media and Entertainment Distribution segment, Hulu is the only service that gives viewers instant access to current shows from every major U.S. broadcast network; libraries of hit TV series and films; and acclaimed Hulu Originals like Emmy(R) and Golden Globe Award-winning series “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Act”; Golden Globe Award-winning, Emmy(R) Award-nominated and Peabody-winning series “Ramy”; and Emmy Award-nominated series “Pen15” alongside hit series “Little Fires Everywhere” from Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, “Normal People,” “The Great,” “Hillary,” “Solar Opposites” and Oscar(R)- and Emmy-nominated documentary film “Minding the Gap,” Golden Globe Award-winning and Oscar-nominated “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” and critically acclaimed Hulu Original films “Palm Springs,” “Run” and “Happiest Season.” The service also streams live news, entertainment and sports from 21st Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, CBS Corporation, The CW, Turner Networks, A+E Networks and Discovery Networks – available all in one place. Upcoming Original releases include true-crime inspired comedy “Only Murders in the Building” starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, and the book to screen adaptation of “Nine Perfect Strangers” starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy.

About 20th Television
One of the Disney Television Studios, 20th Television is a prolific supplier of entertainment programming, including NBC’s top series “This Is Us” from Dan Fogelman; Nat Geo’s critically hailed and No. 1 series “Genius: Aretha”; Fox’s No. 1 drama, “9-1-1,” and its spinoff “9-1-1: Lone Star” from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, and its No. 1 comedy “Last Man Standing” starring Tim Allen; Hulu’s recent hit “Love, Victor” from Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger and Brian Tanen; FX’s No. 1 series “American Horror Story” from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk; and ABC’s new hit “Big Sky” from David E. Kelley, in addition to dozens of others. 20th Television shows have amassed a collective 1,839 Emmy(R) Award nominations and 211 Emmy wins, as well as multiple Golden Globes(R), Humanitas Prizes and Peabody Awards. The studio’s landmark series from its 70-year library include such classics as “Batman,” “Modern Family,” “M*A*S*H,” “Glee,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Bones,” “Empire,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “24,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “New Girl” and “The X Files.”

What do you think? Have you enjoyed watching the How I Met Your Mother TV series? Do you plan to check out the upcoming How I Met Your Father on Hulu?